Forcemeat is the base for charcuterie products and is made by mixing meat and fat. Charcuterie involves cured meat products like sausages, which are made with forcemeat stuffed into casings. There are many types of sausages from different countries that vary in shape and filling but generally contain meat, fat, spices and curing agents. Special equipment is used to produce sausages and other charcuterie items.

1. CHARCUTERIE
Introduction to Charcuterie
Define, Types & Uses of Forcemeat
Define, Types & Varieties of Sausage
Define, Types & Varieties of Casing
Types & Varieties of Fillings
Additives & Preservatives used in Sausage

2. Forcemeat
 Forcemeat is the base for all Charcuterie
products.
 It can be described as an emulsion of meat
and fat that is created by mixing meat and
fat either by chopping, grinding, or pureeing
them together to create a smooth paste.
 The texture of the sausage is determined
depending upon the method used for
forcemeat.
 Forcemeat can be used either to stuff eggs,
fish, meat, vegetables, pasta or as the basis
for pates, terrines, sausages, etc.

3. Introduction to Charcuterie
 Charcuterie is derived from a French word
meaning ‘Cooked Flesh’.
 By the end of the sixteenth century, there were
approximately 24-30 guilds that were specific to
only food items.
 One such guild that was responsible for
preparing dishes from pig’s meat was referred to
as Charcuterie.
 Germany and Italy are the largest producers and
consumers of cold meat and sausages.
 Charcuterie is a section of Larder Kitchen.
 In the modern world, charcuterie products are
not only limited to a few slices on the plate, but
also used in breakfast such as sausages and
bacon.

4. Types of Forcemeat
 Country Style Force Meat: The meat is cut
in strips and marinated along with fat and
flavoring. Then grinded and passed through a
sieve. Panada is added for binding along with
the sieved liver.
 Gratin Froce Meat: Gratin forcemeat is
made by partially cooking some of the meats
before pureeing. This is done to create a
softer texture in the finished product and to
improve flavors. This kind of forcemeat is
usually used in terrines and pates as an inlay
or stuffing.

5.  Basic Forcemeat: This style of forcemeat is
also known as straight mix as the meat and
fat are ground together from a coarser
mixture to a smoother emulsified mix
through progressive grinding.
 Mousseline: This is one of the lightest and
smoothest of all forcemeats and is usually
made with soft white meat such as Veal,
Chicken, and fish. Eggs and heavy cream is
added to it and the fine past has to be made
in cold conditions, while using ice.

6. Uses of Forcemeat
 We already learn that forcemeat is the
base for all Charcuterie product.
 So in Charcuterie, forcemeats are not only
limited to sausage making, but are used
in various types of products such as
Pates, Terrines, Roulades, and Galantines
etc.

7. Sausage
 The word ‘sausage’ is said to be derived from
the Latin word Salsus, which means salted.
 Meat was earlier dry salted for preservation
and it was heavily spiced with ginger and
pepper.
 A sausage is a generic term for the wide
range of preserved meat products made out
of mincemeat, combined with fat and spices
and stuffed or enclosed in some form of
casing.
 A sausage could be preserved by cooking,
smoking, or drying or, at times, be stored
fresh chilled and cooked at the time of
serving.

8. Different Shapes of Sausages
 Rope Sausage: Rope
sausages are prepared
by coiling around the
filled casings to form
spirals. They look very
attractive in butcher’s
shops and on dishplays.
 Linking Sausage: In
this type of the sausage,
while being filled, the
casing is pinched and
twisted around around at
equal intervals to create
linking sausages of the
same length.

9.  Chaining Sausage: In
this type, the ends of a
few linked sausages
are joined together to
form a chain.
 Looping Sausage:
This type of shape is
particularly used for
sausages such as
Kielbasa. The
forcemeat is stuffed
into the casing and
both the ends are
joined together to
form a loop.

10. Types of Sausage
 Kielbasa or Polish
Sausage: This
large loop-shaped
sausage from
Poland is made by
stuffing emulsified
forcemeat
consisting of pork
butt and fatback
with crushed ice.

11.  Bratwurst: This is a
German delicacy
made from emulsified
forcemeat of pork,
veal, and sometimes
beef. The word is
derived from the
German words Brat
which means
“Chopped Meat” &
Wurst means
“Sausage”.

12.  Franfurters: This is
a very popular
German Sausage that
has become famous
the world over
because of its use in
the popular sandwich
’Hot Dog’. It is made
with emulsified
forcemeat prepared
from Veal/Beef and
fat from jowl of pig.
It has traditional
orange colour.

13.  Salami: Salami has
been the most
popular of all
sausages because of
its keeping qualities.
It is a cured and
fermented sausage
most popular in Italy,
France, Hungary,
Germany, and other
European Countries.

