Much of what our members do fits into this category. ...so "let 'er rip!"
How to Do It:
---To post a new item, click in the white "New post" area and write your li'l heart out.
To reply to a post, click on the underlined "reply" thingie, then type your comment.
---Need to add an image to your comment or reply? Use code like the following in your post.
(If you copy the last of the four "tags" out of PhotoBucket and paste it in here, it should work.) Example: [URL=http://s1164.photobucket.com/user/erlwebmail/media/javelina_zps0214db7d.jpeg.html][xxx]http: //i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q563/erlwebmail/javelina_zps0214db7d.jpeg[/xxx][/URL]
where you substitute "IMG" for the "xxx" in both places. (Evidently the 2nd copy of the path to the image, surrounded by the "IMG" tags in square brackets, does the trick.)
---Don't forget to click on "Publish" to "make it happen."
How to Do It:
---To post a new item, click in the white "New post" area and write your li'l heart out.
To reply to a post, click on the underlined "reply" thingie, then type your comment.
---Need to add an image to your comment or reply? Use code like the following in your post.
(If you copy the last of the four "tags" out of PhotoBucket and paste it in here, it should work.) Example: [URL=http://s1164.photobucket.com/user/erlwebmail/media/javelina_zps0214db7d.jpeg.html][xxx]http: //i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q563/erlwebmail/javelina_zps0214db7d.jpeg[/xxx][/URL]
where you substitute "IMG" for the "xxx" in both places. (Evidently the 2nd copy of the path to the image, surrounded by the "IMG" tags in square brackets, does the trick.)
---Don't forget to click on "Publish" to "make it happen."
Getting things ready for some Ring Bologna and a batch of Mazzafegati, which is an Italian liver sausage.
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting first!
...just finished a batch of Texas Hot Links and a batch of shrimp sausage today. I'll smoke the surviving hot links tomorrow (two were sacrificed for dinner tonight). Will let people know how the shrimp recipe turns out- - this is my first attempt at it. It was posted on WD, but was originally from the Bradley Smoker forum.
Best regards,
Duk
I would love to see both recipes Duk. I have been looking at Seafood sausage recipes but have not made any sausage yet. Did you use any cream in the recipe ?
ReplyDeleteHot link recipes run the gamut, some recipes with just brisket and some seasonings while others have the entire kitchen in them.
I'll post the Shrimp Sausage recipe on the "Recipes" department of the SausagesWest.com website. ...likewise, the hot links recipe.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say about the shrimp sausage recipe is "WOW!" This one's a real good one. I used "salad shrimp," the little bitty ones, whole in it, but ground the rest of the meat twice through my fine plate. ...no milk or cream.
The hot links recipe which I'll post uses bacon ends and pieces. Be very careful about how much salt you add, and rinse the bacon before you use it. (You'll see the note.) My spreadsheet pegs the salt at 1.5%, but I think it's a tad over 2%. ...will modify the spreadsheet as well as the recipe.
My new mincer arrived a couple of days ago (LEM #8 big bite) together with a transformer (as we run on 220 Volt - if we have power).
ReplyDeleteIt's now out of the box and installed. Just need a bit of cooler weather, some meat and a good idea of which sausage to make this time around.
Been making a lot of highly spiced Chorizo, roughly according to Len Poli's recipe for Goan Chorizo and I really like them, but it's time for something different......
Will keep you all informed
Hmmm... I'll have to try that one. Meanwhile, I'm posting recipes as fast as I can, on the main site. Our family really like the Krainerwurst. I'll post it shortly.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Duk
Yesterday, we started dry-curing a 20 lb. batch of Semi-Dry Cured Summer Sausage using a recipe from CW he calls "Saddle Bum’s Smoky Beef Stick". We will grind and stuff on Tuesday, ferment until Friday morning, and then smoke to finish. During the three to four days of required drying, the room smells heavenly! Also makes great Christmas gifts, if you can keep it around.
ReplyDeleteLet us know how that turns out. That recipe got my attention as well
DeleteHi Kids! I want to come and smell your house. Wow! You folks are having way too much fun making sausage. That "Smoky Beef Stick" is a nice choice for holiday gift giving. The smoky flavor is amazing and the flavor of the ingredients is just right for this type of sausage. You'll enjoy it, I know. I use fancy casings then put 'em in a plastic presentation netting. Fasten the ends with hog-ring pliers and tie on a great looking bow of ribbon with curls and you've got a first-class gift for Christmas. Keep up the good work Jim n' Jean and enjoy every minute of your hobby together. Oh, and thanks for signing up with us!
DeleteBest Wishes,
Chuckwagon
My timing was way off on this one! After just 24 hours I measured pH of 5.1, but that was about 6 p.m. that evening. I waited until morning to smoke it. By then the pH was 4.5. I gave it 4 hours of Hickory smoke, and finished it at 148° F. After cooling, I let it hang at 60° F and 70% Rh until it lost 28% from green weight. The smoky odor filled the lower level of the house.
DeleteThe taste was fantastic, although the low pH gave a very strong tang to the sausage. I guess I must trim my beef a little too well. I thought it could use a bit more fat content, and will add some at the next go! Great recipe Chuckwagon, thanks!
Grew up on British sausages, been making sausages, fresh, smoked and cooked and air dried for about 3 years. However, until last week had never made any British sausages. Anyway I made some Lincolnshire and Cumberland sausages. I am enjoying them a lot. There are quite a few other regional varieties which I will get around to making. Next Tuesday I am going to have a fry up. sausages, bacon (providing I have time over the weekend to smoke it) fried bread (Sunday's home made bread should be nice and stale by then) and some home made baked beans. Why Tuesday, well its a celebration of me starting a new job later in the day.
