INTRODUCTION: I don't know about you, but my image of sausage depicts delicately spiced meats stuffed in casing and grilled to perfection; but I wasn’t sure I was capable of creating such a product. At first, I only made only sausage patties, because I wanted to see if sausage making was for me before investing in a bunch of equipment that I may never use again.

The most important item needed for sausage production, however, is clean equipment.  Before any sausage making begins, I wash all of my sausage making equipment (my stuffer bowl, grinder parts, bowls and measuring spoons) in the dishwasher; then, I wipe the counter surfaces down with a 10% bleach solution.  I also use latex gloves when handling meat and mixing in the spices.  Generally I use dried whole spices --make sure they're fresh---and grind them to a fine powder.  I always chill my meats to the slightly frozen state before grinding them so as to obtain a nice clean cut! 

I realized that sausage making equipment need not be extensive nor expensive. For example, I started with a Universal Chopper that I picked up in a second-hand store for $2.50...that was it.  As my proficiency grew, I added to and upgraded my equipment. First, I bought a new 3/4 hp #22 grinder, then a vertical stuffer. Recently I added a Bradley smoker to my equipment. My last purchase was a good meat slicer. For making dry-cured sausage, you'll need to provide humidity and temperature control.  An incubator was needed and I constructed one out of an old freezer chassis I got at the dumps!

A note on sausage formulas:  Most formulations are my own creations, some have been copied and referenced from various sources. Those with my signature are my own creations. Others have been submitted to me for consideration and posting and their source identified. Feel free to adapt the ingredients and amounts to your own tastes; the formulas here are only meant to be guides. 

All my recipes are in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) so that they can be easily read and printed from your browser. You can download a free copy of Adobe Reader by clicking on the icon .

It’s my position that before you begin making sausages at home, you educate yourself about matters of health and safety.  Realize that by the time meat reaches the butcher counter, it has gathered a number of different kinds of bacteria just from handling. You must learn how to discourage the growth of harmful organisms in the ground meats you use for sausage making.  I found guidelines for the treatment of pork and pork products with regards to health on the both USDA and Canadian Food Inspection Agency websites (see links) to be very helpful.  Always be careful to prevent any further contamination and to always keep the temperature of the meat low enough to discourage further bacterial growth. Keep the meat refrigerated until its ready to be ground, and return it immediately to the refrigerator as soon as possible. Record copious notes of your procedure, changes in formula, cooking method, temperature, etc.

Before you begin any sausage making endeavor:

• Educate yourself concerning health risks, ingredients, limitations, and food technology as they relate to your use of the formulations (recipes) that appear here as they pertain to your personal production of the sausages your are making.
   
• Obtain a notebook and begin recording everything you do while preparing the recipe: materials, grinding the meats, mixing the spices, etc. Record times, temperatures and humidity where appropriate.  Don’t rely on mental notes, jot important information down...it will be valuable for troubleshooting cases where you are dissatisfied with the product.
   
• Read the entire procedure through, making sure you understand all the nuances of grinding, curing, spicing, etc. and have all the necessary materials at hand.
   
• Assemble and scrupulously clean all equipment you will be using.  (don’t rely on the cleanliness of stored equipment and utensils.)
   
• Use latex gloves when handling meats and mixing in cures and spices.
   
• Keep all perishables refrigerated whenever possible through out the procedure.
   
• Follow the meat preparation, curing spicing, cooking and/or drying times and temperatures precisely. Don’t make substitutions unless you completely understand the effects of the substitution...for example, saltpeter is NOT a substitute for cure #1 or Cure #2.

Prepare the meats for sausage by removing any bones. Next, look for and remove any glandular meat  between the muscle bundles—it will have a quite different texture and color than the muscle meat and give a bitter taste to your sausage. Trim away all silver skin (connective tissues: tough, thin shiny sheets) and any tendons (tough, dense white fibrous sheets).  Remove any visible blood vessels, also.  Save any small pieces of edible meat and fat from this trimming, but don’t mix it in with the “regular” meat you just trimmed….grind it separately. The picture on the right shows me boning out a pork shoulder butt.

In my recipes, I often use the terms 80/20, 95/5 and 50%.  The first number refers to the lean portion of the meat and the second number refers to the fat portion. Back fat is 100% fat!

