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Rusk For Sausage – Complete Guide

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Rusk is an excellent filler and an equally great binding agent that provides structure and locks in all the flavors in a sausage.

If you are trying to make sausages at home, then this is one ingredient that you can’t skip!

What is rusk for sausage? Rusk, also known as double-baked bread, is a bread and biscuit hybrid that is double-baked to eliminate moisture and make the rusk super crispy. Rusk is usually ground and then added to sausages as a binding agent.

Read below to learn more about what rusk is, how to use it, a few of its pros and cons vs using breadcrumbs, and more! 

What Is Rusk?

Rusk, cake rusk, or double-baked bread are all the same thing.

Rusk is ubiquitous around Europe, especially in the UK. It can be thought of as crispy bread slices, but it is so much more than that!

In essence, rusk is made using the same ingredients as bread (except for yeast) and can also be a bit sweeter, although it is traditionally made without sugar too. 

To make rusk, you start by baking a simple dough and then cutting it into thin slices. The slices are then baked again until the rusk becomes super crispy.

This double baking method evaporates excess moisture in the dough, leaving behind a crispy and crunchy slice, called rusk.

Uses For Rusk

Rusk has a wide variety of uses. It’s popularly used as a breakfast item and can simply be eaten by dipping it in tea or coffee too. Alternatively, you can also apply a layer of butter and jam to it and eat it as an afternoon snack!

But perhaps the best use of rusk is in sausage making. 

Rusk is known to be a great filler and binding agent that helps give the sausage structure and shape. And because it is porous, it can retain water and moisture well. This is one of the primary reasons why it is usually dipped in tea or coffee.

This quality comes in handy because as the sausage is cooked, it will give off a lot of juices as the fat is rendered. 

Normally, without rusk or an appropriate binding agent, the juices would accumulate in the pan and then evaporate. In other words, you would lose a lot of the flavor of the sausage while cooking it!

However, when rusk is added to the mix, the juices are soaked up within the sausage thereby giving it an incredibly juicy texture and a concentrated flavor.

In simpler terms, since all of the fat and flavors remain inside the meat, the sausage becomes way more flavorful.

But even if you take away its porous quality, rusk can still be extremely useful, as it provides a lot of structure to the meat.

Remember, meat and other ingredients in the sausage inherently contain a lot of moisture and wouldn’t stick together if not for a binding ingredient.

So, when you add rusk to the equation, it binds with all the ingredients and can help create a sticky consistency which is useful when you want to make a bulky sausage with multiple chopped ingredients. 

Using Rusk For Sausage Making

Rusk is available in many different forms. You can either buy it from the supermarket or make it at home. The only difference is the flavor, quality, and consistency of the final product.

For example, store-bought rusk is available in finely ground, medium, and large crumb sizes. Finely ground rusk is processed for longer, thereby producing very small grains. 

The medium and large sizes are coarsely ground which adds larger crumbs. All of these sizes have different uses. 

If you are making a sausage that is primarily made of meat and just a little bit of veggies, then you can go with the coarsely ground variety that can add bulk and structure to the sausage.

On the other hand, a finely ground mixture can be used to bind multiple ingredients and to create a dense sausage. 

Furthermore, the use of rusk is sometimes associated with cheaper sausages that use less meat and more filler to add bulk and to increase the overall weight of the product. 

However, this negative association for the use of rusk is unjustified because if you use it properly at home, then the rusk would only account for about 5-10% of the total weight of the sausage – which is nowhere near what the mass-produced, cheaper sausages contain. 

Pros And Cons – Rusk Vs Breadcrumbs 

Breadcrumbs make for a great substitute for rusk and can mimic its unique characteristics.

Remember, since rusk is made using almost the same ingredients as typical bread, you get more or less the same benefits.

However, there are a few pros and cons to using each. Here is what you need to know:

Pros – Breadcrumbs

  • Can be used in the same quantity as rusk and are readily available. Just dry out the bread and crush or grind it to create the same consistency as store-bought rusk.
  • Will offer a more balanced and nuanced flavor than rusk since bread slices typically contain sugar and other ingredients to add flavor.
  • You can also use brown bread or other bread varieties to experiment with the texture and overall flavor of the sausage. 
  • Breadcrumbs may be able to soak up more moisture since they are airier than rusk.

