Siegi's

[Conan71]

Someone mentioned Siegi's in another thread.  I have checked their web site and never found the info I wanted.  Does anyone know if Siegi's sausage is preservative-free?  I try to eat as additive-free as possible and was disappointed when I saw that even Lovera's Italian sausage has preservatives.  If they would just pack it frozen there would be no need for preservatives in the first place.

[Red Arrow]

I looked at the frozen selection at Siegi's a month or so ago.  There were some ingredients that didn't seem necessary but they didn't have a list of stuff as big as a novel.  I don't know about the ones in the fresh meat section.  Taste good though.  I got a few Siegi's burgers (bratwurst patties) a couple of weeks ago.  Fresh sliced like deli meat.

[RecycleMichael]

I try to eat as additive-free as possible and was disappointed when I saw that even Lovera's Italian sausage has preservatives.  If they would just pack it frozen there would be no need for preservatives in the first place.

As your on-line doctor, I recommend preservatives.

What are our bodies but meat? What do preservatives do to meat? They prevent the growth of bacteria. What are germs but bacteria?

Thus, preservatives prevent germs.

Stay healthy, eat a frozen pizza, and call me in the morning.

[Red Arrow]

As your on-line doctor, I recommend preservatives.
What are our bodies but meat? What do preservatives do to meat? They prevent the growth of bacteria. What are germs but bacteria?
Thus, preservatives prevent germs.
Stay healthy, eat a frozen pizza, and call me in the morning.

I need to live dangerously (once in a while).

[dbacks fan]

As your on-line doctor, I recommend preservatives.

Does that include blended Canadian whisky?

[Red Arrow]

Yummy....

Johnsonville Brats:
•   Ingredients:
Pork, water, corn syrup and less than 2% of the following: salt, dextrose, monosodium glutamate, flavorings, BHA, propyl gallate, citric acid.

Johnsonville "Beddar with Cheddar"
•   Ingredients:
Pork, water, pasteurized process cheddar cheese(cheddar cheese (milk cheese culture, salt, enzymes), water, milkfat, sodium phosphate, salt, sorbic acid, apo-carotenal) and 2% or less of the following: salt, corn syrup, potassium lactate, sugar, monosodium glutamate, sodium diacetate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, natural and artificial flavors, collagen casing.

Jimmy Dean fully cooked Original Pork Sausage Links
o   INGREDIENTS: PORK, WATER, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF THE FOLLOWING: SODIUM LACTATE, SALT, DEXTROSE, SPICES, SUGAR, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SODIUM DIACETATE, FLAVORINGS, CARAMEL COLOR, BEEF COLLAGEN CASINGS.

[Gaspar]

Someone mentioned Siegi's in another thread.  I have checked their web site and never found the info I wanted.  Does anyone know if Siegi's sausage is preservative-free?  I try to eat as additive-free as possible and was disappointed when I saw that even Lovera's Italian sausage has preservatives.  If they would just pack it frozen there would be no need for preservatives in the first place.

What preservatives are you trying to avoid.  "Preservatives" is a very general term used for a broad spectrum of ingredients especially when it comes to "preserved meats."

[Conan71]

What preservatives are you trying to avoid.  "Preservatives" is a very general term used for a broad spectrum of ingredients especially when it comes to "preserved meats."

As many as possible.  I've become an additive phobe.

As it relates to sausage, primarily BHA and/or BHT. 

FMC and I use as many whole ingredients as possible.  We make our own salad dressings and sauces for this reason.  If I ever get around to buying a Kitchen Aid mixer, I'll get the grinder and sausage attachment and make my own.

I simply feel a lot better since I cut out foods that contain a lot of additives I have trouble pronouncing and spelling.  I have no problem with natural preservatives like salt a smoke though   I sleep better, my allergies are tons better, and that shift alone contributed to significant weight loss last year.  I still have one nagging issue and it's probably the worst of all: diet soda.

[Gaspar]

As many as possible.  I've become an additive phobe.

As it relates to sausage, primarily BHA and/or BHT. 

FMC and I use as many whole ingredients as possible.  We make our own salad dressings and sauces for this reason.  If I ever get around to buying a Kitchen Aid mixer, I'll get the grinder and sausage attachment and make my own.

I simply feel a lot better since I cut out foods that contain a lot of additives I have trouble pronouncing and spelling.  I have no problem with natural preservatives like salt a smoke though   I sleep better, my allergies are tons better, and that shift alone contributed to significant weight loss last year.  I still have one nagging issue and it's probably the worst of all: diet soda.

Cool.

Your primary preservative for meats is going to be neutralized lactic acid salts.  Above you see Sodium Lactate in some of Red's ingredients, there are other lactic acid salts used too.  While these are considered "additives" or "preservatives" they are not some strange chemical.  It occurs naturally in many of the products you eat and drink.

The great thing about it is that it kills all kinds of critters, and is 100% natural.  In fact, you cannot NOT get Sodium Lactate in the food that you eat, or the beer you drink .

[Red Arrow]

I looked up a few.  Some of the listed chemicals are flavor enhancers and coloring.  Why not use good ingredients to start?  

Rancid food is probaby a LOT worse than small doses of these chemicals for most of us.  As far as I know I don't have any major problems with any of these in small doses but my sister has some really bad problems with MSG and several other chemicals commonly found in prepared food.  She almost cannot go to a restaurant.  If given a choice, I will choose less chemicals but so far I don't have to religiously avoid them.