The picture on the left shows Glenn, my “sausage-making buddy”, grinding up some pork shoulder. Once you start making and sharing sausages, you'll find that there are other people who make sausages or want to learn.  Although sausage making can be an individual thing, its much more fun when you have a buddy who also loves sausages! You'll practice with spicing and types of meats, the size of grind, etc. You may make a formula that would be a sure winner in a sausage-making contest!

We buy the pork in vacuum sealed bags...they come two “butts” to the bag and weigh in at a total of about 15-18 pounds (or 7-8 kilograms)  Some of you will be lucky enough to raise your own pork, I’m jealous!

Types of Sausage:

FRESH SAUSAGE: I think of fresh sausage as a sort of "meatloaf" in a casing. Anyone that can make a “meat-loaf” can make fresh sausage!  My  definition of a fresh sausage is one in which NO curing is required in making the sausage.  Fresh sausage is made of raw meat, salt, and seasonings and always is cooked before eating. The amount of salt present in fresh sausage formulations is not necessarily sufficient to cure the meat. Because the meat is not cured, it must be kept under refrigeration. They usually take the form of links or patties. Fresh sausages are very perishable and should be used within several days of their being made...or else they should be frozen. In my opinion, the beginning home sausage maker should gain extensive experience with making fresh sausage, before attempting to make cured sausage. They are not difficult to make. There are a few simple procedures to follow and precautions to observe, however.

A very simple general formulation for any fresh sausage is:

Meat          = 80%
Fat             = 20%
Water        = 2.5%
Salt            = 1.5%
Flavorings = 0.75%

It is helpful to write your formulations as percentages because they can easily be converted to weights in the Metric system.  The American and Imperial measurement are difficult to use in the small quantities used for home sausage formulations. Try this in your head: If you have 2¼ lb. of meat, how many ounces of salt would you need to yield a 1½% concentration of salt? Compare that with the ease of using the metric system. [see below]

As you develop your own particular formula, you will want to experiment with small batches of sausage. I recommend making one kilogram batches (1,000g  or about 2¼ lb.) This mass will give you enough bulk to thoroughly mix the ingredients and get an even blend. Taking the above formula recommendation, multiplying the percentages by a factor of 10 (Yuk — math!) will give you:

Now you know why your 8^th grade teacher stressed learning multiplication and decimals…wait until we get to biology, chemistry and physics…and you thought you’d never need to know them!

Let’s examine each ingredient in the general formula of fresh sausage:

Meat: While pork is the most common meat for sausage making almost any species can be used. Sausages can made from beef, lamb, domestic and wild poultry, game meats like deer, elk, antelope, and even fish! In handling home butchered meats and game you must take precautions to remove all fur or feathers and keep them from contacting the meat. The animal should be skinned and the carcass washed to lessen the contamination of bacteria that can cause food-borne illness, such as E. coli and Salmonella.  When preparing the meat for sausage, trim the meat of all visible fat and cut it into chunks about 2-inches each. This will facilitate the proper ratio when building up your formula. [Note: If using store-purchased meat cuts, avoid buying ground meats. While deep muscle is sterile, the surface can become contaminated by handling and store grinding. Also storage greatly increases the chances for bacterial growth. All meat used for sausage making should be kept under 40^oF (4^oC). Remember the phrase “…life begins at 40”.]  

Fat: If you want a low fat product, don’t make sausage! Without 20% or more fat, the sausage will have a dry, mealy taste and mouth-feel. Sure there are “fat-replacers” available, but I thought you wanted to make a pure, healthy product with no extraneous additives! A number of animal fats can be used. Generally the fat is pork, but beef, lamb, poultry fat and poultry skin is often used.  The one exception is game fat, which as a very strong wild flavor. The large animal fats can be sorted into three major categories: sub-cutaneous fat, intra-muscular fat, and organ fat. Sausage makers prefer to use “fat back”, the hard sub-cutaneous fat under the skin. A good substitute is uncured and un-salted belly [bacon].  Avoid the soft and sinewy intra-muscular fat; it produces a poor quality sausage that contains “stringy” particles that love to lodge between your teeth! Organ fat, though good quality is almost impossible to get retail. Prepare that fat as you did the meat, keeping it under 40^oF (4^oC); this will insure a good fat definition and avoid smearing!

