# filler or binder for a (sausage) meat pie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628 "2020-03-17T04:16:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/1 "2020-03-17T04:16:15Z")
I made a tourtiere last week for Pi Day and it was great. Got me thinking, though, that just a pound of ground beef and a pound chub of breakfast sausage might be a good mixture, and a cup of shredded cheese surely would be a good addition. But should it have some kind of binder in it? The tourtiere uses a cup of mashed potatoes, which I’m not all that wild about. Bread crumbs? Some bechamel? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/2 "2020-03-17T04:25:05Z")
You could channel the 60’s and dump a can of Cream of Mushroom soup in it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/3 "2020-03-17T04:33:40Z")
Those meats, especially the sausage, have a lot of fat. I’d add just a gentle sprinkle of flour, preferably Wondra. You’d essentially be making gravy as it cooks and I won’t use anything but Wondra for gravy. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/4 "2020-03-17T04:34:05Z")
You don’t have to use mashed potatoes (or eggs); you can use potato starch like in [Ener G Egg Replacer](https://smile.amazon.com/Ener-Egg-Replacer-16-0-Pack/dp/B00DS1TEQ4/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=EN-R-Gee+egg+replacer&qid=1584419518&sr=8-1-fkmr0). ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/5 "2020-03-17T04:40:49Z")
Eggs. IMO ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/6 "2020-03-17T05:07:57Z")
**Beck** has it. One egg per pound of meat. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/7 "2020-03-17T09:35:07Z")
The tourtieres I’ve made had rolled oats in them. (As well as egg.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/8 "2020-03-17T09:44:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The tourtieres I’ve made had rolled oats in them. (As well as egg.) Actually, I take that back. The recipe I use (or base my tourtiere on) does not contain egg in the filling. [This recipe, if you’re interested](https://simplebites.net/how-to-makeclassic-tourtiere-qubec-pork-pie/). ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/9 "2020-03-17T10:09:32Z")
I’m a vegetarian, but one who makes a lot of gluten-free bread products, so here are some of the things used to bind gluten-free flours that don’t have the gluten to bind them, in case for some reason you don’t want top use flour because of the texture-- but flour is what thickens sauces and puddings. Also, before I give my vegetarian list, you should know that unflavored gelatin is what aspic is made from. A little unflavored gelatin would bind it pretty well, but don’t just sprinkle it in. Mix it according to the box, shorting the water by about 25%, and then add it. You will have to chill your sausage for the gelatin to set. For gluten-free that does not have to be vegan, egg is a good binder, but it does add a texture, so you don’t want to use just egg, and unlike gelatin, egg needs to be cooked to set. OK: here are the vegan ones: **Xanthan gum** (you need very little of this) **Tapioca starch** (get the powder form, not the little balls) **Psyllium husk** (need very little, again, and need to mix with water, then add immediately, but sets at room temperature. This, together with gelatin might work out well; also, this is usually the main ingredient in vegan egg replacer) **Arrowroot** (not the best, but used because it is also an emulsifier-- don’t recommend for you) **Agar** (this is what most “vegan jello” is made from; does not needs to chill to set, but will set faster that way) It used to be you had to go to the hippie store for these things, or order them online, but now that “gluten-free” is so popular, many of them are available in the “baking needs” section at Walmart. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/10 "2020-03-17T10:23:18Z")
^ Yeah, a lot of those ingredients you can find if your store has a section that stocks “Bob’s Red Mill” products. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/11 "2020-03-17T15:26:47Z")
I never put egg or cheese into a pork pie. I moisten the filling with a little stock, and the starch from the minced potato and other root vegetables turns it into gravy. Works fine. If I added any flour it would become stodgy. “Stodgy.” I _like_ that word. Seems like it comes up a lot when you’re talking classic British cooking, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filler-or-binder-for-a-sausage-meat-pie/849628/12 "2020-03-17T15:28:09Z")
I never put egg or cheese into a pork pie. I moisten the filling with a little stock, and the starch from the minced potato and other root vegetables turns it into gravy. Works fine. If I added any flour it would become stodgy. “Stodgy.” I _like_ that word. Seems like it comes up a lot when you’re talking classic British cooking, huh?