Does boiling a sausage remove any sodium?

sparklyhippos

And if yes, how much? I couldn't find much on Google.

juanmdemarco

I don't think so

rankinsect

Maybe? You certainly could dissolve some ions from the sausage into the water.

The better question is if it really matters. Unless you have hypertension, sodium is pretty much irrelevant, and if you are hypertensive, I'd err on the side of caution and assume that the reduction in sodium is extremely small, since only a small portion of the sausage is in contact with water.

cajuntank

Of course it does. The two mediums will try to reach equilibrium with each other. This is no different than using marinades or more specifically in this case (but the opposite of what you are asking), brines, to flavor a medium like meat (so to increase salt content of meat internally in this case).
In regards to how much is "lost" from one medium that you are trying to attain, this is really tough without some measurement device. Luckily, one could easily purchase a salt meter (Google this) and then measure the salinity of your water before boiling, then the salinity of the water after boiling to figure out how much salt was "removed" from the saltier medium in an attempt to create the balance between the two.

ninerbuff

Yes, but to what extent............I'm sure it's variable. If you don't have any health issues with sodium, then don't worry about it.

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rankinsect

cajuntank wrote: »

Of course it does. The two mediums will try to reach equilibrium with each other. This is no different than using marinades or more specifically in this case (but the opposite of what you are asking), brines, to flavor a medium like meat (so to increase salt content of meat internally in this case).
In regards to how much is "lost" from one medium that you are trying to attain, this is really tough without some measurement device. Luckily, one could easily purchase a salt meter (Google this) and then measure the salinity of your water before boiling, then the salinity of the water after boiling to figure out how much salt was "removed" from the saltier medium in an attempt to create the balance between the two.

You'd also need to account for the volume of water lost during boiling (since the water's salinity will naturally increase as steam is produced).

But yes, if you really care that much, you could measure it.

cajuntank

rankinsect wrote: »

cajuntank wrote: »

Of course it does. The two mediums will try to reach equilibrium with each other. This is no different than using marinades or more specifically in this case (but the opposite of what you are asking), brines, to flavor a medium like meat (so to increase salt content of meat internally in this case).
In regards to how much is "lost" from one medium that you are trying to attain, this is really tough without some measurement device. Luckily, one could easily purchase a salt meter (Google this) and then measure the salinity of your water before boiling, then the salinity of the water after boiling to figure out how much salt was "removed" from the saltier medium in an attempt to create the balance between the two.

You'd also need to account for the volume of water lost during boiling (since the water's salinity will naturally increase as steam is produced).

But yes, if you really care that much, you could measure it.

True, but thought I might go too far into it if I included other variables. Volume of water lost, like you mentioned, degree of error on salt meter purchased, degree of error on packing of food, etc...

But agree with you and @ninerbuff that unless there is a factor of health dictating its tracking, then its relevance is of little to no concern.

sparklyhippos

I guess I should have specified that limiting the sodium IS due to a health concern.. I am not supposed to have over 1000mg of sodium per day due to Meniere's Disease.

@rankinsect, you say that only a small amount of sodium would decrease since only a small portion of the sausage is exposed to the water, but I would have no problem cutting slits or even just cutting up the sausage before boiling if that would actually help!

@cajuntank, what a great idea! I wasn't even aware that a "salt meter" existed. And of course there will be other variables such as water evaporating, packaging inconsistency, etc., but it is a good starting point for sure!

The cost of the salt meters are pretty steep.. I'm surprised that I cannot find an article or even a forum, on this issue already.. Surely someone would have measured the sodium in the water before and after the meat is boiled??

seska422

If you need to stay under 1000 mg of sodium then sausage is off the table. You need to stick to fresh low sodium foods. Even small amounts of most processed foods will have too much sodium to work into your day.

cajuntank

sparklyhippos wrote: »

I guess I should have specified that limiting the sodium IS due to a health concern.. I am not supposed to have over 1000mg of sodium per day due to Meniere's Disease.

@rankinsect, you say that only a small amount of sodium would decrease since only a small portion of the sausage is exposed to the water, but I would have no problem cutting slits or even just cutting up the sausage before boiling if that would actually help!