Cons – Breadcrumbs Vs. Rusk

  • Breadcrumbs contain yeast which can reduce the overall shelf-life of the sausage by days or weeks.
  • Most traditional recipes for sausage making usually call for rusk and you might not get the right flavor from using breadcrumbs.
  • Breadcrumbs can be trickier to work with since they can become very mushy compared to rusk which gradually soaks up the residual moisture in the sausage. 
  • Commercial bread contains stabilizers, preservatives, and additives that can affect the overall quality of the sausage, and if you are going for a healthy and homemade sausage, then store-bought bread may not be the best option. 

How To Make Rusk At Home

If you can’t find rusk in your area, then here is an extremely simple recipe for homemade rusk.

You will need:

  • 1 lb. (450 g) plain/all-purpose flour
  • A pinch of salt
  • 5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 6 ½ – 8 ¾ fl. oz (185 -250 ml) water

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F and prepare the dough by sifting all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 
  2. Add just a bit of water to get started and then start mixing all the ingredients. Continue adding water in small quantities until you form a dough.
  3. Flatten the dough on a smooth surface and use extra flour as needed. The idea here is to create thick pieces of rusk. So, make sure that you don’t flatten out the dough too much. A 0.5”-1.5” thickness will be ideal.
  4. Put the flattened dough on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 450°F. Take out the dough and let it cool. Once cool, cut it either vertically or horizontally into rectangular pieces. 
  5. Turn down the heat to 350°F and then bake for an additional 10 minutes (5 minutes on each side). Remember, we are double-baking, so you will need to bake the rusk for 5 minutes on each side to further dehydrate it. 
  6. Once done, let the rusk cool and then inspect it for moisture and crispiness. If the rusk is adequately hard then it is done, if you feel that it’s not quite ready, then you can bake it for an additional 5 minutes at 275°F.
  7. Let the rusk cool and then blitz it in a food processor or until you get the right consistency on the crumbs. That’s it! 

Store the rusk or crumbs in an airtight container and eat them within 3-4 days for the best results. 

Rusk For Sausage (Complete Guide)

Rusk For Sausage (Complete Guide)

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Additional Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Crispy rusk pieces perfect for use in your sausage recipe!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. (450 g) plain/all-purpose flour
  • A pinch of salt
  • 5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 6 ½ – 8 ¾ fl. oz (185 -250 ml) water

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F and prepare the dough by sifting all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 
  1. Add just a bit of water to get started and then start mixing all the ingredients. Continue adding water in small quantities until you form a dough.
  2. Flatten the dough on a smooth surface and use extra flour as needed. The idea here is to create thick pieces of rusk. So, make sure that you don’t flatten out the dough too much. A 0.5”-1.5” thickness will be ideal.
  3. Put the flattened dough on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 450°F. Take out the dough and let it cool. Once cool, cut it either vertically or horizontally into rectangular pieces. 
  4. Turn down the heat to 350°F and then bake for an additional 10 minutes (5 minutes on each side). Remember, we are double-baking, so you will need to bake the rusk for 5 minutes on each side to further dehydrate it. 
  5. Once done, let the rusk cool and then inspect it for moisture and crispiness. If the rusk is adequately hard then it is done, if you feel that it can be better, then you can bake it for an additional 5 minutes at 275°F.
  6. Let the rusk cool and then blitz it in a food processor or until you get the right consistency on the crumbs. That’s it! 

Related Questions

Rusk adds bulk, and texture and helps retain flavor in sausages, and is perhaps one of the most important ingredients in making a succulent and juicy sausage at home. 

Now that you know all about rusk and its uses, here are some related questions:

What other binders can be used as a substitute for rusk?

The best and closest substitute for rusk is breadcrumbs but you can also use cooked rice, crackers, or even oats.

All of these ingredients are dry and can provide more or less the same benefits as using rusk. 

However, for the best experience, we highly recommend that you start with breadcrumbs and then try the other substitutes so that you can pick a go-to for future use.

Does rusk decrease the shelf-life of sausages?

No. Rusk does not decrease the shelf life of homemade sausages in any significant way.

However, if you were to use a lot of it, then you might need to eat the sausages within 3-4 days of making them. You could also freeze the sausages for later use which would help preserve them for several weeks.

However, using other ingredients like oats, rice or even breadcrumbs may significantly impact the shelf life of the sausages so it would be best if you could eat them fresh. 

Do all sausages require rusk?

While you can make sausages without using rusk, you would likely end up with a chewier and drier product. Adding rusk in small quantities can help bring out the juices and help retain the flavor within the meat. 

There are several other binding agents that you can use for a similar effect, but if you want to keep things traditional, then always use rusk! 

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