Christine Dabney wrote:

> On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:03:16 -0700, Reg > wrote:
>
> Power
>
>>and sharp blades are key to emulsifying meats.
>>
>>I use a 5-4-3 mix of lean, fat, and water, which is pretty
>>standard. I cube the lean, mix in the cure, run it through
>>the grinder, then grind the fat separately. Both get completely
>>rechilled.
>>
>>Mix the lean and most of the ice and spin it in la machine.
>>Keep spinning and adding in more ice and the temp will drop. It
>>will go below 30 F, then begin to climb. When it hits 40 F add
>>in the fat and keep spinning. At 50 F add the nonfat powdered
>>milk. Mix it mercilessly now scraping down the bowl until it's
>>completely smooth, you have a light, spongy texture, and
>>the temp hits about 58 F.
>
>
> I had heard via the book Charcuterie and via eGullet that keeping
> things COLD, COLD, COLD was one of the most important things involved.
> Christine

Normally, yes.

Typically in sausage making you don't want the fat and lean to
mix. You want them to stay in discrete, separate pieces. Keeping
the temperature low ensures that the fat stays hard, doesn't
smear, and won't start to combine with the lean.

For certain types of products such as bologna and mortadella, however,
you want the opposite to happen. You want the fat and lean to combine
completely into a smooth emulsion with no separation of fat and lean.
Hence the term "emulsified" sausages. Emulsification is done in part
by raising the temperature above a certain level.

The human palate kind of wants it one way or the other, i.e.
completely separate or completely mixed, but not somewhere
in between.

--
Reg