Salt:  In fresh sausage, the percentage of salt is not critical since fresh sausage is not cured. It’s there for seasoning purposes. I personally believe than 1½% would be the maximum amount of salt. One thing to remember is to always weigh the salt. Kosher, pickling, sea and table salt all have different densities and it is quite easy to over salt using volume measurements! Note: Some people add a sodium nitrite curing salt to a fresh sausage to give the meat reddish color. In fresh sausages this is optional; but nitrite is essential in cooked, smoked, and dry-cured sausages! For health reasons, never use more that 0.25% nitrIte cure in any sausage!

FLAVORINGS: The most common are pepper, garlic, sugar, chili pepper, parsley, onion, ginger, coriander, cumin, mace, and sage. But you are only limited by your imagination. You can use fresh seasonings and spices or dried. If using dried, remember some are more intense than the fresh variety of the same seasoning. Toasting dried spices also enhances their flavor. Alter the kinds and amounts of seasonings to suit your taste, but beginners remember…too little is better than too much!  Keep notes!

WATER: Water is useful in dissolving the salt and flavoring components so that they can be distribute evenly through the meat/fat mixture. Make a slurry of these to add to the meat mixture. As you gain experience, you might want to substitute wine for water…remember, you are in charge!

PREPARATION OF THE SAUSAGE: I personally prefer the two stage grinding method. I cut the meat in chunks large enough to fit in the grinder throat and then grind them through a coarse plate [3/8-inch or 10-mm]. Next I add the remaining ingredients to the coarse ground meat and re-grind through a small plate [1/4-inch or 4.5-mm]. This method produces a sausage mix of equal size particles and well distributed flavors. This is where you will want to experiment. Different ratios of meat to fat and different flavorings will affect the final product.  Make accurate measurements and keep notes and so you can duplicate the formula!

STUFFING: Stuffing the sausage in a casing is more esthetic than necessary. They taste the same. True, a sausage is easier to handle, grill, and cook, etc. when in a link. The most common casings are hog intestines and the come in a variety of sizes.  The suppliers listed on my “Resources” page have an excellent selection. Generally fresh sausages are twisted off into 5-inch links; but some prefer the “horseshoe” shaped ring.

STORAGE: Fresh sausage has a very short shelf-life. It must be kept refrigerated and used within 5 days. It can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month or vacuum packed [e.g. Food Saver©] and frozen for about 3 months.

COOKED SAUSAGE: Cooked sausages require the application of some sort of cure and heat as part of the formulation and preparation, such as oven-cooking, poaching, steaming, etc.  Cooking causes the denaturation and coagulation of proteins in the sausage which allows it to maintain its shape. Smoke may or may not be a necessary part of the preparation. Generally these sausages may be eaten without further heating, as in the case of luncheon meats like bologna, mortadella, and cooked salami. Some like Kielbasa, hotdogs, hot links, etc. are re-heated before serving.  Luncheon meats and hot dogs are a type of cooked sausage often referred to as emulsion sausages where the meat paste is so finely chopped that no individual particles of meat can be seen in the sausage matrix. In order to understand how these sausages are made, some background information on the nature of meat and proteins is essential.

What is meat? Meat is composed of fat, nerve, tendon, ligaments, sinew and muscle fibers. The muscle fibers, in turn contain proteins some which are soluble and some that are not. The major components of muscle protein are actinomyosin and myoglobin (myoglobin is the red pigment in meat and actinomyosin composes the contractile fibers of the meat).

Proteins are made up of long chains of smaller molecules called amino acids. Folds in the amino acid chain produce the shape of the protein and it’s that specific shape that determines the protein’s chemical and biological properties. In living tissue, the function of a protein is dependent on this three-dimensional structure. Changes in the protein’s environment will disrupt this structure causing the protein to become “denatured”. This causes the complex folds and twists in the 3-D structure to break and become linear. These changes can affect their affinity for water and their solubility. Such environmental changes can cause by:

• changes in salt concentration alters interactions between amino acids that compose the protein

• changes in pH alters interactions between amino acids that compose the protein

• breaking the Sulfur-to-Sulfur bonds that cross-link the amino acids

• changes in temperature

• water binding properties.

