Ground Pork Gamey Smell/Taste

[toekneemac]

I recently made pizza sausage using 90/10 ground pork from the local grocery store.  Their meat is usually credible.  But after I made the pizza sausage, it had a gamey smell and taste.  I have noticed the smell/taste before at certain pizza places, so I know it was not bad meat or something that I did.

Does anyone know why it has that smell? (if you smelt it before, you will know what I am talking about)

Would a higher fat ratio help remove that?

Would a mix of ground beef help that?

Thanks

[Fingerstyle]

I recently made pizza sausage using 90/10 ground pork from the local grocery store.  Their meat is usually credible.  But after I made the pizza sausage, it had a gamey smell and taste.  I have noticed the smell/taste before at certain pizza places, so I know it was not bad meat or something that I did.

Does anyone know why it has that smell? (if you smelt it before, you will know what I am talking about)

Would a higher fat ratio help remove that?

Would a mix of ground beef help that?

Thanks

I "grind" my own in a food processor - I control what goes in - no surprises in what comes out.

[lilbuddypizza]

The smell could be a lot of things. After about day 1, ground pork will tend to start getting "sticky". On the second day, it already begins to smell a little. As far as I'm concerned, by day 3, it's unusable. Also, because retail stores inspections are few and far between because of being understaffed, it may be that they didn't properly clean their grinder. Another possibility, though remote, is that the pigs slaughtered were in "heat". Sexual odors are excreted throughout the bodies and stress before slaughter can also cause the muscle to take on strange odors. It could also be numerous bacterial contaminants. Not every one gets drastically ill from contamination, so you may have got lucky.
As for fat ratio, unless it is a wild boar, it will not make a difference. Ground beef will not help either, as it will either become "smelly" too, or mask the odor, which doesn't solve the underlying problem.

[toekneemac]

Thanks for the replies guy's. 

Redarding the ground beef being added and picking up the smell.

I'm not sure the smell is a contaminate or bad meat.  I have had pizza from resturants that had the same smell and taste.

But pizzabuddy, assuming that the smell is natural and the meat is clean, you say beef may mask the smell.  Is it common for most pizza places to use a beef/pork mix?  That could explain why I don't smell or taste the gamey flavor??

Thanks in advance

Tony

[lilbuddypizza]

Thanks for the replies guy's. 

Redarding the ground beef being added and picking up the smell.

I'm not sure the smell is a contaminate or bad meat.  I have had pizza from resturants that had the same smell and taste.

But pizzabuddy, assuming that the smell is natural and the meat is clean, you say beef may mask the smell.  Is it common for most pizza places to use a beef/pork mix?  That could explain why I don't smell or taste the gamey flavor??

Thanks in advance

Tony

It MAY mask the smell because the beef itself doesn't smell and then lends its flavor/aroma to the batch. Most of the time, merely cooking "smelly" meat will eliminate the odor. If it still smells after cooking, definitely stay away.
Pork and beef prices fluctuate, so most places do not use a mix. Some places in Chicago charge double for ground beef as a topping.If anything, they will use a sausage with filler, such as textured vegetable protein or soy flour. Sometimes they use this type pre-cooked, which is affectionately known in some circles as "rabbit pellets".
Also, beef should never have a gamey flavor.