Why were my sous vide sausages dry?
I cooked some sausages sous vide at about 158F for a few hours. Usually I cook sausage in my pan until it hits an internal temperature of about 155 and it climbs to 165 and they are incredibly juicy. They are 30% fat and I made them myself, so fat is not an issue here. I subsequently used a torch to brown them.
I cooked them sous vide due to convenience rather than wanting the sous vide experience. I expected them to be very juicy because they would be less cooked than in the pan (158 all the way through, and not just in the centre), but they turned out significantly more dry.
Why were my sous vide sausages drier than my pan sausages?
I have two hypotheses, and am open to others: 1. Cooking sous vide resulted in an overall lower temperature, but cooking the sausages longer forced out more fat. 2. When I browned them with the torch, the outside skin shrivelled a bit and some holes appeared because the torch is so hot. I don't think this cooked the sausages any more, but perhaps rupturing the membrane and slightly constricting the casing may have pushed out some of the fat.
Any other ideas?
Best Answer
Sous vide is an excellent way to cook sausages, particularly those that are lower in fat, because you can avoid over cooking. I find pork sausages cooked at 140 F (60C) to be ideal. One theory is that you may have cooked them to a higher than necessary temperature. However, sausage making technique can also contribute to dry or crumbly texture. So, you will want to consider that as well. For starters, try 140F for an hour (if not frozen), then sear or grill quickly. More than two hours in the water bath could also begin to degrade the texture.
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Quick Answer about "Why were my sous vide sausages dry?"
? Temperature The great thing about sous vide cooking is the ability to control exactly what temperature you're cooking things too. With sausage, that's especially critical. Too light and it's spongy and potentially raw. Overcook it and you will have dry, flavorless meat.Why is my sausage so dry?
When fat and meat are exposed to heat, they'll turn soft. The fat will smear out of the meat, and you'll end up with a mushy texture. And when you cook the sausage, most of the fat will run off, with the final result being dry sausage. If the meat and grinder are chilled properly, the fat stays solid.How do you keep sausages from drying out?
Place the sausage in the oven. The temperature is low enough that the sausage will not cook and dry out. The sausage will remain warm until you are ready to serve it.Why are my sausages crumbly?
Crumbly cooked sausage is usually the result of not enough fat or not enough water in the mix. Meat, fat and water are all important ingredients in making a quality finished product.How do you make juicy sausages?
9 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR OWN PLUMP, JUICY SAUSAGESSources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: RODNAE Productions, Pixabay, Pavel Danilyuk, Nicolette Attree