I am trying to see if there is any credence to the claims that sausage
contains "everything but the oink", using some of my favorite types
as guinea pigs.

Given eight types of sausage:
- Bratwurst
- Beef franks
- Kielbasa
- Breakfast sausage
- Hot links
- Italian sausage
- Knockwurst
- Pepperoni

What is the typical composition of each of these sausages in terms of
"fringe meat" (such as hearts, tongue, head cheese, etc) and organs
(liver,  kidney, lymph nodes, eyes, snout, lung, etc)?  The only thing
I have seen documented is that chorizo contains lymph nodes and salivary
glands.  This is actually spelled out on the packaging at the supermarket.

The sites I have found fall short.  Some recipes exist at
http://home.att.net/~g.m.fowler/frame/Sausage1.htm but these appear
to be creative/homebrew variations and do not necessarily follow
traditional butcher or meat processing plant methods.  I have also
found a great sausage site -- http://www.foodsubs.com/MeatcureSausage.html
but it barely goes into any detail beyond the general meat type.

The ideal response will outline the ingredients for a typical store-bought
sample (such as "X Sausage contains about 60% beef round, about 30% liver,
10% kidney, and X, Y, and Z spices").  Please do not reply with general
descriptions such as "X Sausage is made up of veal cuts", etc.

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Request for Question Clarification by techtor-ga on 09 Jul 2003 09:29 PDT

I haven't found yet an actual survey of composition of sausages, but I
have found pages mentioning standards... for example, how much
percentage of a substance should be in a type of sausage, though it
doesn't know what "hidden stuff" would be put in there (fat, organ
parts, etc.). I suppose you are looking for more of the hidden stuff.

---

Clarification of Question by powderedtoastman-ga on 09 Jul 2003 11:30 PDT

To respond to your clarification request -- yes I'm looking for
something in terms of specific organs and tissues, and specific meat
cuts.  One item that would be acceptable is a breakdown of organs and
tissues specifying what kind of end products and foods (including
sausage and their basic types) that they go into... i.e. the use of a
whole hog bit by bit.  Seems this would be readily available on the
Internet but I haven't seen such a thing.

Greetings PowderedToastman:

I have located a document that may be of interest to you.  It has a
tad of the info you seek regarding ratios and percentages and it is
located at http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:TQt5_wj2rvAJ:www.fsis.usda.gov/OFO/HRDS/SLAUGH/DepProce/fresh%2520sausage.pdf+percentage+of+ingredients+in+bratwurst&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I'm certain another Researcher will locate the information and I
wanted to share what I found in a quick search.

Best regards,
journalist-ga

Does this count as 'hidden stuff'?

Horse meat found in salami
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2963554.stm

Food Standards Agency: Horse and Donkey Content of Salamis
http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/news/pressreleases/donkeypress

While in college my government professor quoted someone as saying,
"there are two things you don't want to see being made- your laws and
your sausages"

Even without seeing the process, I'd be afraid to learn the results of
your research!