1. FLAVORED SAUSAGES: Their Ups and Downs

2. HOST. Bill McDowell. Editorial Director, Meatingplace. MODERATOR
HOST Bill McDowell Editorial Director, Meatingplace MODERATOR Lisa Keefe Editor, Meatingplace

3. A BALANCED APPROACH
Roger W. Mandigo Animal Science Department University of Nebraska-Lincoln-Lincoln

5. Poll Questions
You made a great artisan fresh Bratwurst sausage with fresh jalapenos, fresh basil, fresh leak and pine nuts, however, the inclusions all fell out after you cooked and sliced the sausage. What failed?
A. Too many different inclusions. B. The Jalapenos should have been either vinegar or oil packed. C. Insufficient amount of emulsifier to coat all surface areas. D. More salt would have protected the inclusions.

6. Poll Questions
2. Why do fresh vegetables shrink and fail to remain eye appealing and held in place in the sausage?
A. They loose the shape, and shrink because moisture cooks out of the vegetables. B. Plant materials have fresh enzymes that must be heat denatured or blanched. C. Mixing longer before stuffing will correct the problem. D. Flash frozen inclusion will not have this problem

7. Poll Questions
Jalapeno peppers are available in four forms : fresh, dehydrated, packed in vinegar and packed in oil. Name the problem associated with all of these forms? A. The seeds in the peppers cause the problem. B. Jalapeno peppers contain compounds that will not stick to muscle proteins. C. Replace the Jalapeno peppers with soluble seasonings. D. All have surface conditions that reduce the ability of the emulsifier to bind the inclusion to the meat in the system.

8. Poll Questions
4. Your cracked/ground spices won’t stick to the outside of your "Old World" dry sausage, Why? A. The spices were not cracked to the correct size. B. Insufficient emulsifier or protein on the surface to cause the spices to stick. C. Failed to heat the surface enough to cause the spices to stick. D. Spices won't stick to the surfaces.

9. Today’s Assignment Inclusions for Unique/Designer Sausages
Added Food Ingredient Objects
Fresh fruits, vegetables, hard cooked eggs, fruit, nuts, vegetables, unique meat ingredients, pasta, other foods
INCLUSIONS
Salted, vinegar based, alcohol based and dehydrated inclusions
Added Flavor Profile
Ground, powdered, oil or water based flavors
Added Surface Ingredients
Fresh or Dried ground, powdered particulates
Oil or water based liquids

10. INCLUSIONS Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Dehydrated Packed in Oil
Hot Water blanched to inactivate enzymes
Dehydrated
Re-hydrated in water and drained/dried
Packed in Oil
Hot water washed/dried to remove oil from surfaces
Packed in Vinegar
Hot water washed/dried to remove acid from surfaces
Packed In Salt
Hot water washed/dried to remove excess salt

11. INCLUSION APPLICATIONS
Formulation - Added Ingredients
Concerns with enzymes, salt, oil, acids
Contribute to Flavor Profile
Usually fine chopped or ground fresh or dried
Water vs. Oil soluble flavors
Added Surface Ingredients
Extra protein emulsifier needed on surface for binding

12. Basic Sausages -Meat Proteins
Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken, Turkey
Farm Raised Fish - Salmon, Trout, Catfish
Exotic/Novel Species
Bison, Red Deer, Elk, Ostrich, Emu, Llama
Any specie with available contractile muscle proteins
MUSCLE FOODS !

13. What is Meat ? Actin, Myosin, Actomyosin Collagen
Sarcoplasmic Proteins (water soluble)
Myofibrillar Proteins (salt soluble)
Actin, Myosin, Actomyosin
Stromal Proteins (connective tissue)
Collagen
Elastin and Reticulin
Water
Fat

14. What is the EMULSIFIER? Water containing: Salt Salt soluble proteins
Actin, Myosin, Actomyosin
Solubilized Protein Solution
Binder or the "glue" for the meat system
No change in amount of protein
Borrow the protein – function as “glue”

15. Key Factors with Emulsifier!
Need about a 4.5% salt addition
Too High a Concentration for finished product taste!
Most products are about 2% or less salt in the finished product.
But only temporarily
About half of the meat & all the salts for few minutes
Then, add balance of water, meat and other ingredients
Finish processing, stuff and heat process

16. Key Factors with Emulsifier!
Temporary high dry salt level > %
instead finished products of ~2.0%
All the formula salt, add to 40 – 50% of the lean meat, and mechanical action
Then
Water added after initial protein solubilization, and
Before rest of meat and non-meat ingredients
Final mix contains all the ingredients !

17. Meat Emulsion

18. Key Factors with Particle Size!
All surface area of all particles must be covered with the emulsifier (glue or binder)!
MEAT: Muscle, Fat, Connective Tissue, Added Water
INCLUSIONS: Any Added Other Ingredients
Smaller particles have greater surface area than larger particles!

