Chocolate Pork Sausage

malcolm.mccaffery

Just starting to make my own sausages and my kids are really keen to try a fresh chocolate pork sausage

I was thinking keeping flavours very simple to keep the kids happy, was planning to try this combination

600g pork belly

400g pork shoulder

70g 40% milk chocolate

18g salt

2.4g black pepper

0.2g monosodium glutamate

Any thoughts about the ratios I'm planning to use in my first experiment ?

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Comments

meyer8863

Take my advice with a grain of salt...I have never made sausage.

With that said, unless you heavily trim the pork belly, the recipe sounds way too high in fat. Most sausages have a 80/20 meat to fat ratio, while some go as high as 75/25. Pork belly can be as high as 75% fat. In the brief reading I have done, pork shoulder tends to be pretty close to the ideal 80/20 ratio needed.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

wolfiegirl

Michael is absolutely correct. I have made sausage many times (Italian, Andoille, etc) and all the necessary fat you might want comes nicely included in the pork shoulder. Belly can be added...hey, it's a free Country....but it's a case of gilding the lily. Totally unnecessary. As for adding chocolate...uhhhh....why? Again, freedom of choice so if you're just looking for a fun adventure for your kids, that's cool. But maybe it would be better to teach them the right way to make sausage. After all, it is a lot of work and expense.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

fisher23

Good luck, I would be afraid that cooking the sausage would burn or curdle milk chocolate. Maybe cocoa powder, I've had that in BBQ rubs. I've made sausage a few times but adding milk or even dark chocolate has never crossed my mind. Why not just make some sausage and pour chocolate syrup over it.... Hey, it's your cook so please don't let my opinion sway you. I wish you good luck and hope you will let us know the results.

This one looked good to me..they call it chocolate sausage but really it's chocolate candy, no meat added.

malcolm.mccaffery

Yes that is a concern, i actually have had pork sausage before with small amount of chocolate added, but no idea how they prepared it. So may just require experimenting

malcolm.mccaffery

Having tried a good pork chocolate sausage before but no idea how it was prepared I know it's possible. However based on feedback here I think to reduce risk of ruining the whole product in such an experiment might do a very small batch with a darker chocolate that has higher burn temp and do the rest normally.

fisher23

I'm wondering about using chocolate syrup, it doesn't have the milk solids. That or cocoa, just some suggestions.

matthomas14

I make sausage every day and after 20+ years I think my ratios are pretty spot on. But I still make a small silver dollar size little tester, fry it up and taste it every single time. If for no other reason but to teach my young cooks the right way of doing it. Maybe you should take the same approach with your children. Mix the ratio you posted, with slightly less chocolate, make a tester, taste, and ask them what they thing. Add more chocolate if they think it needs it. Every new idea is a learning opportunity and not just about the thing you are making at the time, but the whole process of developing a new recipe. Weigh everything carefully and take good notes. I repeat, take good notes. A cook without a notepad is vacuum. They both suck. Good luck with your sausage Malcolm!!!

matthomas14

Also a little bit of cinnamon always make chocolate pop. Just say'n.

malcolm.mccaffery

Thanks guys for the tips, I ended up using the following:

- 32/35 hog casings

- 387g lean pork

- 651g pork belly

- 18g salt

- 2g black pepper

- 0.5g msg

- 144g 45% cocoa solids baking dark chocolate

Meat chopped into 1" cubes and put in freezer on metal tray for 20 mins to help make mincing easier.

After initial taste test I increased the chocolate to amount above. In testing the mix in a fry pan it tasted good for me, nice savory pork flavor with the chocolate flavor blending in nicely, however will try cooking as a sausage tomorrow on the BBQ, to see how the heat there impacts the chocolate. This chocolate was recommended not to go above 60c but cooked test sausage patty to 65c and chocolate still tasted Ok to me and hadn't discolored.

It was my first time making sausage so although I was aware it was a mistake to avoid I did pack it a bit tightly in some places and ripped one when twisting them into smaller sausages...

My kitchenhands loved grinding the meat...

Mince with initial seasoning; later I doubled the chocolate. With this initial amount there was a slight hint of sweetness, and had to think a bit to pick it out as chocolate...

Now I got the experimentation out of the way, I can try some classic sausage recipes...

lockgavin

I'm with others on the fat percentage, you may find it too high and might want to reduce that. Ruhlman suggests 1-1.5lvs of fat in 5lbs of meat. I think you would be well above that ratio there.

Adding Choco syrup during your primary bind might be solution to adding the chocolate. Perhaps look into Cocoa nibs too? If you want to add milk chocolate maybe cooking the links low and slow (like a smoked sausage at 180f) and adding cure or doing it sous vide might keep the chocolate from getting curdled?

FrankM_3301

You might consider cooking the sausage sous vide (60 C for an hour), then finish on a low grill. This will help prevent fat (and chocolate) melt out that can occur at high grill temps.

wolfiegirl

Looks like you nailed it well Malcolm. Of course I will give most of the credit to your avidly mincing kitchen helpers!! I'm VERY curious about the chocolate. Where did you buy/see such an unusual addition to sausage? I can't wrap my head around the flavor profile of pork and choco.

But no matter, your sausages look awesome! Don't know if you've done this already, but once they are in the casing, let them air dry in the fridge for a good 24 hours. On a rack if possible so that any excess liquids can leach out. If you're somewhat anal as I can be (who...me?!?) you can get a sharp paring knife or some kitchen shears and carefully trim off all those loose bits attached to the casings to give them a more professional appearance.

Overall, I think you all did a great job! Congratulations!!

#sausage

malcolm.mccaffery

At a farmers market a few years ago I tried this combo ... finally got around to trying it. Except it was Pork chilli chocolate. I would prefer to have chilli but kids can't handle it yet

HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

What are the child labor laws in your area.....;) ?

wolfiegirl

Ah-ha! The chili's in the sausage combined with chocolate makes more sense to me now. As in the Mexican mole sauce....chocolate and chili....very interesting!! Ok, now I'm going to have to give this combo a try next time I'm mincing up a butt!!

Cheers!!

Robert_Conn_II_123023

Good wisdom in that post.