METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A DRY CHEESE SAUSAGE AND THE RESULTING SAUSAGE.

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a dry cheese sausage comprising a preliminary step called salting or forming the mixture, consisting of mixing at least two types of pork with spices and nitrite salt or similar and letting this mixture rest for several hours in a cold room at about 3°, then a step consisting of adding the cheese to said mixture and chopping and kneading this new mixture to obtain a homogeneous preparation which is packed into a mold to give the sausage thus obtained the desired final shape, followed by a step consisting of unmolding the sausage itself which is left to rest for several hours in a cold room at about 3°, followed by a step called drying consisting of placing the sausage in a room, for example a cellar, relatively cool and ventilated between 12° and 15° with a determined humidity level and for a determined time.This process is characterized by the fact that the added cheese is very young Neufchâtel, matured for approximately ten days, and therefore very white, in a quantity of between 13% and 16% by weight of the mixture, and preferably between 13.5% and 15% by weight of the mixture. It is particularly applicable to the charcuterie sector.

Description

Title of the invention: METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A DRY SAUSAGE WITH CHEESE AND SAUSAGE THUS OBTAINED. Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a novel dry cheese sausage and to the novel cheese sausage obtained by this method.

[0002] It relates more particularly to a process for manufacturing a dry cheese sausage called "Neufchâtel". State of the prior art

[0003] Sausage is a charcuterie made from one or more minced meats and seasoned with all kinds of spices according to local traditions. It can be dry or cooked.

[0004] Many French regions, producing both dry sausage and cheese, have taken the initiative to produce and market a mixture of these two products.

[0005] This is how we can find a Roquefort sausage in Aveyron, a Bleu d'Auvergne sausage in Cantal and Puy-de-Dôme, a Saint-Nectaire sausage in the same Cantal / Puy-de-Dôme regions, a Basque sausage with sheep's cheese, a Beaufort sausage in Savoie, a Comté sausage in Jura and a Camembert sausage in Lower Normandy, this list being in no way exhaustive.

[0006] Among these cheese sausages, the cheese component is obtained with sheep's milk - for example, Roquefort and Basque cheese -, with goat's milk for goat's cheese sausage, and the others are obtained with cow's milk, generally raw.

[0007] For the latter, the quantity of cheese mixed with the minced meat(s) which constitutes the base of the sausage is between 2.5% and 7% so that the mixture of this minced meat(s) with the cheese is sufficiently consistent and also gives off an odor reminiscent of the incorporated cheese, therefore suitable for tasting by the consumer.

[0008] The meat constituting the base of cheese sausage is sometimes beef, but most often pork and more precisely a mixture of lean pork and fatty pork.

[0009] We also know that Neufchâtel is a cheese made in Upper Normandy in the Bray region, and more specifically in the thirty kilometers around Neufchâtel-en-Bray.

[0010] Benefiting from a controlled designation of origin since 1969, Neufchâtel is a very old cheese, and very probably the oldest of Norman cheeses since some writings dating from 1035 mention its production. At the very least, official attestations mention its production since 1543.

[0011] Notwithstanding this antiquity, and notwithstanding the fact that it is made from raw milk of cow and that Upper Normandy is one of the regions of France where the largest number of herds of such animals graze, a dry sausage containing Neufchâtel has never been marketed because, at the rates expressed above regarding the preparation of the many other dry sausages containing a cheese similar to Neufchâtel, and in particular Camembert, the manufacture of such a sausage results in a product which does not give off the aroma so characteristic of Neufchâtel, which turns out to be without any particular flavor, and therefore results in a sausage which does not arouse appetite. Presentation of the invention

[0012] The present invention therefore has as its first object to propose a method for manufacturing a new dry cheese sausage, this time based on Neufchâtel, which has both the desired flavor and aroma.

[0013] According to the invention, this method of manufacturing a dry sausage with cheese is of the type comprising a preliminary step called salting or forming the mixture, consisting of mixing at least two pork meats, minced or cut into coarse pieces, with spices and nitrite salt or the like and leaving this mixture or mixture to rest for several hours in a cold room at approximately 3°, then a step consisting of adding the cheese to said mixture and chopping and then kneading this new assembly in order to obtain a homogeneous preparation which is packed in a mold in order to put the sausage thus obtained in the desired final shape, followed by a step consisting of removing the sausage itself from the mold which is left to rest for several hours in a cold room at approximately 3°, followed by a step called drying consisting of placing the sausage in a room, for example a cellar,relatively fresh and airy between 12° and 15° with a determined humidity and for a determined time, characterized in that the cheese added is very young Neufchâtel, matured for approximately ten days, therefore very white, in a quantity between 13% and 16% by weight of the weight of the mixture, and preferably between 13.5% and 15% by weight of the weight of the mixture.