Emulsion formation: During the formation of a meat emulsion, meat proteins are extracted from the meat muscle and are solubilized [or dissolved] in water. Once the protein is dissolved additional mixing forces the dissolved proteins to disperse around and coat fat particles that are present in the meat solution.  An invaluable aid in extracting soluble proteins is salt. The muscle fibers of the meat contain salt-soluble and heat coagulable proteins, abbreviated SSHCP. [Note: the amount of water added usually varies with the formulation from 10% to 35%.]

The extraction of SSHCP is enhanced by the addition of “sausage-makers” phosphate (e.g. Tri- and tetra-sodium pyrophosphates). Research has shown that the phosphates increase protein solubility by altering the pH and salt has a positive effect on the water-holding capacity of the emulsion by solubilizing the actinomyosin into actin and myosin. Without added phosphates, long processing times would result in an unstable emulsion. The Food Safety and Inspection Service allows for the addition of a 1% solution of sodium phosphates.

As the protein solubilizes it coats the fat globules and water droplets in meat paste by wrapping them in a protein envelope. These globules are evenly dispersed and during the cooking process the protein looses is biological structure [this is termed: “denatures”] and coagulates forming a gel around the protein coated-fat and water particles. This process stabilizes the matrix of fat and protein forming an emulsion. The process of emulsion formation occurs in two phases, described below.

Preparation of the Ingredients: Hard fat and/or fat trimmings should be free of any soft tissue or sinew. Chill the fat to 34^oF and cut the fat into chunks that will fit easily in the grinder throat. Grind the fat through a 6.5-mm or ¼-plate. Make sure that the knife blade is sharp and firmly against the grinder plate. The cut should appear “clean” and not smeared! If so, check temperature, product purity, blade sharpness, etc.

The meat should be at approximately 34^oF. Trim the meat so that it contains no more than 10% fat.  Remove all sinew, ligament and connective tissue to produce a very high quality product. Cut into chunks as you did with the fat, but grind the meat separately from the fat, through a 4-mm or fine plate.

Depending on the product being produced, additional filler products such as tripe, soy protein, pre-emulsion, etc. may be added. Check your formulation for proper amounts and preparation of these items and when they should be added to the matrix.

Phase I:

Mix the ground meat (not fat) with the salt, cure, phosphates and cure accelerators [such as GDL, erythorbate or ascorbate], if any. Also at this time mix in approximately one-half of the water required in the formulation and process in a cutter or food processor until the temperature of the chop reaches 43^oF. The amount of time is dependent on the speed of chop, size of batch, etc. Use an infra-red thermometer to determine the end point.

Phase II:

Add ground fat, the seasonings, spices, and remaining ingredients to the batter along with the remaining water and chop or process until the batch reaches 57^oF. 18^oC

These steps are important.  The first chopping with water and salts results in the extraction and solubilization of SSHCP so necessary for forming a stable emulsion. As the mixing continues in the second chop, the remaining water and flavorings are absorbed by the meat emulsion, contributing to its taste, moisture and “mouth-feel”

As in the case of making fresh sausages it is extremely important to maintain your raw materials at a temperature of 40⁰F. Failure to do so can encourage the growth of bacteria that lead to illness or spoilage. It is important to remember that bacteria grow best between 40⁰F to 140⁰F.  When cooking sausages, make sure they pass through this range quickly.  For safety reasons, I recommend the use of a nitrite cure in all cooked sausages to help control spore forming bacteria and provide pleasant color retention of the product. The cooked sausage must attain a final internal temperature of 155-160⁰F in order to kill any pathogenic bacteria. 

There are two main cooking methods employed in sausage making that can easily be used by the hobbyist sausage maker: Dry-heat and moist-heat. However nothing is really that simple. Often both kinds of cooking are used on a particular sausage. Dry-heating can also include the application of smoke to flavor and color the sausage.

Generally cooked sausages are prepared in a “Cook House” or smoker. There are a number commercial smokers are available to the sausage hobbyist. They can be purchased in many home-improvement centers, sporting goods catalogs, or barbeque stores. However a homemade smoker can be easily constructed from an old refrigerator, freezer or even made of plywood. If you make one out of an old refrigerator make sure it is lined with metal, not plastic. The basic construction consists of a metal box, a heat source [such as an electric hot plate] and a pan for hardwood chips or sawdust. Drill some vents at the top and bottom for draft controls to allow you to regulate the temperature and smoke.

