Handbook of Meat Processing

Cooked Sausages 321

coarsely ground products, brine injection,

curing of the meat prior to mincing, and tum-

bling are required, since the diffusion of

curing ingredients is so slow in meat. The

curing solution dissolves some myofi brillar

proteins from the cut surfaces, and they form

a gel, on heating, which glues the particles

together.

Smoking/Cooking

According to industrial practices, when the

sausage batter has been prepared, it will be

and water into immediate contact with the
myofi brillar system, which results in a
swelling of myofi brils as well as a partial
solubilization of myofi brillar proteins
(Hamm 1972 ; Offer and Knight 1988 ). When
the batter has been stuffed into casings for
cooking, the solubilized myofi brillar proteins
form a gel structure that glues the meat
particles together and encases the fat. With
cooking, the solubilized proteins form a gel
that traps the fat, as well as the muscle fi ber
and myofi bril particles, making the batter a
homogeneous structure (Tornberg 2005 ). In

Figure 17.5. Stuffi ng of frankfurters. (Photograph courtesy of Pertti Leino.)

Figure 17.6. Sausage cooking and the measurement of end temperature. (Photograph courtesy of Pertti Leino.)