ReplyDeleteAt a slight tangent. I am not so keen on mace and nutmeg in fresh sausages. However, the amount used in this recipe is slight and it works well.
One sausage I am keen to make is the Oxford sausage. Traditionally it was made then dipped in egg and rolled in breadcrumbs and fried. However some claim it has always been stuffed. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_sausage) Oxford sausages are a distinctive variety of pork and veal sausage commonly associated with, and thought to have been developed in, the English city of Oxford. Traditionally, Oxford sausages are noted for the addition of veal, in contrast to many traditional British sausages which contain only pork, and their high level of spice seasoning. References to the "Oxford" style of sausage date back to at least the early 18th century, but it was more widely popularised owing to inclusion in Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, first published in 1861. I found a copy of Mrs Beeton’s book and her and more recent versions are not that spicy and contain lemon zest and fresh herbs. What blows me away about her recipe for this and her beef sausages is the use of 33% suet.
DeleteTwo other sausages that I am going to look into are the Marylebone (area of London) Sausage and the Square Slicing Sausage aka Lorne (I think this is not stuffed and comes from Scotland).
Mark, I’m with you in liking the British sausage too. However, I’d like to share one of my favorite recipes with you. It is a Slovenian sausage recipe but shucks, don’t let that scare you! Below are the instructions for three different way to make it. This original recipe for Krainerwurst required some research a few years back and it is for “cured-smoked-cooked” style sausage. You may prefer to make “fresh” sausage by omitting the Cure #1. Just keep it in the fridge and use it within three days. I really like the “cured-cooked-smoked” version also. The Duck makes it all the time and so do I. Perhaps you’d like to try a “semi-dry cured” version of the Krainerwurst. If so, just add the Cure #1, a tablespoon of sugar, and a single gram of LHP culture. I hope you give it a try Mark.
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Krainerwurst (Slovenian Sausage)
(Cured, Smoked, Cooked)
Genuine Slovenian Krainerwurst has pretty specific traditional instructions. It must contain a minimum of 68% pork, 12% beef, and 20% fresh pork belly (bacon) with a little added water and only salt, garlic, and black pepper added for seasoning. The meat must be cut into 10 to 13 mm. pieces, and the bacon into 8 to 10 mm. pieces. Only 32-36 mm. hog casings are used, and links are formed in pairs of 12 to 16 cm lengths having the weight of 180 to 220 grams. Wooden skewers are used to hold the pairs together. The sausages are cured and then hot-smoked at relatively low temperatures. It’s interesting to note that the recipe has been widely misrepresented over time, especially in America where various spices and cheeses have been added. Here is the basic recipe:
7 lbs. pork butt with fat
1-1/2 lbs. lean beef chuck
1-1/2 lbs. fresh pork bacon
2 level tspns. Cure #1 (if making “cured-cooked-smoked” sausage or “semi-dry cured” sausage).
1 gram Bactoferm™ LHP culture (if making “semi-dry cured sausage).
4 tblspns. salt
3 garlic cloves (crushed and minced)
1 tblspn. granulated garlic
2 tblspns. coarse black pepper (freshly ground)
32-36 mm. hog casings
Krainerwurst Sausage (Continued)
ReplyDeleteTo make “fresh” sausage:
Place the grinder knife and plate into the freezer while you separate the fat from the lean meat using a sharp knife. Cut the meat into 1-1/2 ” cubes to keep sinew from wrapping around the auger behind the plate as the meat is ground. Grind the meat using the 3/8” plate and the pork fat using a 3/16” plate. Mix the Cure #1 with a little water for uniform distribution and add it to the meat. Work with small batches, refrigerating the meat and fat at every opportunity. Next, mix the meat into a sticky meat paste by adding the remaining ingredients and kneading the mixture to develop the primary bind. Stuff the sausage into 32-36 mm. hog casings, allowing them to hang and dry at room temperature for an hour. “Fresh” sausage must be refrigerated and consumed within three days, or frozen for future use.
To make “cured-cooked-smoked” sausage:
Grind the meat using the 3/8” plate and the pork fat using a 3/16” plate. Remember to add Cure #1. For ten pounds of meat, use 2 level teaspoons of cure mixed with a little water for uniform distribution and add it to the meat. Mix the cure and ingredients thoroughly throughout the primary bind. Work with small batches, kneading the meat into a sticky meat paste, refrigerating the meat and fat at every opportunity. Stuff the sausage into 32-36 mm. hog casings, allowing them to hang and dry at room temperature for an hour. Place the sausages into a preheated 130°F. (54°C.) smokehouse for an hour (with the damper open) before introducing hickory smoke and adjusting the damper to only ¼ open. Gradually, only a couple of degrees every twenty minutes, raise the smokehouse temperature until the internal meat temperature (IMT) registers 150°F. This procedure must be done slowly to avoid breaking the fat. Remove the sausages, showering them with cold water until the IMT drops to less than 90°F. (32°C.). This sausage remains perishable and must be refrigerated until it is grilled on a smoky BBQ grill.
To make “semi-dry cured” sausage:
Grind the meat using the 3/8” plate and the pork fat using a 3/16” plate. Remember to add Cure #1, a tablespoon of sugar, and one gram of LHP culture to the recipe. For ten pounds of meat, use 2 level teaspoons of cure mixed with a little water for uniform distribution and add it to the meat. Next, prepare the culture by following the mixing directions on the packet. Use non-chlorinated water and mix the cure and ingredients thoroughly throughout the primary bind. Work with small batches, kneading the meat into a sticky meat paste, refrigerating the meat and fat at every opportunity. Stuff the sausage into 32-36 mm. hog casings.