When using sawdust or wood chips as the smoke source spritz them with water and place them in a pan on the hot plate so that they smolder and produce smoke. If you are smoking in a barbecue grill or kettle unit, keep the hot coals to one side of the grill and regulate the heat by adjusting the vents. Sprinkle damp sawdust or wood chips over the briquettes to produce the smoke.  An excellent reference for constructing smokers is “Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design” by S., A., & R. Marianski [see my resource page].

Dry-heat cooking involves the application of heat from an oven or smoker that completely surrounds the sausage. By adjusting openings (dampers) on the oven, the amount of relative humidity can be somewhat controlled to a value of 40 to 70% R/H.

When cooking sausages in a smoker, the temperature range should be between 170⁰F to 180⁰F. It is desirable to have a high degree of humidity in the smoker when cooking sausages.  This can be accomplished by keep a pan of hot water in the smoker during cooking. This keeps the surface from drying out which allows excess internal moisture to easily escape. An ideal relative humidity for many types of cooked sausage is about 45%; others may require as much as 70% humidity. There are a number of humidity gauges available on the market. You’ll have to experiment with your particular cooker to see how to maintain these percentages. Phosphates are often added to formulations of sausages to be cooked by the dry-heat method in order to prevent and excessive lose of moisture that would produce a dry, mealy product.

Moist Heat Cooking: This method uses hot water or, in the case of commercial producers, steam. If product is being cooked in water, the water temperature should be in the range of 160-170⁰F.  In this case the Sausage is immersed in hot water which completely surrounds the sausage or loaf to assure even cooking. Obviously it’s necessary to stuff the sausages in water-proof casings or in the case of some loaves, a mold with a water-tight, pressure lid. They should pass from 40⁰F to 160⁰F as quickly as possible to minimized bacterial growth. The following internal temperature combinations are the minimum required holding times to insure that pathogenic bacteria are killed: 145⁰F for 10 minutes then raise to 150⁰F for at least 3 minutes and finally 155⁰F for at least 1 minute. Another reason is to quickly heat and coagulate the proteins and to prevent rupturing the casing. If higher temperatures are used there is a danger of driving off water to quickly or melting the fat which results in an increase in internal pressure causing the casing to burst.

Cooling: Regardless of the method of cooking, sausages must be adequately cooled after cooking. The high heat used in cooking will destroy all actively growing bacterial cells, BUT a few disease causing bacteria can form spores (think “seeds”) which will not be destroyed in the cooking process. If the sausage is allowed to cool slowly, there is a possibility that some of these spores will develop into active living and growing bacteria!  Plunge the sausage in ice cold water to rapidly cool the meat to about 100⁰F. Once cooled, these sausages must be kept under refrigeration because they are perishable.

Cooked sausages can be made in the form of links, rings, rolls, or loaves.  A general formulation for a cooked sausage is very similar to that of a fresh sausage, but with some important additions. The most important difference is that ingredients include nitrite cure and often some sort of binding agent [Some examples are phosphates, non-fat dry milk, and soy protein].

Generalized Cooked Sausage Formulation:

Let’s examine each ingredient in the general formula for cooked sausages.

Meat: What was said for fresh sausages can be applied to cooked sausages. In addition to pork, other common meats are beef, game and poultry. Meat should be treated the same way: Trim the meat of all visible fat, sinew, blood vessels, glands and connective tissue and cut it into chunks about 2-inches each. The meat used should be chilled 40⁰F (4⁰C) during the preparation steps. The percentage of meat depends on the specific formula; often several meats are combined [for example, some bologna contains a mixture beef, pork and veal]

Fat: As in fresh sausage, fat is important for producing a succulent sausage. A variety of animal fats can be used. Generally the fat is pork, but beef, lamb, poultry fat and poultry skin is often used. Prepare that fat as you did the meat, keeping it under 40⁰F (4⁰C); this will insure a good fat definition and avoid smearing the fat when you stuff the casings! The percentage of fat varies depending on the type of sausage being made. Generally when using pork shoulder, you can assume that they have about 20% fat; Pork bellies about 50%; pork jowls about 70%. You may have to add fat or meat to obtain the proper percentage for your particular formulation.

Water: As in the formulation of fresh sausages, water is used to dissolve the soluble ingredients so that they can be distributed evenly through the meat/fat mixture. If the sausage recipe calls for holding the sausage mixture under refrigeration before cooking, the water/salt/cure mixture also functions to solubilize the proteins so that the proteins coagulate and firm up the sausage during cooking.

