# Breadcrumbs in Cooking



## Mike (Apr 16, 2021)

What is the purpose of them in a recipe, are they for
binding the ingredients together, or are they supposed
to swell up and make the finished article bigger?

I have been trying to make Scottish Square Sausage, also
called Lorne Sausage, I have 1lb of minced beef, plus 1lb
of minced pork, plus 7oz of breadcrumbs, then salt and
spices, with an egg to act as a binder, all of that didn't
really fill a 2lb loaf tin and I am thinking that I should have
added more water to swell the breadcrumbs!

Thanks for any replies that you have from your experience.

Mike.


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 16, 2021)

Breadcrumbs do make for a great binder, though I have no problem keeping meatballs and meatloaf (and other things) together, but most of all my opinion of using breadcrumbs in recipes is to bulk up the recipe.

Personally, I don't add breadcrumbs to anything I make.

Re: your Scottish Square Sausage recipe, does it call for onions or any other ingredients? Could you add onions (and/or other ingredients)?


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## Mike (Apr 16, 2021)

No onions in the recipe, though you can of course have them
with the finished article.

All the ingredients are listed, rest is nutmeg 1 -1 1/2 teaspoon.
coriander same, pepper ground black or white 1tsp kosher salt
1 1/2tsp, plus some water 100 - 200ml, I used about 100.

Mike.


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 16, 2021)

Mike said:


> No onions in the recipe, though you can of course have them
> with the finished article.
> 
> All the ingredients are listed, rest is nutmeg 1 -1 1/2 teaspoon.
> ...


I don't know how crazy you are about ground veal, but that would be another option for you to bring the recipe up to a max amount, Mike.

Careful on the idea behind adding extra water, as you don't want a watery dish, not do you want to take away from the flavour.


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## RadishRose (Apr 16, 2021)

The fat from the meat comes out and the meat shrinks.

More crumb might hold in all the extra fat and cut down on meaty flavor, imo.

If you are happy with the flavor, I suggest leaving it that way. I think, increasing the meat with the correct ratio of crumb to the addition, will give you more servings without just adding 'filler'.


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## Devi (Apr 16, 2021)

Mike said:


> What is the purpose of them in a recipe, are they for
> binding the ingredients together, or are they supposed
> to swell up and make the finished article bigger?


In my experience, the purpose of the breadcrumbs is to make a "crust".


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## Mike (Apr 16, 2021)

The finished effort as it is, is in the refrigerator for
10 hours, when it comes out, I will cut it into slices
and it can be fried or grilled/broiled, very tasty.

Mike.


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 16, 2021)

Mike said:


> The finished effort as it is, is in the refrigerator for
> 10 hours, when it comes out, I will cut it into slices
> and it can be fried or grilled/broiled, very tasty.
> 
> Mike.


It sounds delicious!


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## Murrmurr (Apr 16, 2021)

Breadcrumbs soak up liquefied fat from the meat and minimizes shrinkage - holds in the flavor, preserves its shape. 
I use breadcrumbs in meatloaf for those reasons.


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## RadishRose (Apr 16, 2021)

My mother used stale  bread  soaked in milk or water, then squeezed out and mixed with the meat. I sometimes do this and also for meatballs.  Both meat loaves and meatballs seem more tender.

Panade
"A little bit of history: When Italian immigrants came to the U.S., they discovered that meat, frequently very expensive and/or in short supply back home, was overabundant and much less expensive  here. And they began to discard the “extenders” often used with ground meat. Panade being one of the prime examples.

All-meat meatballs etc. were a lot firmer. Meatier flavor perhaps, but hard and almost “bouncy.” People began to notice that the panade didn’t just make meat go further, it also made for a much softer, more delicate texture. The panade, people discovered, allowed the meatballs to stay together without becoming hard and rubbery."

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/what-is-a-panade/


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## hollydolly (Apr 16, 2021)

Can you bring some sausage around here when you've made it Mike ?...I love Square sausage, can't really get the real McCoy in England ....


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## hollydolly (Apr 16, 2021)

Devi said:


> In my experience, the purpose of the breadcrumbs is to make a "crust".


No crust on Lorne sausage....


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## MarciKS (Apr 16, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> No crust on Lorne sausage....


do you bread that stuff to grill it or bake it or something? or do the crumbs go inside it like a meatloaf?


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## Jules (Apr 16, 2021)

Your recipe sounds delicious, Mike.

My substitute for bread is oatmeal.