If you have a “curing chamber”, place the sausages in it and ferment at 100°F for 24 hours in 90% humidity. If a drier sausage is desired, ferment it for 48 hours.
If you do not have a “curing chamber”, place one pound of regular table salt onto a cookie sheet with a lip around it. Spread the salt out evenly and add just enough water to barely cover the salt. Place the cookie sheet and salt in the bottom of an old fridge (unplugged) or your home kitchen oven. Keep the oven warm by using the pilot light in a gas model, or a hundred-watt light bulb covered with a large coffee can with several holes drilled in it. This will produce a warm area for a 2-day fermentation period at about 70% humidity.
When the fermentation has finished, place the links into your pre-heated 120°F smoker and introduce warm smoke. Use a hygrometer and try to maintain a 70% humidity during the process. Gradually, raise the temperature of the smokehouse by merely 2 degrees every 20 minutes. Do NOT attempt to boost the heat to shorten the duration. This procedure may take several hours. Monitor the IMT (internal meat temperature) and when it reaches 140°F, discontinue the cooking-smoking.
I had to delete the posting to edit it.
DeleteThanks CW. I have some coppa drying in my cabinet. When that is done and I have based off an essay (doing a bit of study) I plan to make some semi dried sausage. I shall consider this. I do want to make some more air dried salami, but I hope that it will not be to long before my house it knocked down. I will then be studying, finding a new place to live and drying sausages. That is a bit too much for me.
Recipe added to main website at
Deletehttps://sites.google.com/site/sausageswest/departments/sausage-recipes
Here are a few things about meat that just might surprise you.
ReplyDelete• Pork tenderloin is one of the healthiest cuts of red meat, clocking in at just 122 calories per serving, and is rich in protein and B vitamins.
• Beef is the most popular red meat in the U.S., but goat meat is the most popular red meat in the rest of the world.
• There are more than 50 different cuts of meat on a cow, but the top five most popular are: chuck pot roast, top loin steak (a.k.a. New York strip), top round steak, top sirloin steak, and t-bone steak.
• Tick Bites Can Make People Allergic to Meat. A bite from a lone star tick can cause allergic reactions to red meat.
• Contrary to popular belief, red meat does not increase the risk of coronary disease. A recent study shows that eating three ounces a day of lean red meat was not associated with a higher risk for heart disease or diabetes.
• A three-ounce serving of red meat (beef) provides you with half (about 25g) of your recommended daily protein intake and is also an excellent source of Vitamins B6 and B12 (which give you energy), zinc (which helps maintain your immune system), and is a good source of iron (which helps your body use oxygen efficiently).
• Ouch! I know you don’t wish to hear this, but one of the worst types of red meat for you is ham. Whether baked, glazed or country-style, this variety of red meat is high in fat (7.7 grams of fat, with 2.7 grams of saturated fat) and sodium (1,275 milligrams of sodium, which is about half of the daily recommended amount).
• The healthiest type of red meat for you is organic, grass-fed lean beef, which is richer in omega-3s, vitamin E, and linoleic acids than conventional beef.
• Bigger is not always better. The recommended serving size for lean red meat is three to four ounces, about the size of a deck of cards.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Goat meat, especially cabrito (young goat), is very popular in South Texas. As the beef business is drying up (drought reduces supply, driving up the price), more and more goats are being raised. They tell me that there is almost an infinite market for goat on both the east and west coasts, as well as for export. Halal goat meat production is booming. Unfortunately, demand pushes THAT price up too.
ReplyDeleteWe've always called 'em "South Texas Lawnmowers." They'll eat anything. They require careful management or they'll eat ALL the grass, leaving only the rocks. If only they would eat rocks like they eat tin cans and yard debris! (That way, you could herd 'em with a large magnet.)
Duk
(where's that dang smiley?)
GOAT MEAT !!! Whaaaaat ?...say it aint so...oh....ok..wait a minute. It says "young goat", not Gray Goat....phewwweee!
Delete[IMG]http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab209/wayners692/BBQ/DSC_0022.jpg[/IMG]
ReplyDeleteAn old pic of some polish sausage smoking on my offset.....yuuum
Where did the picture go ?
DeleteSomeone hi-jacked it pal. And it wasn't us. If we find the photo filcher, we're gonna tar and feather him then run him out of town on a rail!
DeleteUhOh! I re-worked the format and clobbered the lines that showed the photos. They're all back, now, except for that embarrassing one of Chuckwagon and the... uh... Never mind. ...and for the rest of you folks, remember, don't ever, EVER attempt to take a "selfie" with a bear. ...especially if it's in the woods and involves toilet paper. :grin:
DeleteLookin' good. How do you generate your smoke? I've always had a problem with my offset smoker- - the smoke layers in there, and hanging sausages vertically, they over-smoke at the top ends and don't get any at the bottom ends. Guess I need to increase air flow, huh? That'll require a much greater volume of smoke.
ReplyDeleteDuk
I start a small amount of lump charcoal and add some wood chunks of choice now and then. Surprisingly, I am able to maintain temps around 150 degrees. Half way through the smoking, I rotate the sausages from top to bottom for even cooking. I take them to around 130 IT and then poach to finish.
DeleteI have tried the Amazen smoker in the offset and there isn't enough air flow to keep things going.
been struggling to post :(
ReplyDeleteI want to try and make some spicy beef sausages. Does anyone has a good recipe?
Just a couple of questions as well:
Could I use my recipe for beef burger and just stuff into casing or are there certain issues to beware of (my beef burger consists of beef mince, onion, garlic, chili paste, soy, egg and bread crumb)
I normally use hindquarter and work on a fat percentage of around 20-25%. Would this be good to use or are there other cuts that are better?