[0014] The method according to the invention may also have one or more of the following characteristics, which may be combined with each other.

[0015] Thus, the addition of Neufchâtel will advantageously be close to 15% of the weight of the scrum.

[0016] In a preferred method of preparation, the pork meats constituting by weight the bulk of the mixture are composed of two lean pork meats and one meat fatty pork, in the proportion of 95% to 97% of the weight of the mixture.

[0017] In this case, the fatty pork is hard fat, also called fatty bacon or back bacon, in the proportion of 8% to 21% of the weight of the mixture.

[0018] Advantageously, the two lean pork meats are chosen from the shoulder and the breast, in the proportion of 65% to 70% for the shoulder and respectively 9% to 10% for the breast, relative to the weight of the mixture.

[0019] Preferably, the spices will come from a grill seasoning, without nitrates or coloring.

[0020] Advantageously, each of the two rest periods in the cold room which surround the addition of Neufchâtel to the mixture extends over approximately 24 hours.

[0021] Still advantageously, between the second resting phase and the so-called drying stage, the sausage is sprinkled with food talc in order to form the flower of the sausage.

[0022] According to a preferred method of preparation, during the drying step, the humidity is maintained at approximately 85% humidity.

[0023] As for the drying stage, it can last four to five weeks.

[0024] Obviously, the second object of the present invention is a dry cheese sausage called Neufchâtel obtained by implementing the process meeting any one of the aforementioned remarkable characteristics. Description of Preferred Embodiments

[0025] The method for manufacturing dry sausage according to the invention comprises preliminary steps known from any sausage manufacturing process, namely a first step called salting or forming the mixture consisting of thoroughly mixing, by hand or using a kneader like those used by bakers, at least two pork meats, previously minced with a 6 to 8 mm grid or cut into coarse pieces, with spices and nitrite salt or the like, followed by a step where this mixture is left to rest for approximately 24 hours in a cold room at approximately 3°.

[0026] This mixture must be very homogeneous between the fatty and lean meats, in order to obtain at the same time a good dispersion of the spices.

[0027] After this resting phase, the cheese called Neufchâtel is added to the mixture, this new mixture is chopped using a smaller mesh grid, approximately 4 mm, and this new mixture is kneaded by hand or with an electric appliance, until a perfectly homogeneous ball of material is obtained, and finally this material is packed into a mold in order to put the sausage thus obtained in the desired final shape, namely for example a heart, a square, a circle or a brick.

[0028] We know that the Neufchâtel added in the previous step is a lactic cheese made from raw cow's milk, with a soft texture and a bloomy rind.

[0029] It generally comprises between 45% and 50% fat.

[0030] The Neufchâtel chosen in the context of the present invention has preferably been refined for about ten days, and more precisely until a white film appears on the outside of the cheese. The Neufchâtel thus added is very young, very white.

[0031] It should be noted that its white film, which is completely edible, is due to a particular strain of mold, penicillium, characteristic of Neufchâtel.

[0032] The sausage thus shaped is then removed from the mold and left to rest in a cold room at around 3° for around 24 hours, for example simply placed on a rack.

[0033] Advantageously, after removing the sausages from the mold and leaving them to rest in a cold room for 24 hours, food grade talc is added all around them to form the flower of the sausage.

[0034] The second resting phase mentioned above is followed by a so-called drying stage consisting of placing the sausage in a room, for example a cellar, relatively cool and ventilated, between 12° and 15°, with a humidity maintained at approximately 85% and a drying time of approximately 4 to 5 weeks. During this drying stage, the sausage loses approximately a third of its weight, that is to say that it is advisable to allow between 300 and 330 g of material to obtain a finished product, suitable for consumption, weighing between 200 and 220 g. It is also during this drying stage that the sausage develops its aromas and takes on its final color, its natural flower, which is most often of an irregular color.

[0035] According to the main characteristic of the invention, the quantity of Neufchâtel added to the mixture is between 13% and 16% by weight of said mixture and, preferably, between 13.5% and 15% by weight of the weight of the mixture and, even more preferably, close to 15%. Below 13% by weight, the sausage obtained has little taste and above 16% by weight, the meat putrefies and decomposes.

