Sausages

Introduction
 The term sausage is derived from the Latin word "salsus" meaning salt, or,
literally translated, refers to chopped or minced meat preserved by
salting.

 In ancient times, the sausage mixtures were encased in animal intestines or

stomachs, and consequently were more or less cylindrical in shape.

 This shape is also generally a characteristic of sausages, even where

synthetic casings have replaced animal casings. Thus, sausages are salted,
and usually seasoned, chopped meat products that are generally, but not
always, cylindrical in shape.

 Sausages are one of the oldest forms of processed foods, their origin being
lost in antiquity. It has been reported that sausages were used by the
Babylonians and the Chinese about 1500 B.C., although documented proof
for this is lacking.

 There are, however, a number of well-documented references to the use of

sausages during the eighth century B.C., the most notable of which is
Homer's Odyssey.
CLASSIFICATION
The term sausage covers such a diversity of products that no
single classification system is completely satisfactory. Some of
the more common classification systems are as follows:
1. Degree of chopping
a. Coarsely ground
b. Emulsion or finely chopped
2. Amount of cooking
a. Uncooked
b. Cooked
3. Amount of smoking
a. Unsmoked
b. Smoked: natural smoke; smoke flavorings, isolated smoke
components
4. Amount of water added
a. No added water
b. Water added
5. Amount of curing
a. Uncured (fresh)
b. Cured
6. Amount of fermentation
a. Unfermented
b. Fermented
7. Amount of moisture in final product
a. Fresh: unsmoked or smoked
b. Smoked: fresh and cured
c. Cooked: fresh and cured-smoked and unsmoked
d. Cured: smoked and unsmoked
e. Meat loaves and specialty items
f. Dried: semidry and dry
Classification Using USDA Meat Inspection
System
 The USDA Meat Inspection system of classifying sausages is
probably used more widely than any other, since all federally
inspected sausages come under this classification scheme.

 The information provided under each product is only a general guide.

Furthermore, details concerning regulations frequently change, so the
USDA regulations should be consulted for exact information on
composition and labeling requirements.

 The USDA system categorizes sausages as

(1) Fresh sausages,
(2) Uncooked smoked sausages,
(3) Cooked smoked sausages,
(4) Cooked sausages,
(5) Dry and semidry sausages, and
(6) Luncheon meat, loaves, and jellied products.
STEPS IN PROCESSING OF SAUSAGES
 An important concept to recognize is that processing of
sausages is a continuous sequence of events in which each
step is an integral part of the whole, thus, it is not practical to
consider anyone step separately or to assign more importance
to one step than to another.

 Each step in its proper sequence is important to a successful

operation.

 Nevertheless, in studying sausage processing, it is convenient

to separate the process into definite steps or categories.

 The operational processing of sausages begins with grinding

of the meat ingredients and proceeds through packaging.
1. Grinding
Meat chunks of variable size and shape and with variable fat
contents are ground to form uniform cylinders of fat and lean.

The worm or screw feed in the barrel of the grinder conveys the
meat and presses it into holes of the grinder plate.

The rotating blade cuts the compressed meat and aids in filling the
grinder plate holes. The size of the holes in the grinder plate
determines the diameter, the thickness of the plate and the number
of blades determines the length of the cylindrical particles.

Particles of lean and fat passed through a 1/8 inch plate which is
5/8 inch thick will give approximately 35 million small cylinders
per 1,000 lb meat.

Proper mixing of these particles is extremely important to obtain a

uniform blend, which is a necessary requirement if the premix or
prebatching technique is to be used.
2. Mixing
 Cylinders of fat and lean obtained by grinding are tumbled in a mixer
to give a uniform distribution of fat and lean particles.
 Mixing also aids in extracting and coating of the fat particles with
salt-soluble proteins.
 This can be used for coarse-ground sausages or for emulsion-type
sausages by utilizing a chopper or emulsifier, and with suitable
additions of required ingredients to obtain the desired texture and
uniformity of composition.
 The mixer should never be overloaded, since this prevents good
mixing.
 Filling the mixer only to the top of the paddles or blades assures
proper mixing.
3. Chopping

 It is composed of a revolving metal bowl that contains the meat, while knife
blades rotating on an axle cut through the revolving meat mass.

 A chopper is often used as a means of batching the sausage mix, the mixed
batch being transferred to an emulsifier for acquiring the desired texture.

 A chopper is basically a series of curved knives on an axle. The speed of the

knife, rpm of the bowl, and sharpness of the blades are all factors in its
performance.

 The chopper is also called a silent cutter or a flyer. The temperature of the meat
mass during chopping will rise 10° to 20° C in 10-15 min of chopping.

 About 25-30% of the heat used in processing is contributed by the chopper or

emulsifier.

 Vacuumized choppers de-aerate the batter making a denser product and

accelerating extraction of the salt soluble proteins.
4. Emulsifying
 This machine combines the principles of grinding and chopping. Emulsifiers handle large volumes of
meat rapidly to produce a desired texture.