I want to make some beef sausages and was wondering a couple of things:
ReplyDeleteCan I use the same recipe as for my beef burgers and just stuff in casings ( beef mince, onion, garlic, chili paste, soy, egg, bred crumbs) or are there certain things to watch out for?
For my burgers I use hindquarter and work at a fat percentage of about 20-25%.
Would this be good to use for sausages as well?
I'm sure that combination would make for a fine sausage. I would bump up the fat content a bit and of course, add cure #1 if you plan on smoking the sausage.
DeleteThanks, gray goat,
DeleteWhy would you use cure 1, unless you wanna smoke the buggers, eeehhh, bangers :-)
How much fat would yiu use, around 30%?
30% sounds good. My original comment did specify using cure #1 only IF you plan on smoking the buggers.
DeleteLet us know how they turn out.
Chuckwagon's 32 Sausage Making Tips To Save You Grief (P. 1)
ReplyDelete1. Always use good meat to make good sausage. If you toss junky meat into the hopper, you’ll have junky sausage to contend with. Good Boston Butt (pork shoulder) is the first choice for sausage making. Incidentally, have you ever wondered why pork shoulder is called “Boston butt”? Meat cutters in the eighteenth century seaport Boston, Massachusetts, packed cuts of pork shoulder into wooden casks called “butts” to be placed aboard ships… which brings up the question, “ Do folks in Boston know their shoulders from their butts?
2. The meat MUST be kept as cold as possible throughout the entire mincing, mixing, and stuffing process. I cannot stress this point enough as is it will inhibit bacterial growth. Place the grinder blade and plate into the freezer 20 minutes ahead of time. If the plate and knife heat up, it can affect the mixture in all sorts of ways. Don't be afraid to add a little softened crushed ice chips now and then, but never try to grind hard-frozen ice cubes with your grinder.
3. Work with small batches of meat at a time and never miss an opportunity to refrigerate the meat at any time during the process.
4. Always cut the meat into chunks about an inch in size before they go into the grinder. This prevents long strands of sinew from wrapping around the auger, binding it down. When this happens, the meat is usually pushed through the die and is torn rather than being cleanly incised.
5. Freeze fat before putting it into the grinder to prevent “smearing”. Meat should be nearly frozen to prevent “mushing”.
6. Freezing ruptures meat cells as ice crystals expand. When the meat is thawed, it exudes a mixture of proteins, minerals, blood, water, collagen, and other meat juices we view as simply blood. This liquid should be saved and added to the sausage. Quick freezing produces less rupturing of meat cells.
7. Avoid using beef fat in sausage as well as the fat of wild game. Beef fat is yellow and the taste is inferior to that of pork fat. Also, avoid the fat of sheep or goats unless specified in a particular ethnic sausage.
8. The most important reason for not stuffing casings as the meat leaves the grinder, is that minced meat needs to develop myocin and actin, (proteins) that makes a sticky "meat paste". This is done either by hand or by using a mixer, but must be done in order to have proper texture in sausage. An investment in a vertical, geared, stuffer will keep you sane and made short work of stuffing casings.
9. The texture of sausage may be improved by freezing the fat then cutting it into larger dice by hand, rather than passing it through a grinder. The frozen fat is then folded gently by hand, into the primary bind.
10. Sausage must contain salt for a variety of reasons. Never reduce the amount of salt in a sausage recipe without professional advice. How much salt is needed in sausage? About 2% in fresh type sausage or 2 grams per 100 grams of meat. However, 2% used in fresh sausage, is simply not high enough for safety in a fermented “dry-cured” sausage requiring up to 3%. Dry-cured sausages without starter cultures (called “traditional” sausage), require even more… anywhere from 3 to 3.5%. Four to five per cent salt is unpalatable.
(Continued on next post)
Chuckwagon's 32 Sausage Making Tips To Save You Grief (P. 2)
ReplyDelete11. Follow recipe directions precisely. Observe established rules in method, procedure, and technique. You cannot make your own rules in sausagemaking and expect them to work. In other words, you cannot “fudge” on established, time-honored, and proven sausagemaking regulations. The inexorable rules in place in the sausagemaking world today are the summation of knowledge throughout centuries of world history. Most people who substitute ingredients, alter the technique, or alter the recipe, have a disaster for an end product. Nearly all of these people will blame the recipe.
12. Good sausage contains 20 to 25% fat. Fat lubricates the meat and gives it flavor. It also serves as a binder and although the content may be lowered, without it, a sausage’s texture becomes almost unpalatable.
13. Make sure the grinder blade is not on backwards. It must be pressed up against the plate with just a little pressure. You should be able to adjust the pressure as you detect just the slightest bit of resistance on the machine.
14. Never attempt to sharpen the flat side (plate side) of the blade. The contact surfaces must remain flat within a few thousandths of an inch. (Think of the two “flat contact sides” of a scissors. A cutler never touches them. He does however, grind the beveled edges to sharpen them.
15. After grinding, add the cure mixed in a little water for even distribution. Mix the spices and cure into the meat and continue mixing until the myosin develops a sticky meat paste.
16. Always use sterilized (prepared) spices in sausage. Non-sterile fresh spices and herbs from your garden may contain various bacteria from the soil and can spoil a batch of sausage within hours.
17. The purchase of an electronic scale is a solid investment you’ll never regret. Use it for precisely measuring salt, cures, and ingredients of all types.
18. To get the last bit of sausage out of the grinder, put a slice of bread down the hopper and continue grinding until the meat has cleared the plate.
19. If you use wine in sausage, be sure it is not a fruity sweet wine, and then limit the amount used. More is not better; too much wine makes the texture crumbly because it denatures the proteins, including the very importatnt binders actin and myocin. Please use only “dry” wine. The best way to add it is using an atomizing "spritzer" to spray it in while it is very cold during the mixing step.