A few:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_phosphates

Oral sodium phosphates for bowel preparation for colonoscopy may in some individuals carry a risk of kidney injury under the form of phosphate nephropathy.


http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2009/09/10/10-things-to-know-about-propyl-gallate/
7. Other side effect of consumption are stomach and skin irritability, as well as allergic reactions that impact breathing. It may also cause kidney and liver problems.
9. In some cases, to improve its efficacy, propyl gallate is used in conjunction with 2 other preservatives – BHA and BHT – which are also suspect as carcinogenic.
10. Although the FDA considers propyl gallate safe, in other countries it is either banned or very limited in use.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/foodcookingchemistry/a/bha-bht-preservatives.htm
Are BHA and BHT safe?
Both BHA and BHT have undergone the additive application and review process required by the US Food and Drug Administration. However, the same chemical properties which make BHA and BHT excellent preservatives may also be implicated in health effects. The oxidative characteristics and/or metabolites of BHA and BHT may contribute to carcinogenicity or tumorigenicity; however the same reactions may combat oxidative stress. There is evidence that certain persons may have difficulty metabolizing BHA and BHT, resulting in health and behavior changes. BHA and BHT may have antiviral and antimicrobial activities. Research is underway concerning the use of BHT in the treatment of herpes simplex and AIDS.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_nitrite
Sodium nitrite, with chemical formula NaNO2, is used as a color fixative and preservative in meats and fish. When pure, it is a white to slight yellowish crystalline powder. It is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic. It is also slowly oxidized by oxygen in the air to sodium nitrate, NaNO3.
Sodium nitrite is also used in the manufacture of diazo dyes, nitroso compounds, and other organic compounds; in dyeing and printing textile fabrics and bleaching fibers; in photography; as a laboratory reagent and a corrosion inhibitor; in metal coatings for phosphatizing and detinning; and in the manufacture of rubber chemicals. It may also be used as an electrolyte in electrochemical grinding manufacturing processes, typically diluted to about 10% concentration in water. Sodium nitrite also has been used in human and veterinary medicine as a vasodilator, a bronchodilator, and an antidote for cyanide poisoning.

[Gaspar]

Funny story. . . We now have our BBQ sauces in health food stores across the country, and are looking forward to being stocked in Whole Foods next month.

The one chain that turned us down was a local chain here in town.  They didn't actually turn us down, they asked us to change our ingredients and reprint all of our labels.  Not sure why they wanted some of the label changes, but the primary reason they wanted us to reformulate was that they wanted us to eliminate Worcestershire sauce as an ingredient.

Some of our sauces use ketchup but we only use Hunts because it is corn syrup free.  What we did not know is that Worcestershire sauce is a banned ingredient for some health stores because it CAN contain corn syrup in small amounts, or the molasses it is made with can be fortified with corn syrup. 

We try not to use corn syrup for one reason, it makes spicy flavors "stick" to your tongue.  We want you to be able to take a drink and have a fresh pallet.  We don't want everything you eat, after enjoying our product, to taste like BBQ sauce.  After years of trial and error we eliminated corn syrup and relied on natural glucose and fructose compounds in our sauce, and that did the trick.  It also allowed us to make a spicy sauce blends that do not upset people with low tolerance for spice.   Completely by accident, this made our product qualify as a "natural" product and opened the health foods market to us.  Except for one local store of course.   

[Conan71]

Something you might investigate as a sauce flavor is pomegranate.  I've been using pomegranate juice and blueberry pulp in my rib sauce lately.  It rocks.

[Gaspar]

Something you might investigate as a sauce flavor is pomegranate.  I've been using pomegranate juice and blueberry pulp in my rib sauce lately.  It rocks.

Interesting.  It has a certain cranberry like bitterness to it.  I would be interested to see how that translates to a sauce.

We will be releasing Black Gold in a couple of months.  It's the 3 Guys original sauce that we used for years (and sill today) for many competitions.  We kept it secret and off the market when competition was our primary focus, but now that we are getting old and fat, we think it has good market potential.

It's very spicy, blackberry is the base (not cheap!), it has more of a savory flavor as opposed to the sweet BBQ sauces that people are accustomed to.  It's an incredible steak sauce because of the tamarind/berry balance and salinity.   I'll let you know when we get our first bottling in.

[guido911]

Funny story. . . We now have our BBQ sauces in health food stores across the country, and are looking forward to being stocked in Whole Foods next month.

The one chain that turned us down was a local chain here in town.  They didn't actually turn us down, they asked us to change our ingredients and reprint all of our labels.  Not sure why they wanted some of the label changes, but the primary reason they wanted us to reformulate was that they wanted us to eliminate Worcestershire sauce as an ingredient.

Some of our sauces use ketchup but we only use Hunts because it is corn syrup free.  What we did not know is that Worcestershire sauce is a banned ingredient for some health stores because it CAN contain corn syrup in small amounts, or the molasses it is made with can be fortified with corn syrup. 

We try not to use corn syrup for one reason, it makes spicy flavors "stick" to your tongue.  We want you to be able to take a drink and have a fresh pallet.  We don't want everything you eat, after enjoying our product, to taste like BBQ sauce.  After years of trial and error we eliminated corn syrup and relied on natural glucose and fructose compounds in our sauce, and that did the trick.  It also allowed us to make a spicy sauce blends that do not upset people with low tolerance for spice.   Completely by accident, this made our product qualify as a "natural" product and opened the health foods market to us.  Except for one local store of course.   

All this Siegi's talk led me there today to find some Capicola. Success. And I also saw Gaspar's product on the counter.

[Red Arrow]

All this Siegi's talk led me there today to find some Capicola. Success. And I also saw Gaspar's product on the counter.

They also have Prosciutto, Genoa Salami, and Provolone cheese.  Add an Amoroso roll (available mail order), lettuce, onion, olive oil, tomato, oregano and optional crushed red pepper and you have a real hoagie - Philadelphia style.