@cajuntank, what a great idea! I wasn't even aware that a "salt meter" existed. And of course there will be other variables such as water evaporating, packaging inconsistency, etc., but it is a good starting point for sure!

The cost of the salt meters are pretty steep.. I'm surprised that I cannot find an article or even a forum, on this issue already.. Surely someone would have measured the sodium in the water before and after the meat is boiled??

I know this might see like an odd follow-up question, and it's more for my curiosity than anything (and one you are more than welcome to not answer if you so choose), but how much water are you drinking a day and are you also taking a diuretic?

myheartsabattleground

I LOVE grilling my sausages in the george forman.

AmazonMayan

Maybe look into making your own sausage patties with a basic recipe. Then you can have some of the flavors and you can put much less salt to fit your needs.

jgnatca

I fear you can't boil off enough salt. You may have to prepare your own salt free.

jgnatca

The boiling would also reduce the fat content.

Sued0nim

boil ... a ... sausage?

errkkkk

it probably removes everything cos who would want to eat a boiled sausage

unless you mean frankfurters in which case .. aren't they made of plastic anyway?

sparklyhippos

Thanks for all your input, everyone. I've been house-bound for the past week and your replies sadly give me something to look forward to lol.

Great idea, @AmazonMayan and @jgnatca, about making my own sausages.. I will definitely do that. I bet you're right that it wouldn't get rid of enough sodium since they're loaded full of it.. I've been making everything from absolute scratch lately anyway and not eating anything "unnatural" or processed.. Except the odd candy which is mostly just sugar anyway.. So I'll definitely try to make my own.. Any suggested recipes?

@cajuntank - Yup, I started on a diuretic last week. It's a low dose to start and it hasn't helped my vertigo yet (the symptom of Meniere's Disease that I'm currently struggling with, if MD is actually what is wrong with me..). I drink 6-10 cups of water per day, depending on the day. That includes tea (no caffeine) and sometimes Crystal light.

earlnabby

AmazonMayan wrote: »

Maybe look into making your own sausage patties with a basic recipe. Then you can have some of the flavors and you can put much less salt to fit your needs.

rabbitjb wrote: »

boil ... a ... sausage?

errkkkk

it probably removes everything cos who would want to eat a boiled sausage

unless you mean frankfurters in which case .. aren't they made of plastic anyway?

Depends on the sausage. The absolute best is to boil (actually simmer) a bratwurst or Italian in beer and a bunch of onions, then grill until the casing is brown and crispy. Top with brown mustard, and onions from the pot and you are in heaven.

It is easy to make frankfurters too, as long as you have a meat grinder that can get the meat really fine and have mace on hand. Getting them into the casings is the hard part. Other sausages can be made into patties instead of using casings which makes them much easier to make.

caroldavison332

You can make your own almost as easily as a burger. Purchase ground beef/chicken/lamb/pork, add spices, child and grill.

sparklyhippos

@caroldavison332, that sounds good except I probably won't add child.. lol.

stealthq

Sounds like you have your answer. If you need to reduce sodium or any other salt in the future from a food you can't make yourself, cutting the food into smallish pieces and soaking for 30min or so in a large volume of water is the most effective way to reduce it. You will not be able to tell by how much, though.

It's the recommended way for people who need to eat low potassium to prepare potatoes, for example.

jgnatca

Googled this: http://thedailydish.us/breakfast/homemade-sausage-patties/

ralphcohen1

Absolutely positively if you drain the boiled water. The more times you drain; the longer you soak; and the smaller the pieces (greater surface area), the more sodium will be removed. This process done in earnest can remove at least half the sodium. This advice is all over the net including sites by the American Heart Association and Kidney Foundation. You are very likely to lose something in terms of taste but that is the decision you must make about what you are willing to do to protect yourself. Besides high blood pressure sodium has been implicated in kidney stones and osteoporosis. Sodium can cause significant fluid retention reflected as higher weight and also ankle swelling.

mph323

Um, necro thread. And you really don't have to boil the sausage at the cost of taste, unless you have a medical reason to limit sodium and the sausage will put you over your goal.

Unknown

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