20. Always preheat the empty smokehouse, add the sausage, then raise the temperature gradually - only a few degrees at a time at twenty or thirty minute intervals over several hours. I have yet to meet a sausage maker who didn’t ruin his first batch by cooking it too quickly. If the fat “breaks” (melts) and grease runs out onto the bottom of the smoker, you may as well toss the batch and start again. Cooked too quickly or too much, it is impossible to salvage.
21. Trichinella Spiralis is destroyed at 138°F. (59°C.). Prep-cooked sausages such as “brown n’ serve” are often cooked to the temperature of 148°F. (64°C.) for later heating to a final serving temperature of around 155°F. (68°C.). Sausages smoke-cooked to this temperature are guarded against most spoilage and pathogenic bacteria including salmonella, listeria monocytogenes, and toxoplasma - responsible for 1,500 deaths annually. However, it is critical that internal meat temperatures above 168° F. (76° C.) in "smoked-cooked sausages" be avoided as fat starts breaking (melting) at this point and will melt in pockets inside the sausage, eventually running out of the sausage. If this occurs, the sausage's texture will invariably replicate sawdust! You may as well throw it out and start again from scratch. And don't feed it to your dog! He deserves better. During prep-cooking, always heat and smoke sausages “low n’ slow
(Continued on next post)
Chuckwagon's 32 Sausage Making Tips To Save You Grief (P. 3)
ReplyDelete22. Always use non-iodized salt in sausage making. Iodized salt leaves a metallic taste behind.
23. After grinding, add the cure - mixed into a little water or cold stock - for even distribution throughout the meat.
24. Having ground meat for sausage, we must remember the simple task of developing a “sticky meat paste” that sausage makers refer to as the “primary bind”. Cold meat (just above the freezing point) must be mixed and kneaded well enough to develop the proteins myosin and actin. As this occurs, the mass will become sticky and develop soft peaks when pulled apart. The proper development of myosin and actin is critical for good texture in the finished product, although the meat should never be overly-mixed, as this may result in the sausage becoming "rubbery" in texture.
25. It is a good idea to develop the primary bind before vinegar, tomato, or any highly acidic food are added. In chorizo, blend in vinegar, but do not over-develop the mixture. Too much vinegar in the recipe will denature proteins and create other problems.
26. If you are making a “semi-dry cured” sausage that requires prep-cooking to an internal temperature of 150˚ F. (66˚C.), be aware that cooking in an oven with slightly lower heat, will cause a sausage to dry out more as it cooks longer.
27. If you have used vacuum sealing bags, you’ve probably experienced smashing sausages that have lost their shape. A simple solution is to place them into a deep freezer an hour before placing them into vacuum sealed plastic bags for longer storage. The quicker the meat is frozen, the smaller the ice crystals will be which will rupture meat cells affecting the texture of the sausage.
28. If your emulsified hot dogs and sausages are tough or rubbery in texture, you may be over-extracting the actomyosin myofibrillar proteins. In other words, you may be mixing the sausage a little too much, especially with the addition of salt or water. This elasticity may also be perceived as toughness or stiffness in texture. Most often an “insufficient amount of water” is bound to receive the blame for this elasticity or toughness when it is not.
29. Grind fresh black pepper just before it goes into the sausage. Use a coarse “butcher’s grind” for fresher aroma and better taste. Store bought pre-ground pepper has lost its taste. Leave it on the shelf and grind your own peppercorns for great tasting sausage.
30. Collagen casings cannot be linked by twisting them. They must be tied off using string, or simply cut to length using scissors if using smaller diameter casings like those for breakfast sausages.
31. Avoid air pockets in sausages by firmly packing the meat into the stuffer using your fist. Make certain the pressure relief valve is working properly. Trapped air pockets in casings are pierced deeply with a needle in several places immediately following stuffing.
32. Moisten hardwood sawdust well ahead of burning time, and do not soak it to the point it is dripping wet. Turn the hot plate to high until smoldering begins, then turn the heat down until it only produces constant but very little smoke. Moistened wood is not as acrid. Smoke penetrates meat much faster at higher temperatures. A case in point may be a sausage perfectly smoked at 120° F (50° C) for 4 hours. The same sausage may acquire a bitter, over-smoked flavor if smoked at 250° F (120° C) for the same length of time.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
"Stray Bullet" Italian Style Deer Sausage (25 lbs)
ReplyDelete(Smoked "Cooked n' Cured" Grilling Sausage)
This recipe is for a large batch of sausages… 25 lbs! Always use pork fat in making venison sausage - a minimum of 20% pork butt (with its fat) is needed, but 30% pork butt (with its fat) is better yet and it still gives the deer a wonderful flavor and a nice balance. This Italian style deer sausage is hard to beat.
15 pounds venison (all fat and tallow removed)
8 pounds pork shoulder (butt) (use the fat but no skin)
2 pounds pork fatback
5 level teaspoons Cure #1
2 cups soy protein concentrate
150 grams kosher salt
75 grams paprika
20 grams cayenne pepper
75 grams oregano
75 grams fresh garlic
75 grams dehydrated onion
75 grams whole fennel seed
75 grams crushed coriander
75 grams freshly ground (coarse grind) black pepper
75 grams red pepper flakes
500 ml of ice cold water
500 ml of port wine (optional) or another dry RED wine. No fruity wines.
