Try This Expert Tip To Find Your Ideal Flavor When Using Store-Bought Sausage Seasoning

Store-bought sausage seasoning is an awesome hassle-free to way to lend sausage meat some chutzpah before shaping it into links. A mix of anything from paprika and garlic powder to dried bell pepper and herbs, this all-in-one spice blend comes in an array of varieties. And according to expert Hunter Shoults, the plant manager at Bear Creek Smokehouse, in charge of production of all meats, there's one brilliant tip to finding your ideal flavor — splitting your single batch of sausage meat into a trio of sub-divisions to experiment with salt and seasonings. 

"Store-bought sausage seasoning blends are typically tested, tried, and true, and favorable to the majority of the public," explains Shoults. "One idea is to break your batch of homemade sausage down into three separate 'sub-batches.' In batch A, do the standard seasoning blend as is, at the specified amount (or 2% of the meat block). In batch B, you may add some additional salt. Record this amount. If it's favorable in the taste testing, you will be glad the amount is recorded. In batch C, maybe you add some additional garlic pepper or black pepper."

This winning technique means you can use a single batch of sausage meat to experiment with, rather than making an entire recipe's worth in one go and later deciding you don't like the flavor. It's also dead easy to compare your two sub-batches to your control group and make changes from there.

Once you've prepped your sub-batches of sausage consider frying a small amount of each one in a skillet (like a mini burger patty) to double check the seasonings before filling your sausage casings using a sausage machine. While all this may seem laborious at first glance, it's worth the effort for the amount of control you get over the final result. "Making sausage at home isn't an exact science, but with some time and determination, you can come up with that signature taste that rocks the block," explains Shoults (who is also the son of celebrity chef Robbie Shoults, third-generation Owner of Bear Creek Smokehouse and Owner of Marshall Mercantile and High Horse 1898). This is because you get to select the meat-to-fat ratio that suits your palate, manage the texture of the grind, and create the right blend of seasonings. 

Conversely, you can't alter the salt content of supermarket sausages and neither can you adjust their sizes and shapes. Many cheaper varieties also contain bulking agents and fillers, such as rusk or soya, as well as additives like anti-caking agent. Mixing your own blend with distinctive seasonings takes the same amount of effort as making a meatloaf or burger blend. The part that takes the most legwork is grinding the fat and meat together so they bind to each other (known as emulsification), and eventually stuffing the casings (which, in actual fact, can be lots of fun).