[0036] Essentially, the mixture consists of two lean pork meats and one fatty pork meat in the proportion of 95% to 97% of the weight of the mixture and, even more preferably, close to 15%.

[0037] The remaining 3 to 5% consists of spices, for example from a grill seasoning and a nitrite salt or the like if, hypothetically, nitrite salt were to become prohibited for consumption. Since nitrite salt is incorporated for its antioxidant properties, both as a food preservative and as a color preservative, it could, for example, in the above-mentioned hypothesis, be replaced by a mixture of rosemary, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and turmeric, all of these spices having antioxidant activities.

[0038] The pork meats chosen are advantageously hard fat for the fatty pork meat, in the proportion of 8% to 21% of the weight of the mixture, and shoulder and breast for the two lean pork meats.

[0039] The shoulder is introduced in the proportion of 65% to 70% relative to the weight of the scrum and the breast is incorporated in the proportion of 9% to 10% still relative to the weight of the scrum.

[0040] Some examples of preparations are given below, in quantities chosen so that a piece of Neufchâtel sausage weighs after drying approximately 200 to 210 g, the starting mass made up of the mixture and the cheese then being approximately 300 g.

[0041] Example 1: -160 to 200 g of boneless, defatted, de-nerved and rindless pork shoulder; - 20 to 40 g of pork belly; - 30 to 60 g of hard fat; - 5 to 15 g of seasoning; - 1 to 4 g of nitrite salt; - 30 to 50 g of Neufchâtel.

[0042] Example 2 where, more advantageously, the preparation comprises: - 175 to 180 g of pork shoulder; - 25 to 30 g of pork belly; - 50 to 55 g of hard fat; - 8 to 10 g of seasoning; - 2 to 3 g of nitrite salt; - 35 to 40 g of Neufchâtel.

[0043] Example 3 where, even more ideally, the preparation would include in total: - 175.30 g of pork shoulder; - 25 g of pork belly; - 50.10 g of hard fat; - 8.10 g of seasoning; - 2.5 g of nitrite salt; - 39 g of Neufchâtel, or 67.16% pork shoulder, 9.58% pork belly, 19.20% hard fat, 3.10% seasoning and respectively 0.96% nitrite salt to constitute the mixture, then the addition of 14.94% Neufchâtel relative to the weight of the mixture thus prepared.

Claims

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a dry cheese sausage comprising a preliminary step called salting or forming the mixture, consisting of mixing at least two pork meats, minced or cut into coarse pieces, with spices and nitrite salt or the like and leaving this mixture or mixture to rest for several hours in a cold room at approximately 3°, then a step consisting of adding the cheese to said mixture and chopping and then kneading this new mixture in order to obtain a homogeneous preparation which is packed in a mold in order to put the sausage thus obtained in the desired final shape, followed by a step consisting of removing the sausage itself from the mold which is left to rest for several hours in a cold room at approximately 3°, followed by a step called drying consisting of placing the sausage in a room, for example a cellar, relatively cool and ventilated between 12° and 15° with a determined humidity and for a determined time,characterized in that the added cheese is very young Neufchâtel, matured for approximately ten days, therefore very white, in a quantity of between 13% and 16% by weight of the weight of the mixture, and preferably between 13.5% and 15% by weight of the weight of the mixture.,

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the pork meats constituting by weight the majority of the mixture consist of two lean pork meats and one fatty pork meat, in the proportion of 95% to 97% of the weight of the mixture.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the fatty pork meat is hard fat, also called fatty bacon or back bacon, in the proportion of 8% to 21% of the weight of the mixture.

4. Method according to any one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the two lean pork meats are chosen from the shoulder and the breast, in the proportion of 65% to 70% for the shoulder and respectively 9% to 10% for the breast, relative to the weight of the mixture.

5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the spices come from a seasoning for grilling, without nitrate or coloring.

6. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that each of the two resting times in the cold room which surround the addition of Neufchâtel to the mixture extends over approximately 24 hours.

7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, between the second resting phase and the so-called drying step, the sausage is sprinkled with food talc in order to form the flower of the sausage.

8. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, during the drying step, the humidity is maintained at approximately 85% humidity.

9. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the drying step extends over four to five weeks.

10. Dry cheese sausage called Neufchâtel, characterized in that it is obtained by the process according to any one of claims 1 to 9 above.