Place the grinder knife and plate into the freezer while you separate the fat from the lean meat. Using a sharp knife, cut all the fat into smaller diced pieces (for the grinder), then freeze the fat. Cut the meat into 1-1/2 ” cubes and place it into the freezer until it nearly freezes. Grind the nearly-frozen meat using the 3/8” plate and the frozen pork fat using a 3/16” plate. Work in small batches and do not allow the fat to smear. Place the ground fat back into the freezer. Mix the Instacure #1 with a little water for uniform distribution and add it to the meat. Add the soy protein to the meat and distribute it with your hands. Add the remaining herbs and spices with a little water, then knead and mix the meat to develop the primary bind. When it becomes “sticky”, add the frozen fat to the mixture, folding it evenly throughout the mixture with your hands.
Stuff the sausage into 38 – 42 mm. hog casings and twist into links. Hang the links at room temperature until they are dry to the touch. Place the sausages into a preheated 130°F. (54°C.) smokehouse for an hour introducing hickory smoke. Raise the smokehouse temperature a few degrees every 20 minutes until it reaches 150˚ F. (66˚C.). Continue to smoke the sausages at this temperature until they start to bloom in about an hour. (At this point, the sausages may be removed to a 170° F. (77° C.) poaching solution for final cooking without smoke if desired.) If the sausages are to be cooked in the smokehouse, discontinue the smoke but raise the smokehouse temperature, once more… just a few degrees every 20 minutes, until the smokehouse temperature reaches 165°F. (74°C.). Hold this temperature until the internal meat temperature (IMT) reaches 150˚ F. (66˚C.). This will require a little time. Don’t rush the process. If the fat “breaks” (becoming liquid), the sausages will be ruined. Be patient. Finally, remove the sausages and shower them with cold water until the IMT drops to less than 90°F. (32°C.). Refrigerate the sausages overnight before using them. Grill the sausages in hickory smoke and keep them warm in a "beer bath" atop the grill.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Lodgepole Canyon Links"
ReplyDelete(Chuckwagon’s Semi - Dry-Cured Venison Ranch Sausage)
8 lbs. lean venison
1-1/2 lbs. lean pork
1/2 lb. pork backfat
6 tblspns. kosher salt
2 tblspns. rubbed sage
4 tspns. onion powder
1 tspn. ground nutmeg
2 tblspns. ground black pepper
8 tblspns. corn syrup solids
2 level tspns. Instacure #2
1 oz. powdered dextrose
After freezing your fanny off in the snow, carefully aim and shoot a 4-point buck whitetail mule deer, (our Rocky Mountain western measurement is four points on each side), field-dress and clean it, throw it over your saddle, lug it back to the ol’ ranch house, hang it up, allow it to cool overnight, skin the danged thing, then grind eight pounds of its best meat through a 3/8" plate.
Chop some creamy, “select” pork backfat into very small dice using a knife and then freeze it. Grind the pork and mix it with the venison. Add the remaining recipe ingredients to an ice water solution, distributing it well throughout the meat. Regrind the venison through a 1/8" plate with the ground pork. Add the frozen “small diced” back fat, and then mix the sausage well with your hands. Process the meat in small batches and never miss a chance to refrigerate it! Finally, stuff the sausage into larger hog casings or smaller casings of your choice and make links, hanging them to dry at room temperature for two hours.
Preheat your smokehouse to 120 degrees F. with dampers open, hang the sausage on smoke sticks, and dry them another hour. When the casings are completely dry to the touch, close the dampers to 1/4 open and apply heavy hickory smoke. Monitoring the smokehouse temperature carefully, raise the heat slowly, only five degrees every fifteen minutes or so, until the internal meat temperature reaches 152 degrees F. Next, shower the sausages in cold water, pat them dry, and then place them inside a drying area at room temperature with a relative humidity of 75% for twenty - four hours. Remove the sausage to a 38-degree F. refrigerator at 75% relative humidity for two weeks. Wipe off any mold that develops with a bit of vinegar on a paper towel. If you prepare this sausage carefully, its flavor will absolutely knock your socks off! If you don’t have access to venison, don’t give up. Try it with beef.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
“Cactus Jack’s Kabanosy”
ReplyDelete(Kabonosy made with collagen casing)
Author Stan Marianski, says kabanosy is the “finest meat stick in the world”! And he’s right. Stan says in his native Poland, a “kabanek” is a young pig less than 264 pounds (120 kg.) in weight. This recipe is very close to Stan’s own, found in his superb book, “Home Production Of Quality Meats And Sausages”.
Cactus Jack’s kabanosy recipe is for folks with little access to sheep casings, or those who find sheep casings too expensive. In Australia, believe it or not, it is becoming difficult to find. In America, it is getting quite expensive. This recipe uses 19 mm collagen casing.
10 lbs. Pork butt
4-1/2 tblspns. kosher salt
2 level tspns. Prague Powder #1
3 tblspns. black pepper (freshly ground)
1 cup water
19 mm. collagen casings
2 tspns. sugar
¾ tblspn. nutmeg
1 tblspn. caraway seeds
Separate the fat from the lean using a sharp knife, and cut the meat into 2” cubes. Freeze the fat and semi-freeze the lean. Grind the pork using the 3/8” plate and the fat using a 3/16” plate. Work with small batches, refrigerating the meat and fat at every opportunity. Mix the meat with all the ingredients only enough to barely develop a meat paste. Use as little added water as possible. Note that most sausage makers in Poland claim their secret of this particular sausage is in NOT developing the proteins in the meat at all in this particular sausage.
Use a long, non-tapered, stainless steel nozzle if you have one. Note that 19 millimeters equal 0.748 of an inch and it will pull over a ½” OD stuffing tube while taking the “accordion folds” out of it. Pull as much collagen casing onto the tube as possible, keeping everything dry as possible. This casing does not use water – it slides along a dry surface. Extrude the meat and make 3 foot lengths if your table is long enough, or form coils if not. There’s no need to tie the ends of the sausage using casing this narrow. Simply pinch the end of the casing with your thumb and forefinger and begin filling it. After a few inches have entered the casing, let it go and move the sausage along as it comes from the stuffer. I like to cut 12” sections with a pair of scissors, laying them on a smoke screen to dry just before smoking them.
