Chapter 1 Equipment Selection, Sanitary Care, and Usage

Topics Covered Equipment guidelines Sanitation in sausage making Professional tools

Guidelines Ensure equipment is in excellent condition Evaluate and check machines before use Consider functionality and safety features –Sharpen grinder plates and knives –Check cords and plugs for damage Store equipment in safe and clean environment

Guidelines (cont’d.) Meat grinder with a set of grinding plates and knife Food processor with bowl, lid and cutting knife

Sanitation in Sausage Making Before starting fabrication process: –Make sure equipment is clean Avoid cross-contamination –Chill machine parts for better quality Refrigerator, freezer, or ice water Practice the 3 Cs: –Keep it clean –Keep it covered –Keep it cold

Sanitation in Sausage Making (cont’d.) Precautions for preventing contamination: –Wash and rinse work station surface –Keep meats and meat products under 40° Properly wrap them when stored –Wash and sanitize food contact surfaces between handling of different foods –Cook or poach all products to internal temperature of 160°F–165°F

Sanitation in Sausage Making (cont’d.) Botulism: –Food poisoning caused by neurotoxin Produced by amoebic spore Crostridium botulinum Heat resistant Bacteria can survive in meat under these conditions: –Exposure to air –Exposure to incorrect temperature –Prolonged holding time in fresh state

Sanitation in Sausage Making (cont’d.) Prevention of botulism contamination: –Cold smoking: Add nitrates to items that are cold smoked and not cooked for a long period –Vacuum packing: Use cry o vac for any foods held for a period of time

Sanitation in Sausage Making (cont’d.) Salmonella: –About 1800 known types –Warm-blooded animals host microorganisms in intestinal tracts Salt and acidity in prepared meat products keep down growth rate

Sanitation in Sausage Making (cont’d.) E. coli: –Serious pathogen –In cattle intestinal tract –Transferred through contact with raw ground beef –Precautions: Avoid cross-contamination Cook ground beef products thoroughly

Sanitation in Sausage Making (cont’d.) Trichinosis: –Small worm in muscles of infected animals and humans Completes life cycle in one host –Contaminated by ingesting larvae in raw or partially cooked meat products Larvae encysted in striated muscle tissue –Prevention: Cook fresh pork properly: expose parasites to 138°F for 10 minutes

Sanitation in Sausage Making (cont’d.) Trichinosis (cont’d.): –Options for pork products not cooked to this temperature: Sausages must contain 3 1/2 percent or more salt and held in dry room according to diameter guidelines For 3/4-in. thick or less, use pork that has been frozen and certified according to guidelines

Professional Tools Hand tools: –Boning knife: Trim and remove bones and other tissues –Santoku knife (or 9" or 7" French knife): Cube, chop, slice, and dice –Paring knife with a 4"-straightedged blade: Slice, peel, and shape –Spatula: Spread, press, and smooth forcemeats

Professional Tools (cont’d.) Hand tools (cont’d.): –Sharpening steel: Knife sharpener, electric sharpener, or a Stein or porcelain cocotte –Two-prong fork: Lift and check for tenderness

Left to right: Ceramic bowl, straight edge paring knife, boning knife, santoku knife, slicer, two prong fork, top honing steel, electric sharpener Sharpening boning knife on ceramic bowl

Professional Tools (cont’d.) Cutting board: –Wooden boards do not slide –Safer than plastic Sanitize before and during preparation Determine size based on counter space

Professional Tools (cont’d.) Additional equipment: –Bowls of different sizes –1/2 size hotel pans/shaving dishes –Poaching pots –Hand or digital thermometer –Heavy round wood disk Hand thermometer, digital thermometer

Professional Tools (cont’d.) Additional equipment (cont’d.): –Skimmer –Spider –Ladles –Scale –Brine tester Left to right: Ruler, sausage fork, spider, pricker, hand sieve, small strainer ladle, natural hair brush, plastic scrappers

Professional Tools (cont’d.) Additional equipment (cont’d.): –Brine pump –Plastic brining or curing containers with lids –Sausage prick Electric slicer

Professional Tools (cont’d.) Sausage stuffer with tubes

Summary This chapter reviewed: –Types of machinery and utensils needed in sausage making How to use and care for them –Various contamination agents unhealthy for human consumption How to prevent their occurrence –The 3Cs: Keep it cold; keep it clean; keep it covered