Pork meat for sausages

As almost all of our few hundred original Polish sausage recipes ask for pork meat grade I, II, III or IV we have faced a little problem. We could have substituted pork grades with names like ham, butt or picnic or stick to more detailed pork classification. We have decided to bring over the widely used classification of pork meat in Poland and this way you will know better which meats can be used for which products, merely looking at the photograph.. It will also help you immensely when shopping for better deals at large supermarkets. Next time when trimming pork chops, loins or hams for roasting, save all those little meat pieces and put them into a freezer. You can use them to make sausages at the later date.

From a sausage making point of view what is most needed is the fat content in a particular meat. Almost all ground meat sold in supermarkets has a fat content listed on the label and by referring to the table below, one can choose meat correctly and wisely.

	Grade I, no bone, lean, no tendons. Fat between muscles.up to 2 mm. No more than 15 % fat
	Grade II A, no bone, medium fat , some tendons. Fat between muscles up to 10 mm . No more than 30 % fat. Grade II B, no bone, some tendons. Fat between muscles up to 10 mm. No more than 45 % fat.
	Grade III, lean or medium lean, with tendons. No more than 25 % fat.
no picture, yet.	Grade IV, no bone, traces of blood, tendons, glands.No more than 36 % fat.Other criteria not defined.
	Bacon
	Jowl fat
	Back fat I
	Back fat II