Smoke-cook using your favorite wood. Use a preheated 120°F. (49°C.) smokehouse and after 45 minutes, raise the smokehouse temperature to 160°F. (71°C.), until the internal meat temperature reaches 145° (63°C.) in less than half an hour. Monitor the meat temperature carefully and do not allow it to overcook. The entire cooking time should be much less than that of other sausages, as the diameter of the kabanosy is much smaller than most others. When the internal meat temperature of the kabanosy reaches 145° F, remove them to cool. Don’t use cold water on collagen casings as it will affect the texture of the casings. I like to use a portable fan to help with the blooming of these sausages. After a few hours, refrigerate the sausages wrapped in paper towels for a few days to reduce moisture, shrink, and bloom. If you can wait, they are best after about 4 or 5 days drying. This is a perishable product and should be kept refrigerated.
Notes:
Remember, light collagen casings will not support the weight and coils (or sticks) must be placed on wire screens. Don’t bother tying links. Simply cut thekabanosy into desired lengths with scissors prior to drying and smoking. Store the snack sticks in paper sacks in a refrigerator. Kabanosy may be vacuum packaged and frozen successfully - otherwise it will harden as it continues to dry.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Bad Bob’s “Brown n’ Serve” Breakfast Sausage (P. 1)
ReplyDeleteCured And Smoked-Cooked Type Sausage
Are you in a rush to get to work in the mornings? Do you need a pre-cooked and cured sausage patty that you can “nuke” in 30 seconds and slap on a bun for a quick breakfast as you head out the door? Well, here it is.
I like "sandwich size" slices of breakfast sausage placed between two pieces of toast, so, when I make this sausage, I stuff the mixture into 5" bologna (red) casings, prep-cook ‘em to 140°F, refrigerate the sausage, and then slice off thick slices that I can microwave in half a minute. When I slice off a “disk” of sausage, the red casing just falls away. The sausage stores well in the refrigerator dehydrator with a little plastic wrap over the exposed end, held in place by an elastic band. If you have time, the best way to cook a 1/2" slice is by using a very hot, buttered skillet for quick browning. It's incredible for a breakfast sandwich with a little mustard on a sourdough biscuit with a fried egg. Brown n' serve is quick, delicious, and simple to make. I hope you enjoy "Bad Bob's 'Brown n' Serve' Breakfast Sausage" as much as I have.
Here are the details: Pork that is “par-cooked” has been heated higher than an internal temperature of 137°F. (58°C.), but less than 148°F. (64°C.). This eliminates any possible trichinella spiralis in the meat and the sausage is stored in the fridge (or freezer), until it is further cooked for a meal. When the pork product is finally heated above 148°F. (64°C.) but below 154°F. (68°C.), it becomes “fully-cooked” and “ready to eat”. This final cooking step ensures the destruction of all sorts of other bacterial pathogenic microorganisms including staphylococcus aureus, escherichia coli serotype 0157:H7 and 0121, salmonella enteritidis, clostridium perfringens, listeria monocytogenes, campylobacter jejuni, shigella, bacillus cereus, as well as various non-bacterial parasites such as cryptosporidium paryum and of course, trichinella spiralis. However, this is a non-fermented product and remains perishable. Please keep it refrigerated.
Meat Prep - Cooking Temperatures
Undercooked............ Below 137°F. (58°C.)
Par - cooked............. 137°F. (58°C.) to 148°F. (64°C.)
Fully Cooked............. 148°F. (64°C.) to 154°F. (68°C.)
[USA] Bad Bob’s Brown n’ Serve Breakfast Sausage
9 lbs. pork butt (with fat)
1 lb. pork back fat
2 tspns. Cure #1
4 tblspns. salt
2 cups soy protein concentrate
1 cup dried parsley
1-1/2 tspns. black pepper (coarse grind)
1 tspn. red pepper
2 tspns. granulated garlic
2 tspns. sage
1 tspn. ground marjoram
1 tspn. ground nutmeg
½ tspn. ground cloves
1 cup ice water
4-7/8” red fibrous casing
(Continued in next post)
Bad Bob’s “Brown n’ Serve” Breakfast Sausage (P. 2)
ReplyDeleteDirections:
Place the grinder knife and plate into the freezer while you separate the fat from the lean meat. Using a sharp knife, cut all the fat into smaller pieces (for the grinder), then freeze the fat. Cut the meat into 1-1/2 ” cubes and place it into the freezer until it nearly freezes. Grind the nearly-frozen meat using the 3/8” plate and the frozen pork fat using a 3/16” plate. Work in small batches and do not allow the fat to smear. Place the ground fat back into the freezer. Mix the Instacure #1 with a little water for uniform distribution and add it to the meat. Add the soy protein to the meat and distribute it with your hands. Add the remaining herbs and spices with a little water, then knead and mix the meat to develop the primary bind. When it becomes “sticky”, add the frozen fat to the mixture, folding it evenly throughout the mixture with your hands.
Stuff the sausage into 4-7/8” red fibrous casings and clamp them with hog rings or tie them with heavy cotton butchers twine. Place the sausages into a preheated 130°F. (54°C.) smokehouse for an hour introducing hickory smoke. Raise the smokehouse temperature to 170˚ F. (77˚C.), continuing to smoke the sausages until their internal meat temperature (IMT) reaches 148˚ F. (64˚C.). Remove the sausages, showering them with cold water until the IMT drops to less than 90°F. (32°C.). Refrigerate the sausages overnight before slicing half inch thick slices to pan fry for breakfast.
