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Pork Belly vs. Fat Back

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    Pork Belly vs. Fat Back

    Can I substitute pork belly for fat back when making sausage? I can find pork belly much easier than finding fat back.

    #2
    Yes, just bear in mind that pork belly has some lean in it, so a kilo of belly has less fat than a kilo of back fat.

    Comment


    • Troutman
      Troutman commented
      Editing a comment
      Yea but even a kilo is broken into pounds which is broken into ounces, well you see where I'm going

    • HouseHomey
      HouseHomey commented
      Editing a comment
      2.2 lbs or a 1000 grams.

    • overeasy
      overeasy commented
      Editing a comment
      Gee Whiz, now I have to do math too?

    #3
    Don't see why not. I'd at least give it shot on a small, say 5lb batch.

    Comment


      #4
      Has anyone substituted pork belly for fat back? And if so, any difference in taste??

      Comment


        #5
        I can't say I've substituted this for that, but I have ground an entire hog into sausage. I would say that it isn't a matter of taste, it's a matter of fat content or texture. Back fat is pure fat, no meat, and is very firm and dense. Belly has fat and meat, and the fat is less firm. So if you take four kilos of lean meat and one kilo of back fat you'll have an 80/20 ratio. If you substitute belly for back fat it will be more like 85/15, depending on how fat the belly is. If you are hesitant, take EdF 's advice and do a small batch.

        Comment


        • TripleB
          TripleB commented
          Editing a comment
          Thanks. I would think that you would decrease the lean meat and increase the pork belly since the fat is less dense and contains some meat. So 75/25. Am I looking at this wrong??

        • ComfortablyNumb
          ComfortablyNumb commented
          Editing a comment
          What I meant is if you take 80% lean and substitute pork belly for back fat you won't have 80/20 finished. If you want 80/20 with pork belly then you'll have to do as you suggest and adjust with less lean and more belly.

        #6
        I would not use pork belly as it's cost prohibitive for me. I would take a couple of butts with decent layer of fat and use that,

        in fact I have done that. Are you making andouille?? Numb is write about the lean and the fat back. Fat back grinds nicely too.

        Comment


        • ComfortablyNumb
          ComfortablyNumb commented
          Editing a comment
          What I got from the original post is price isn't the issue, it's availability. Back fat is hard to find for him, whereas pork belly is easy.

        #7
        Back fat is "hard" fat, while belly fat is "soft". For a fresh sausage like an Italian type breakfast sausage, it's not going to matter as much as it does for dried sausage like summer sausage or salami. The softer fat tends to smear more during mixing. This matters more when you expect to see discrete "chunks" of fat in the finished sausage. As HouseHomey said, you'd be better off with the fat off the top of a butt, or even better, use the strap of fat trimmed from a loin. If you have access to reasonably priced belly, give it a try. You can improve the situation somewhat by grinding the belly frozen, and partially re-freezing before mixing.

        Comment


          #8
          Dangnabbit I wanna make sausage now!!

          Comment


          • ComfortablyNumb
            ComfortablyNumb commented
            Editing a comment
            Put on a flannel shirt and get up here, I have hogs ready now!!

          • HouseHomey
            HouseHomey commented
            Editing a comment
            Ahh.... it's usually price for me. 😀

          #9
          Click image for larger version

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          Just happened to have some extra pork belly scraps and this am cased up 5 lbs of andouille. Made from 100% pork belly.
          Will go into smoker tomorrow. John is right about all he said. Just make sure everything is very cold when you grind and mix.
          If you can buy butts with the skin on do it. otherwise the fat caps are substantially thinner after the butcher removes it.
          Putting aside some trim for themselves of course.

          Comment


          • HouseHomey
            HouseHomey commented
            Editing a comment
            Love that table! Rob a bakery??

          #10
          Click image for larger version

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ID:	465733 After being smoked to 150 in my cabinet,
          they were rinsed with cold water to help prevent the skins from wrinkling.
          now will let bloom until cooled completely then put up for use later.

          Comment


          • EdF
            EdF commented
            Editing a comment
            Andouille!

          #11
          Click image for larger version

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ID:	465848 Quite Tasty!

          Comment


            #12
            Beautiful...and thanks for all the advice. Actually I want to make Andouille in the next couple weeks. Going to have a Crawfish Boil party and also make some Gumbo. I have an Andouille recipe, but would love to see some others. Can you'all share your andouille recipe??

            Thanks

            Comment


            • EdF
              EdF commented
              Editing a comment
              Oh, please do share them!

            #13
            Absolutely!
            5lbs pork shoulder, butt, or in this case belly!
            1-1/2oz kosher salt
            2 tsp cayenne
            1 tsp pink salt
            1 tsp thyme
            1/2 tsp mace
            1/2 tsp ground clove
            1/4 tsp ground allspice
            1 tsp dry mustard
            1C fine diced onions
            2T minced garlic

            Comment


            • TripleB
              TripleB commented
              Editing a comment
              Thank you

            • EdF
              EdF commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks!

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