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I have a problem with homemade sausage patties that I make. They come out too dry on the inside. Could it be the difference in kosher salt and iodized salt? The recipe is as follows:

  1. Ground pork with high fat content
  2. Chopped onions
  3. Ground nutmeg, ground cayenne,powdered oregano,cracked anise seeds
  4. iodized salt, pepper
  5. Minced onions
  6. Mix. Grill as is, with no oil whatsoever.

When I first tried this recipe, I was using kosher salt, and the result was good and juicy. However, I remember transitioning to iodized salt, and I still got good results, however I may be remembering things in a blur.

Update. I've drastically changed some parts of the recipe. (1) the meat is now fresh ground twice thru the KA meat grinder, so it's super moist and I suppose it's preserved inside the patty (wrapped in film, frozen), (2) using kosher salt, and a less amount of it. With the test fry, it's more moist now.

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    How are you determining when it's done? Overcooking sausages can result in them seeming 'dry'.
    – Joe
    Aug 30, 2017 at 22:17
  • @Joe, doneness on the outside. I go for a a nice crossover between brown and black, for a nice chewy surface.
    – wearashirt
    Aug 31, 2017 at 17:19
  • @wearashirt : that's not 100% reliable unless you're always starting with meat at the same temperature, and the cooking surface is the same temperature (preheated the same & adding the same amount of heat per time (ie, BTUs). When grilling, you can also get 'self-fueling' (ie, fat drips and causes flare ups, which cooks things hotter & faster)
    – Joe
    Aug 31, 2017 at 17:32
  • @Joe, it's just on a regular pan though. None of the dripping action. I was thinking if spraying with water during cooking can help.
    – wearashirt
    Aug 31, 2017 at 19:01

3 Answers 3

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The most important difference here is the grain of the salt. Kosher salt has a coarse grain, whereas table salt ("iodized") is fine grain. Yes, it will affect the juiciness of your meat.

Here's an article that discusses it.

Cooking with Kosher salt: I generally reserve Kosher salt for meat and recipes that call specifically for it. Because the larger flakes hold onto moisture, Kosher salt essentially holds the moisture inside of the meat. It keeps pork chops tender, steaks juicy, and chicken breast moist.

See for yourself. Salt one chicken breast with table salt and another with kosher salt. The one with kosher salt will retain its moisture much better than the chicken breast salted with table salt.

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  • Thank you very much! I knew it. I will try on the next patty mix and give comment.
    – wearashirt
    Aug 31, 2017 at 3:25
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I suspect they are dry because you are overcooking them.

Cook on low heat and bring them off when they are still moist.

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It seems there may be two culprits causing dryness:

  • Overcooking
  • Salt

Two suggestions:

  • Cooking to temperature (use a thermometer) and follow a good recipe that still would of course ensure the pork is fully cooked.
  • Remove all salt from the recipe. Salt can be added afterwards, after all.
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