Salt:  The percentage of salt is more critical in cooked sausage. Besides seasoning the meat, salt is necessary to extract the SSHCP proteins [salt-soluble, heat coagulable proteins] in the meat muscle. Remember never measure salt as a volume measurement [tablespoons, etc] but always weigh the salt. Remember that Kosher, pickling, sea and table salt all have different densities and it is quite easy to over salt using volume measurements!

Nitrite Cure: In my opinion, nitrite is essential in cooked, smoked, and dry-cured sausages! The amount of curing salt is strictly defined by the USDA. For health reasons, never use more that 0.25% nitrate cure in any sausage! There are a number of cures on the market and confusion is often the order of the day. Cure #1 is a cure that contains salt and 6.25% Sodium nitrite [along with a little pink die and anti-caking agent] --- so read the label carefully!

Flavorings: What was true for fresh sausage, the most common are pepper, garlic, sugar, chili pepper, parsley, onion, ginger, coriander, cumin, mace, and sage. You can use fresh seasonings and spices or dried. Alter the kinds and amounts of seasonings to suit your taste. [Note: some formulations also call for the addition of skim milk powder, soy powder, etc. These are generally added to help retain moisture and bind the ingredients to form a firm sausage.  Often these can be omitted if you prefer not to consume them, but trial and error is needed with this approach, so make small test batches at first and keep notes!]

Preparation of the sausage: Sausages to be cooked are generally refrigerated for 24 hours before cooking. The purpose here is two-fold: it allows the meat to salt cure (solubilizes the SSHCP) and the flavors to equalize through the meat paste. Use the two-stage grinding method when preparing cooked sausages. First grind the meat coarsely through a large grinder plate; then add remaining ingredients to the ground meat according to the formulation, and re-grind through a finer plate. 

Stuffing: Stuffing is a straight forward process.  The object is to get the meat paste into a form that can be easily manipulated.  The casings used can be natural intestine casings or artificial casings.  Often it is the preference of the consumer unless you are trying to duplicate the look of a traditional sausage. The important thing to remember is to stuff them firmly but not tightly and to use a pin to prick any air pockets under the casing. Large, heavy sausages will require you to tie them in links or rings with twine to support them during the cooking process.

Storage: Cooked sausages have a longer shelf-life than fresh sausages. The still must be kept refrigerated but will remain edible after several weeks if properly packaged. They can be wrapped and frozen for up to a 3 months or vacuum packed [e.g. Food Saver©] and frozen for about 6 months.

SMOKED SAUSAGE: Cooked sausages are often smoked in order to enhance their flavor and color as well as helping to extending the shelf-life of the sausage.  It is important to understand that such smoking does not completely preserve the sausage unless it was somewhat dried [more about this later]. In general, sausages to be smoked are air-dried at an ambient temperature of approximately 68⁰F and a relative humidity of approximately 60-65% to allow surface water on the casing to evaporate. Be careful not to over-dry the casing or the smoke will not penetrate at all. Smoking can be done by either the hot or the cold method.

Sausage makers use the hot-smoke method for sausage that is to be partially or completely cooked in the smoker. After drying the outer casing, smoke is generated while the sausage is cooking. The casing should be dry to the touch or the “bitter” elements that compose wood smoke will be deposited on the sausage giving it an off taste. For good smoke penetration into the sausage, it is important to have a relative humidity of about 45%. Color development of a smoked sausage is proportional to increase in temperature -- i.e., the more rapidly the temperature increases, the faster the color of the sausage will develop. This is the reason why many formulations suggest a temperature-holding schedule.

The cold smoking method is generally used to impart a rich smoky flavor without cooking the sausage. Often cold smoking is used as a drying method for sausages, meats and fish. In addition to drying the product, the smoke adds color and flavor to the sausage. Products like mettwurst, teewurst, liverwurst, bacon are often cold smoked. Temperature is a critical component of cold-smoking. Try to keep the temperature range between 95-110⁰F. Depending on which product is being produced, schedules vary from a few hours to many days in order to get the proper flavor, color and dryness.