19. Equal Volume vs. Surface Area
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Basketball 6
Softballs 36
Golf Balls
100
Marbles
1000
Peppercorns

20. Fat, Gel & Inclusions
Fats must be completely coated/covered with soluble myofibrillar protein = EMULSIFIER
Gels from high collagenous materials must also be completely coated/covered
with soluble myofibrillar protein = EMULSIFIER
Inclusions [olives, cheese, peppers, fruit, nuts & other materials] must also be completely coated/covered

23. Poll Question Results
You made a great artisan fresh Bratwurst sausage with fresh jalapenos, fresh basil, fresh leak and pine nuts, however, the inclusions all fell out after you cooked and sliced the sausage. What failed?
C. Insufficient amount of emulsifier to coat all surface areas.
2. Why do fresh vegetables shrink and fail to remain eye appealing and held in place in the sausage?
A. They loose the shape, and shrink because moisture cooks out of the vegetables. B. Plant materials have fresh enzymes that must be heat denatured or blanched.

24. Poll Question Results
3. Jalapeno peppers are available in four forms : fresh, dehydrated, packed in vinegar and packed in oil. Name the problem associated with all of these forms? D. All have surface conditions that reduce the ability of the emulsifier to bind the inclusion to the meat in the system. 4. Your cracked/ground spices won’t stick to the outside of your "Old World" dry sausage, Why? B. Insufficient emulsifier or protein on the surface to cause the spices to stick.

25. For more information visit us at www.riscousa.com
For all your sausage production needs !
For more information visit us at

26. IN PRODUCTION
David Samuels Owner Esposito Sausage New York, NY

27. About Esposito’s Started as a traditional pork store in 1933
Store-made sausage sales started to eclipse rest of store sales
Family divided business up into Retail Pork Store and Wholesale Sausage company
Traditional Sausage recipes (Sweet Italian, Hot Italian) have stayed the exact same ever since
Same Ingredients
Still Fabricating our own CT-Butts and Pork Trim
Specialty Sausages have been key to growing our business since the late 90’s

28. FUN FACT
It is projected that 910,000 sausages were served at Miller Park – Home to the Milwaukee Brewers, the MOST in all of MLB
Coming in a very distant 2nd was our local team – The Mets. At Citi Field they served 376,650 sausages.
If only we had that account!

29. POLL QUESTIONS: Growth of Specialty Sausages
Poll Question #1: Have you or your company started to make any specialty sausages as part of your product offerings?
Poll Question #2: Have you seen an increase in requests/demands for these specialty sausages since you started to offer them?

30. New Sausages as a Balancing Act
Traditional products / recipes are needed to maintain your existing and more traditional customer base
Newer ‘Funky-er’ products / recipes are needed to attract the next generation of customers
Questions to consider:
Is this product going to just replace existing volume
Is this product going to introduce our brand to new customers
Is this product really a fit for our brand

31. The devil is in the details
Lets talk about our first foray into Specialty Sausages
Protein Switch to Chicken from Pork
Same Recipes
Same Casing
NEW PROBLEMS
Shorter Shelf Life
Less salt in Chicken
More Water in the Chicken
End Result – YUCK!

32. Finding a new niche Identify a “problem” Identify a “cause”
Traditional pork breakfast sausage sales are slowing at High End Restaurants and Hotels
Identify a “cause”
These high end customers don’t want your average pork sausage or even any pork on their plate at all
Identify a need
Most CHICKEN Sausages are stuffed into PORK casings
Craft a “solution”
What if we created a alternative breakfast sausage with no Pork
Test the market
Sample, Sample, Sample
Adjust recipe
Repeat

33. Lessons Learned Make one change at a time Adjusting for salt?,
don’t change pepper at the same time
Changing Apple variety?,
don’t touch the meat block too

34. Lessons Learned Time heals causes all wounds
New ingredients can cause interesting effects
Onions can turn GREEN
Peppers can turn BLACK
Apples become mushy, mushy, mushy,

35. Lessons Learned Pop Goes The Weasel
Make sure your specialty items fit your casing size
Match the size of your new items to your grind size if your adding them post grind

36. Opportunities There are no rules, just good taste
The world is your oyster (oyster sausage……maybe, why not?)
Jalapeño's vs. Salsa
Why not go for a higher margin Mexican mix?
Hog Casing vs. Sheep Casing
The market trend this year favors developing with HC over SC
There are no rules, just good taste
Don’t lock yourself into something just because its always been
Use these specialty sausages to create new opportunities for you
Being ‘limited’ in supply can create a increase its demand

37. POLL QUESTION RESULTS: Growth of Specialty Sausages
Poll Question #1: Have you or your company started to make any specialty sausages as part of your product offerings?
Poll Question #2: Have you seen an increase in requests/demands for these specialty sausages since you started to offer them?

38. Grow with the growth
Our gross margin is up 8% overall because of specialty sausages
Our volume on specialty sausages has shown over 100% growth each year
Our #1 specialty item is Chicken Apple – which now has its own family of product with 4 varieties within the product group.

39. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

40. FOR MORE INFORMATION Roger Mandigo: rmandigo1@unl.edu
David Samuels:
Sarah Miller (Risco):
Lisa Keefe:
Bill McDowell:
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