Sausage

Food · Protein · Food, Typed Supps

The meat in a sausage matters less than the fat and salt packed in with it.

Stage by stage

Intake (Minimal chewing needed): The meat is already ground and emulsified with its fat, so little mechanical breakdown is required.
Digestion (Protein and fat separate): Enzymes hydrolyse the muscle protein; the finely emulsified fat is easy for lipase to reach.
Absorption (Amino acids, iron, sodium): Amino acids and heme iron absorb readily. So does the curing salt, which in a chorizo is substantial.
Circulation (Sodium and saturated fat): Sodium raises fluid volume and blood pressure over time; saturated fat contributes to circulating LDL.

Time to effect

Hours to years: Sodium effects register within hours to days; the cardiovascular and cancer associations are about habitual intake over years.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. May contain: Gluten, Milk, Mustard, Soya, Sulphites. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Keto. Depends on the product: Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free.

Satiety

109 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — moderate. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.

Cost band

Mid — roughly £9 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Protein
Saturated fat
Sodium
Zinc

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 283
Protein: 20.1g
Carbohydrate: 1.2g
of which sugars: 0.8g
Fat: 22.1g
of which saturated: 8g
Fibre: 0.5g
Sodium: 1100mg

Food vs. supplement

Not a supplement question for the meat versions. For the vegetarian ones it is the whole question: the fortified product exists to replace the B12, iron and zinc that meat supplies, and the unfortified one does not do that job.

Kitchen tip

Grilling or dry-frying renders out a real share of the fat. For chorizo, that rendered paprika fat is worth using to cook whatever goes with it rather than discarding.

Common myth

“A sausage is just mince in a skin.” In reality: Commercial sausage is typically a fifth to a quarter fat by weight, usually with added salt, a starch filler and often curing agents. The fat and the salt, not the species of animal, are what distinguish one sausage from another.