14.  Mortadella: Mortadella
is a large Italian
Sausage that is made
from emulsified
forcemeat, in which fat
from the neck of the
pork and chopped
pistachios are added to
give it a traditional
specked look. Lots of
spices and seasonings
are used to make
Mortadella and dry milk
is add as a Binding
agent.

15.  Breakfast Sausage:
As the name
suggests, this
sausage is commonly
eaten for breakfast.
In the USA, this
sausage is made from
the basic forcemeat
mix and is shaped
into patties and
shallow fried.

16.  Boudin Blanc: Boudin is
a common word used for
many sausages in and
around France.
Traditionally, it is made
from pale-coloured pork
meat and is enriched with
cream, eggs, etc. after
casings it is refrigerated
for at least 12 hours then
poached in a mixture of
milk and a stock and are
refrigerated for up to
three days.

17.  Boudin Noir: Also
known as blood
sausage, they are so
called because of their
black to deep purple
colour owing to the
principle ingredient-
blood. This sausage is
particularly famous
during Christmas. The
boundin noir is chilled
for at least 12 hours
before they are
poached.

18.  Italian Sausage: A
popular pizza topping
consisting or pork
flavoured with garlic
and fennel. In the
USA, Italian sausage
is a style of pork
sausage which is
noted for its
seasoning of fennel
and anise, containing
at least 85% meat,
which can be no more
than 35% fat.

19. Casings
 Sausage starts with a ground meat mixed
with spices and seasonings and some
curing salts, such as nitrates, and are
forced or packed into casings or sacs.
 Just like wine is matured, sausages and
cold meat are left to mature and ripen to
develop the flavour.
 Casings give the sausage its desired size,
shape, and also characteristic colour.

20. Types of Casings
There are two types of casings:
 Natural Casings: As the name suggests, these
casings are obtained naturally from animals.
Usually, the small and large intestines of animals
are used for casings. The size of the casings
varies between 16 mm and 127 mm in
diameter.
 Man-made Casings: These casings are
artificially made and are preferred over natural
casings, as they offer better quality control
because of the standard sizes and shapes. Some
man-made casings are edible and some are non
edible.

21. Types of Filling
The various elements used to make sausages
include:
 Meat: The main ingredient of any sausage is
meat. Usually pork is the most preferred meat
due to its neutral flavor and colour, but meat
such as lamb, beef, chicken and game can be
used.
 Fats: As a ratio, 25% of fat is used in forcemeat
to prepare stuffing for sausages and other
charcuterie products. The fat commonly used in
sausage making is taken from the jowl of the pig
or from the back of the pig, which is commonly
known as fatback. Fat provides the richness and
smoothness to the sausages.

22.  Seasoning and Cure Mixes: If there is no
seasoning and flavour in the sausage, the
food will taste bland and will not be favored
and relished by people. Apart from salt,
various other seasonings, such as dried
onion, garlic, celery, are mixed to give subtle
flavours to the meat.
It is important to cure the sausages,
especially the ones that would be dried or
cold smoked. The term curing refers to
treating the sausage meat with chemical
salts. The three main curing agents used in
charcuterie are Sodium Chloride(common
Salt), Sodium Nitrite, and Sodium
Nitrate.

23.  Binding Agent: While preparing the mix
for sausages, it is important to bind the
meat together. A protein in the meat
called Myosin helps to naturally bind the
meat together. In many cases, products
such as soy proteins, milk powder, and
corn syrup solids also help to bind the
meat together and improve the flavour as
well. Other traditional binding agents
commonly used are eggs and cream, or
mixture of starches also known as
Panada.

24.  Sweeteners: Sweeteners, such as honey,
corn syrup, etc. play a major role in
sausage making than just flavouring the
mix. They serve as food to the necessary
bacteria to thrive in the meat, which in
turn develops the mellow flavours.
Sweeteners also help to promote
browning in Charcuterie products.

25. Tools & Equipment used in
Sausage Making
 Brine Pump or
Spray Pump: It is
used for injecting
brine solution in the
meat, so that curing
can be achieved
evenly.
 Hanging Sticks:
These metal sticks are
usually made of steel
and are used for
hanging meat and
sausages in the
smoking machine.

26.  Hog Rings: These
are special metal
crimps that are used
to seal both the ends
of large sausages.
 Hog Ring Clipper: It
is a small tool that
has nose clips which
help to seal the hog
rings onto the ends of
a large sausage.

27.  Hydrometer: This is
a small equipment
with a delicate glass
that measures the %
of salt in a solution.
 Meat Tumbler: It
tumbles the meat
and helps to
massage leading to
the development of
myosin.

28.  Sausage Stuffer:
This equipment works
on hydraulic principle
and forces the
stuffing mixture into
small tubes of various
diameters to fill the
casings.
 Smoking Machines:
This machine is used
for both hot and cold
smoking at desired
pressure and
temperature control.