Lesson 1Stuffing and casing selection: portioning accuracy, casing types (collagen, fibrous, natural), casing prep and seam integrityWe cover filling and picking skins for sausages. Talks portion rightness, collagen, tough, natural skins, prep, linking, and seam checks to stop bursts, air, leaks.
Selection of collagen, fibrous, and natural casingsCasing soaking, flushing, and handling hygienePortioning accuracy and stuffer calibrationLinking, clipping, and loop formationSeam integrity checks and defect controlLesson 2Grinding and particle size control: grinder settings, follower plates, temperature control, and cross-contamination avoidanceLooks at grinding and bit size for sausage mix. Covers grinder pick, plates knives, temp handle, stop smear, and no mix-up between meats.
Grinder capacity, knives, and plate selectionTarget particle sizes for sausage stylesTemperature control to prevent fat smearSanitary changeover between meat batchesMetal-to-metal contact and wear checksLesson 3Final vacuum packaging steps: vacuum levels, vacuum chamber operation, gas purge considerations if used, seal formation and integrity checksDescribes last vacuum pack for sausages, vacuum strength, chamber work, gas clear if any, seal make. Stress on pack checks, leak test, clean, label before cold keep.
Vacuum level selection and pump performanceChamber loading, cycle setup, and timingGas purge options and residual oxygen limitsSeal bar setup, width, and temperatureSeal inspection, leak tests, and reworkLesson 4Reception, storage, and trimming: objectives, equipment, contamination control, and yield optimizationCovers taking meat and extras, cold store, trim ways, clean handle. Stress no bugs, right gear, max yield by good cuts, less waste.
Raw material receiving checks and documentationChilled storage temperatures and time limitsHygienic trimming methods and tool sanitationTrimming specs for fat, sinew, and defectsYield calculation and loss minimizationLesson 5Mixing and massaging/emulsifying: protein extraction principles, salt and phosphate function, sequence of ingredient addition, temperature control to prevent protein denaturationLooks at mixing, rub, smooth sausage mix. Explains protein pull, salt phosphate jobs, add order, tight temp to stop over-pull, fat split, wreck.
Myofibrillar protein extraction principlesSalt, phosphates, and functional ingredientsSequence of ingredient and ice additionMixer speed, time, and vacuum mixingTemperature limits to prevent denaturationLesson 6Thermal treatment options and parameters: scalding, cooking to internal core temperature targets, pasteurization vs full cook, and recommended core temperatures for beef sausagesDetails heat ways for sausages, scald, cook to core temps, pasteurise vs full, time-temp mixes, kill power, feel hits, beef guides.
Scalding conditions and surface decontaminationTime–temperature profiles for cookingPasteurization versus full cook decisionsCore temperature targets for beef sausagesVerification of thermal process lethalityLesson 7Finished product cold storage and dispatch: storage temperature targets, FIFO, pallet and load management for supermarket distributionExplains done goods cold keep and send for shops. Temp targets, wet, first-in-first-out, pallets, load safe, load ways for safety, shelf life.
Cold room temperature and humidity targetsFIFO and stock rotation documentationPallet configuration and wrapping methodsTruck pre-cooling and loading sequenceTemperature monitoring during transportLesson 8Cooling and chilling processes: cooling curves, blast chilling, core cooling times to reach safe storage temperatures, cold-hot transfer controlsLooks at cool chill of meat and filled sausages, cool paths, blast chill, core temps. Quick through danger, air flow, load ways, watch hot-cold moves.
Cooling curve interpretation and validationBlast chiller settings and loading patternsCore temperature targets and probe useControl of cold-hot transfers between roomsRecording and verification of chilling dataLesson 9Temporary storage, metal detection/X-ray, trimming of defects, and batch traceabilityHandles short store between steps, metal or X-ray check, trim faults, batch track. Stress hold apart, reject rules, good records.
Time and temperature limits for interim storageMetal detector and X-ray sensitivity settingsDefect trimming standards and rework rulesBatch coding, labels, and data captureHandling of nonconforming or held product