A simple set-up that I use is disconnect the hot smoking unit from my Bradley smoker. Then I  put a 110 VAC hot plate on a rack in my bullet-type smoker. I replace the bullet top with a piece of aluminum roof flashing with a 4-inch opening.  Then I connect one end of an 6-foot section (it can be longer) of 4-inch aluminum dryer-ducting the flashing and the other to a 4-inch opening in my Bradley smoker. All that's needed now is a small cast iron pan on top of the hot-plate and a good source of smoking wood.  I've tried hardwood sawdust, but in this set-up I prefer hardwood chunks.

A possible alternative to smoking in an oven is the use of liquid smoke. For example to produce a smoke flavor in sausage loaves cooked in molds, liquid smoke is added to the water in the formulation at a rate ½ teaspoon/ pound [or more accurately 5.4 ml/kilogram] of meat paste.

The Meaning of pH

Before we continue with the discussion of fermented sausage (below), it's necessary to have an operational definition of pH. Acids in water separate into ions (Atoms with electron imbalances are called ions), and the positive ion is hydrogen (H+). When hydrochloric acid (HCl) mixes with water, it separates into positive hydrogen (H+) and negative chlorine (Cl-). Hydrogen (H+) combines with water (H₂O) to make hydronium (H₃O+). Bases in water also separate into ions, and the negative ion is hydroxide (OH-). When the base sodium hydroxide (NaOH) mixes with water, it separates into positive sodium (Na+) and negative hydroxide (OH-).

The pH-value indicates the degree of acidity in the meat. Acids all produce Hydrogen ions (H+). Acids like Hydrochloric acid (HCl) produce lots of Hydrogen ions. Chemists write "hydrogen ion concentration" as [H+]. The pH of a solution is expressed mathematically as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion [H+] concentration.

When producing meat products, the pH-value should lie between 4 to 7; pH- values from 0 to 7 denotes an acidic nature (the smaller the number the more acidic the solution). The neutral point is 7; pH values from 7 to 14 signify alkalinity (the larger the number the more alkaline the solution).

 When Hydrogen Chloride gas dissolves in water it form Hydrochloric acid and the molecules of Hydrogen Chloride dissociate into Hydrogen ions and Chloride ions.

Water also dissociates to produce ions, this time it is Hydrogen ions and Hydroxyl ions.

Sodium Hydroxide also dissociates to produce ions when it is dissolved in water, this time it is Sodium ions and Hydroxyl ions.

In each case we can measure or calculate the concentration of Hydrogen ions present.

                In HCl(aq) Hydrochloric acid [H⁺] = 0.01

                In H₂O(l) water [H⁺] = 0.0000001

                In NaOH(aq) Sodium Hydroxide solution [H⁺] = 0.00000000000001

As you can see, these numbers are small and difficult to read and write. By counting  the decimal places each of the above can be written as:

          HCl (aq)         pH 2

          H₂O (l)           pH 7

          NaOH (aq)   pH 14

Although a pH value has no unit, it is not an arbitrary scale; the number arises from a definition based on the activity of hydrogen ions in the solution. The definition of pH is the number equal to the negative logarithm to base 10 of the hydrogen ion concentration: This can be represented by the mathematical formula:

Log₁₀ denotes the base 10 logarithm, and pH defines a logarithmic scale of acidity. A lower pH value  (for example pH 3) indicates increasing strength of acidity, and a higher pH value (for example pH 11) indicates increasing strength of alkalinity. Some common pH values found in raw meats used for sausage making and meat production are:

pH 5.8 to 6.2     Pork muscle      

pH 5.5 to 5.8     Beef muscle       

pH 6.0     Veal        

pH 6.5 - 6.7     Chicken         

Meat with a low pH-value (pH-value below 5.8) has a poor water binding capacity. This means high cooking losses, inconsistent weight and a dry, straw-like consistency. For this reason water-bonding chemicals, like sodium polyphosphates, are generally added to the formulation. It's use is optional, however. Other additives contribute to good curing features, such as accelerators like ascorbate or erythorbate, that are used for good color development and color stability. These accelerators act as reducing agents and/or lower the pH to provide the environment required to enhance the rate of conversion of nitrite to nitric oxide, which reacts with myoglobin plus heat to yield pink-colored  nitrosylhemochrome [or nitrosomyoglobin]. The reduction of microorganism growth by the addition of nitrite results in a longer shelf-life and a longer storability of the meat and meat products.

For a more scholarly discussion of pH see:   How to Determine pH    or    Wikipedia