 The emulsifier should be fed uniform mixes because it rapidly passes increments of meat mixes through
an orifice that may hold 2 lb or less of product.

 In the course of a few seconds, 100 lb of meat will pass through an emulsifier. Due to the high velocity of
the rotating blades, a heat rise of 8 to l5 oF in the product is common.

 If the rotating blades are not sufficiently tight or the meat particles sufficiently fine, excessive heat can be
transferred to the product.

 No more than 10% of heat rise should occur through each plate.

 The heat rise can be helpful if the meat has been frozen and hydroflaked (cut into frozen flakes) just prior
to chopping.

 It is particularly useful in making emulsion-type products from frozen mechanically deboned poultry
meat.

 The advantage in the use of emulsifers has been the speed of handling materials, the high degree of
disintegration of meat tissues, and the ease of obtaining desired textures.
5. Stuffing
 The sausage emulsion, also known in the trade as mix, sausage dough, or
batter, is transferred to stuffers for extruding into casings. At this point, the
size and shape of the product is determined. Three types of stuffing pumps
are used: (1) piston, (2) auger or screw, and (3) rotary

 The piston-type stuffer is essentially a large barrel or cylinder that has a

moving plate.

 The plate is usually raised by air pressure and pushes the meat mixture
through a stuffing lock and finally through a tubular structure called a
stuffing horn.

 The horn size is selected in relation to the size and type of casing to be used.
Usually a horn of as large a diameter as possible is used to reduce smearing
of the emulsion.

 The piston-type stuffer is recommended for coarse-ground sausages and

those having fat chunks, olives, pimento, and pickles, because these items
may be damaged by impeller- type pumps, which usually have feedback and
pop-off connectors, and are satisfactory for stuffing other emulsion-type
products such as frankfurters or bologna.
6. Linking and Tying
 After the emulsion is stuffed into casings, the encased mass is tied with thread
or fastened with metal clips. In the case of small sausages, such as frankfurters,
stuffed casings are twisted or drawn together to produce links, either by hand or
with mechanical devices.

 Large sausage items are tied or clipped at one end with a hanging tie and
suspended from a smoke stick or hook so the entire surface is free from contact
with the equipment.

 Can be done manually or mechanically

 For frankfurters and other small sausages, hand-linking is rarely done today.
Machines that stuff and link are now the accepted practice.

 For 10-to-the-Ib size frankfurters, hand-linking of 100 lb per hour was

considered excellent.
 Present machines will stuff and link from 600 to 3,600 lb/hr.

 These high-speed linkers set the production economics of the sausage industry
today. Sausage links of the 10-to-the-Ib size are draped on smokesticks, eight or nine
links forming a loop.

 A frankfurter emulsion stuffed into 25 mm casings 84 ft long gives 186 links and
18.6 lb of finished sausage. This corresponds to approximately 23 loops of eight
links or 21 loops of nine.
7. Smoking and Cooking
• The smokehouse operation is essentially a specialized drying and cooking
operation in which sausage emulsion is coagulated.

• The important factors relating to smokehouse performance are as follows:

(1) dimension, (2) time cycle, (3) temperature range, (4) thermal
requirements, (5) relative humidity, (6) air flow, (7) air flow pattern, and (8)
smoke density.

• These factors control the environment to which the sausage will be exposed
during smoking and cooking.

• Encased sausage at the time of introduction into the smokehouse usually has
an internal temperature of 60°-70°F. During cooking, this rises to 155°-
160°F.

• A rise of approximately 100°F is usually needed, requiring at least 10,000

Btu for each 100 lb sausage to be cooked.

• The rate at which sausages cook is influenced to a large extent by the air
velocity in the smokehouse.
8. Chilling
• After smoking and cooking the product is showered with cold
water and then chilled by refrigeration.

• On large-volume, continuous operations chilling is frequently

done with a brine solution by dipping or spraying the
products.

• A 6% salt brine is reasonably close to osmotic balance with

the sausage. This brine permits lower chill temperatures and
rapid cooling of the product.

• The balanced brine inhibits leaching of salt from the sausage

and imbibition of water by the sausage.

• The increased rate of chilling is obtained when a brine is used.

9. Peeling and Packaging
 After properly chilling the product, usually to an internal
temperature of 35°- 40°F, the cellulosic casings on frankfurters and
slicing bologna are removed. This is known as the peeling
operation.

 In the past, cellulosic casings were removed from frankfurters by

hand, with 100-125 lb of sausage per hour considered a good rate.

 Modern machines remove the casings from 5,000 lb of frankfurters

per hour.

 Peeled frankfurters are collated and unit-packed, usually into l-lb

units, by special packaging machinery; 6 to 10-lb bulk packages
are assembled by hand.

 Large slicing bolognas are peeled, sliced, and packaged, 6 oz to 1-

lb packages being the most popular sizes.