Preparation is best done in the morning of the day before serving the finished product. The appropriate amount of finished product per batch should not exceed 40% of the volume of the dough vessel, e.g. 24 kg of finished product in a 60 liter mixer.
In addition to the recipe below, you can also make vegetable steaks with seasonal vegetables. The vegetables are then preferably fried in the oil before they are added to get some water out. The same amount of vegetables as the amount of dry Simsubas is usually a good rule of thumb.
Preparation
- Use a blender/Varimixer, type Björn or equivalent for the preparation.
- Add the amount of water to the dough vessel to be used for the first addition.
- Then add the dry spices except salt to the dough bowl (any wet ingredients will be added later in the preparation).
- Add the amount of dry base to be used. Use a suitable bucket or equivalent to avoid a high fall height of the powder and to reduce the amount of dust. Consider the importance of good ventilation when carrying out this work. In case of insufficient ventilation, use a suitable face mask to protect against particles.
- Weigh up the amount of oil, water to be added in the second additive and salt
- Weigh the other ingredients for the specific product
- Place the dough bowl in the mixer and run at medium speed until the mixture is homogeneous. Then increase the speed to maximum and knead until the dough has thickened and a thread-like texture begins to form (max 1 min - don't go too long as the dough may become too hard and the other ingredients will be harder to incorporate). Then turn off the mixer. See the instructional video for cooking.
- Immediately add the oil, water, salt, and other ingredients for the specific product (soy, onion, minced meat, cooking cream, etc.) and start the mixer on low speed. Run for about 1 minute or until the oil and other ingredients are homogeneously distributed in the dough.
- Increase stirring and knead at high speed until a thread-like network forms again (about 3-5 minutes). Feel free to do a "pull test" as the product should be a bit chewy and you can see threads breaking when pulling apart a small lump of dough. If the texture is not good enough, knead for a few more minutes. See instructional video for cooking
- Transfer the finished product onto one or more inks. 5 - 7 kg per ink is usually the right amount, or alternatively, form steaks or buns. Leave to rest for 60 minutes at room temperature.
- Then cook the finished product in the Combi Oven. 120 degrees 20 % moisture content to an internal temperature of 88 degrees. 50/50 meatballs are cooked to 85 degrees.
- If you're making a kebab, chill in the fridge overnight, then shred with a 4mm slice in a food processor and fry on a griddle.
Texture of the finished product
Meat is made up of muscle fibers, the vast majority of which are proteins. It is mainly these that give the meat its structure. The texture of Simsufood's products is created by the proteins in the product creating bonds with each other, which can be seen by an increasingly chewy and stringy product.
The texture of the finished product is affected by a variety of factors:
- Kneading: Kneading accelerates the formation of more bonds between proteins. The more kneading, the harder the texture.
- Time: Improved texture is also achieved by letting the dough rest after mixing. This is to give additional time for more bonding between the proteins.
- Oil: The amount of oil affects the finished texture. If the dough is perceived as too loose, the amount of oil can be reduced for the next mix.
- Amount of water: If the amount of water is too high during kneading, the formation of protein bonds is hampered and the texture deteriorates.
- Salt: Any amount of soy and salt can also affect the finished texture.
- Water temperature: To obtain an even better texture of the mixture, a higher water temperature can be used for the first addition. The water temperature should optimally be 38 degrees when mixing. This is obtained by mixing cold water and boiling water. Tap water must not be used. However, the water temperature must not exceed 42 degrees.
The rule of thumb is 2/3 cold water and 1/3 boiling water. For warmer cold water (e.g. summer months) less boiling water needs to be added.