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## Mike (Apr 16, 2021)

Yes it all sounds delicious, but the proof will be in
the tasting, after it is fried or grilled and the crumbs
go inside.

Mike.


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## hollydolly (Apr 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> do you bread that stuff to grill it or bake it or something? or do the crumbs go inside it like a meatloaf?


No it's just regular sausage meat....nicknamed 'square sausage'.. because that's it's shape.. we fry or grill it and serve it up instead of links


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## MarciKS (Apr 16, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> No it's just regular sausage meat....nicknamed 'square sausage'.. because that's it's shape.. we fry or grill it and serve it up instead of links


so what's he using the breadcrumbs for?


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## MarciKS (Apr 16, 2021)

Mike said:


> Yes it all sounds delicious, but the proof will be in
> the tasting, after it is fried or grilled and the crumbs
> go inside.
> 
> Mike.


sounds like a meatloaf sandwich here. lol


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## hollydolly (Apr 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> so what's he using the breadcrumbs for?


I suspect as binder


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## MarciKS (Apr 16, 2021)

that's what we do with meatloaf except we bake it instead of grilling it.


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## hollydolly (Apr 16, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> that's what we do with meatloaf except we bake it instead of grilling it.


We make meatloaf here too...we're not in the jungle here ya know....


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## MarciKS (Apr 16, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> We make meatloaf here too...we're not in the jungle here ya know....


well i don't know what foods you have that are similar. lol! for all i know that was your meatloaf! *grins*


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## MarciKS (Apr 16, 2021)

at least i'm trying and not just making weird assumptions. lol


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## Capt Lightning (Apr 16, 2021)

Never cared for Lorne sausage, always preferred 'links'.  Trouble was that commercial ones tend to be far too fatty.
What percentage fat mince do you use.  I tend to use 10% for most things as 5% won't bind together well.

Way back 50 years ago when I went to university in Belfast, there was a round spiced "vegetable roll". It was basically beef mince spiced with spring onions and herbs and formed into a roll about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.  This was then sliced and fried.
Like the Scots, the Ulster people had a reputation for a somewhat unhealthy diet.


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## Keesha (Apr 16, 2021)

In my opinion, bread crumbs are often used as a coating and bread itself is usually used in dishes to absorb excess fat. Bread crumbs can so this also and in a sausage recipe would help create the proper consistency. As RadishRose says, meat shrinks as it’s cooked and oil and moisture escape. The bread absorbs the fat and helps keep the sausage shape.

Bread crumbs and bread are used in meatloaf in the same kind of way.


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## Ruthanne (Apr 16, 2021)

My mom used to put buttered breadcrumbs on her mac and cheese casserole.  It added a bit of crunch to the top and was good!


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## Keesha (Apr 16, 2021)

Oh yeah. Crunchy top Mac & Cheese is awesome. I’d forgotten about that. 
Good old fashion Mac & cheese.


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## PamfromTx (Apr 16, 2021)

Ruthanne said:


> My mom used to put buttered breadcrumbs on her mac and cheese casserole.  It added a bit of crunch to the top and was good!


Now, you're talking.  Yum!


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## PamfromTx (Apr 16, 2021)

I made meatballs last evening and yes, I used breadcrumbs amongst other ingredients.  They were delish and moist.


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## hollydolly (Apr 17, 2021)

Capt Lightning said:


> Never cared for Lorne sausage, always preferred 'links'.  Trouble was that commercial ones tend to be far too fatty.
> What percentage fat mince do you use.  I tend to use 10% for most things as 5% won't bind together well.
> 
> Way back 50 years ago when I went to university in Belfast, there was a round spiced "vegetable roll". It was basically beef mince spiced with spring onions and herbs and formed into a roll about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.  This was then sliced and fried.
> Like the Scots, the Ulster people had a reputation for a somewhat unhealthy diet.


The famous Ulster Fry...we often had that when we were kids


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## Mike (Apr 17, 2021)

I learned something while playing with this recipe, trying
to find out about the breadcrumbs.

I learned that Square Sausage and Lorne Sausage are two
different products, or at least they used to be, now the name
Lorne is sometimes used for the square ones too.

Lorne was a district in Dumfries and Galloway, which was noted
for its beef, might still be of course.

The Square Sausage used 1lb beef + 1lb pork, whereas the Lorne
used 1lb beef + 1/2lb of beef fat, I think that, that recipe has faded
into history, but the name lives on, recycled.

Mike.


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