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Sausage Production Processing InsightI. Overview of Sausage MakingSausage making originallydeveloped as a means topreserve and transport meat.Primitive societies learned thatdried berries and spices couldbe added to dried meat. By600-500 BC there is mentionof sausages from China, Romeand Greece. The word“sausage” is derived from theLatin word “salsus”, whichmeans salted, or preserved bysalting. Sausages and sausageproducts have since evolvedinto a wide variety of flavors,textures, and shapes resultingfrom variations in ingredientsand manufacturing processes.Sausage grew in popularity and brought fame and fortune to many sausage makersand to various cities. Today more than 250 varieties are sold, and many of these canbe traced back to the town and country of origin. The contemporary role of sausagefits conveniently into our modern lifestyles as an elegant appetizer for entertaining aswell as the main course in quick-and-easy meals. Furthermore, sausages are arelatively safe product to consume because of the added effects of salt, pH, cure,drying and cooking to preserve the product and eliminate harmful bacteria. Sausage isa convenient food available in a great number of varieties and flavors. Sausages are anexcellent source of high quality protein, containing all the essential amino acids inappropriate amounts necessary for growth, maintenance and repair of body tissue.Sausage also provides significant amounts of vitamins and minerals.

II. Types of SausageSausages are made from beef, veal, pork, lamb, poultry and wild game, or from anycombination of these meats. Sausage making has become a unique blend of oldprocedures and new scientific, highly-mechanized processes. Traditionally, sausagewas formed into a symmetrical shape, but it now can be found in a variety of shapesand sizes to meet consumers’ needs. Sausages can be classified in a variety of ways,but probably the most useful is by how they are processed. Processing methods givesausages easily recognizable characteristics, and the types of sausage are classified asfollowing chart.

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III. Sausage Production ProcessingIn this part, you will go over the main steps which are used to produce standardsausage products, and the main processes used to produce sausages are as followings:●Selecting ingredients●Grinding meat ingredients●Blending the meat and non-meat ingredients●Stuffing and filling●Smoking●Packaging and storage

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1. Selecting ingredientsThe finished product is only as good as the ingredients it contains. Meat should befresh, high quality, have the proper lean-to-fat ratio and have good binding qualities.The meat should be clean and not contaminated with bacteria or other microorganisms.In other words, meat used in sausage production should be safe. Selecting spices andseasonings and combining them in proper amounts is important. They mustcomplement each other to create a satisfying product.At the same time,there are manynon-meat ingredients that are essential to the sausage making process. Thesenon-meat ingredients stabilize the mixture, and add specific characteristics and flavorsto the final product. Ingredients used in fresh sausage include water, salt, andantioxidants, along with traditional spices, seasonings, and flavorings. And Theamount of non-meat ingredients, such as spices, is determined by the overall weightof the product mixture.2. Grinding meat ingredientsThe second step in sausage production is grinding the ingredients by meat grindingmachine efficiently. The grinding stage reduces the meat ingredients into small,uniformly sized particles. Ground meat is the primary ingredient in a sausageformulation. The characteristics of the meat ingredients used to create the sausagedefine the type of sausage such as the overall taste, texture, aroma, along with theprotein and fat content. Generally, grinding processes will vary according to themanufacturer and the nature of the product. Some sausage products use coarselyground meats, others use more finely ground meat ingredients. Some manufacturersgrind the lean and fat trimmings separately, grinding the lean trimmings to a finerconsistency than the fat meats.3. Blending the meat and non-meat ingredientsManufacturers carefully control the blending of the meat and non-meat ingredients tocreate the desired characteristics for a specific sausage formulation. The meat andnon-meat ingredients are placed in a meat mixer and thoroughly blended. Theblending process must also obtain a uniform distribution of any non-meat ingredientswithin the product formulation. For example, flavorings, salts, and other ingredientsmust be consistently mixed throughout a sausage formulation.4. Stuffing and fillingAfter the blending is complete, the blended ingredients may be bulk packaged, or theymany be extruded into a casing. This process is called stuffing. And the sausage fillermachine is the necessary equipment for stuffing kinds of sausages.5. SmokingSmoking is used to dry and cure the meat for making smoked sausage, and impartflavors and aroma to the final product. Smoking was traditionally important because itinhibited bacterial growth on the finished product. A smoke generator creates naturalsmoke via a carefully controlled burning of hardwood sawdust, wood chips, or logs.However,automatic meat smoking machine has replaced the traditional smokingmachine by employing improved smoking method to process meat in a more healthand sanitary way than the traditional smoking method now.

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6. Packaging and storageThe fresh sausage product is sometimes packaged for sale to the customer. Theproduct may be wrapped in a gas impermeable plastic, and placed into refrigeratedstorage or display. The specific packaging will vary according to the needs of the enduser, the processor must follow hygienic standards when packaging any sausageproduct to avoid contaminating the product. Often retail fresh sausage is tray packed.However, many sausage products are vacuum packed, freshness dated and 100%edible. Handle carefully and store properly to preserve freshness. Use right away orfreeze. Vacuum-packaged sausage can be frozen as is. Try to eliminate air from thepackage whether wrapping in zipper bags, freezer paper, or plastic wrap. You canfreeze items for 1-2 months without affecting the flavor and quality of the sausage.

IV. Sausage Variations in Daily LifeSausages may be servedas appetizer, in a sandwich, in abread roll as a hot dog, wrapped ina tortilla, or as an ingredient indishes such as stews and casseroles.It can be served on a stick or on abone as well. Sausage withoutcasing is called sausage meat andcan be fried or used as stuffing forpoultry, or for wrapping foodslike Scotch eggs. Similarly, sausagemeat encased in puff pastry is calleda sausage roll.Sausages are almost always fried inoil, served for any meal,particularly breakfast or lunch and

often sweet sausages have been created which are made with any of the above: driedfruit, nuts, caramel and chocolate, bound with butter and sugar. These sweet sausagesare refrigerated rather than fried and usually, however, served for dessert rather thanas part of a savory course. Sausages can also be modified to use indigenousingredients. Mexican styles add oregano and the guajillo red pepper to the Spanishchorizo to give it an even hotter spicy touch. Certain sausages also contain ingredientssuch as cheese and apple, or types of vegetable.

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