If you do not wish to smoke the sausages, you may certainly use your kitchen oven to prep cook the sausages. Simply lay them on an oven rack and bake them at only 200˚ F. (93 C.) until the IMT reaches 148˚ F. (64˚C.).
If you like to eat this type of sausage served cold or sliced cold for sandwiches, then simply skip the “prep-cooking” and fully cook the sausage by making sure the IMT reaches 152˚ F. (67˚ C.) It is very important not to continue cooking much beyond this temperature, as the collagen will break and the fat will turn into liquid. If this happens, the texture of the sausage will resemble sawdust and taste just awful. And listen up pards… don’t you even dare try feeding it to your dogs if you spoil this sausage by overcooking it. Just bury it in a hole in the backyard and play “Taps” with your bugle.
The secret of success:
When baking the sausage, be sure not to exceed the oven temperature of 200˚ F. (93˚ C.). It will require a few hours for the IMT (internal meat temperature) to reach 152˚ (67˚ C.). Have patience and do NOT try to rush the process by turning up the heat. It just will not work. The best solution is to use a probe-type thermometer with an alarm. When the IMT reaches 152˚F., be sure to cool it in ice water until it drops to room temperature.
Be aware that this type of sausage remains perishable and must be kept under refrigeration.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
ReplyDelete"Bronsonville Jots"
This is very close to the "Johnsonville Brat™" recipe.
3.5 lbs. (1600.0 g.) lean pork
1.6 lbs. (750.0 g.) pork fat
7 Tbls. (154.0 g.) corn syrup
5 tspns. (35.0 g.) salt
3 tspns. (13.0 g.) sucrose
2 tspns. (8.0 g.) MSG
2 tspns. (7.0 g.) phosphate
½ tspn. (2.0 g.) mustard seeds
¾ tspn. (1.8 g.) white pepper
½ tspn. (1.0 g.) marjoram
¼ tspn. (1.0 g.) citric acid
1/8 tspn. (0.3 g.) ginger
¼ cup (60.0 ml) icewater
I can't remember where this recipe came from. It's been in my files through several computers. It may have been from a Len Poli original that was passed around the net several times... (When you get to be over 167 like me, you just can't remember these things. (Shucks, my horse has a better memory than I do, and he doesn't even recall his own name!)
Grind all dry spices, salt, and sugar in a spice grinder to a fine powder. Grind the pork and fat separately through a ¼ plate while it is 32°F. Add the ground spice miture to the meats with the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly to develop the primary bind. Stuff into casings and twist 5 inch links. Refrigerate brats up to 3 days. Prepare the brats by simmering sliced onions and brats together in beer. Do not boil them! Finish the brats over charcoal fire on a grill.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
“Saddle Bum’s Chicken Sausage”
ReplyDeleteTarragon-Chicken Sausage
Have you ever wondered why you don’t see many recipes for chicken in sausages? Smaller diameter “Snack Sticks” are not usually made of chicken for several different reasons. The poultry’s high pH and Aw conditions make an ideal breeding ground for campylobacter jejuni and other bacteria. The skin frequently contains pathogenic bacteria as well. Further, because chicken fat is semi-liquid at room temperature, it is quick to melt inside casings submitted to even low-temperature cooking and fat “pockets” will quickly form.
Chicken in larger sausage casings is often mixed with pork fat for stability and flavor although it should be noted that making uncooked (fresh) sausages is not recommended as fresh poultry simply does not keep well. On the other hand, chicken and poultry used in an emulsified and cooked preparation (steamed or cooked in water), is safe. Chicken “hot dogs” are popular these days and are easily made. Here is a simple recipe for tarragon chicken sausage:
4 – ½ lbs. lbs. meat from chicken breast
4 – ½ lbs. meat from chicken legs
1 lbs. chicken fat and skin
2 tspns. Cure #1
4-1/2 tspns. salt (not iodized)
1-1/2 tblspns. black pepper (freshly ground)
1-1/2 cups soy protein concentrate
2 tspns. Tarragon (dried)
3 cloves of garlic (crushed)
½ cup icewater
Grind the skin and fat (nearly frozen) through the small 1/8” plate. Refreeze the mixture and run it through the grinder once again. Grind the poultry meat through a 3/8” plate. Alternately, you may wish to use a food processor to emulsify the meat, fat, and skin. Combine the mixture with the remaining ingredients and develop the primary bind. Stuff 32 mm hog casings into a “rope” or twist links in the length of your choice. Smoke the links using thin smoke inside a preheated 120° F. smokehouse, raising the temperature only a few degrees every twenty minutes for the period of 3 hours. Finish the cooking process by poaching the sausages in water heated to 175° until the internal meat temperature reaches 160°F. Immediately place the sausages in ice water for a few minutes. Be sure to keep the sausages refrigerated.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Hungarian Csabaii
ReplyDeleteMy pal Gus Kleckner in Australia hails from Hungary where they celebrate sweet paprika by putting it into just about every dish they can possibly think of. It’s wonderful stuff with its firery red color and exquisite flavor. This is Gus’ contest-winning recipe for the very popular Hungarian Csabaii.
Gus says, “This sausage takes its name from the village which many years ago made it famous. There is, in October each year a festival, celebrating its uniqueness, culminating in the crowning of the "Csabai King", who is the winner of the best sausage made in a space of two hours, with meat supplied by the organizers. It is a great tasting sausage, both grilled as fresh, or smoked and used in sandwiches or as an ingredient in dishes.”
The Recipe;
1 kg Pork - 80/20 meat/fat
14g Salt
25g Garlic - fresh, pressed and covered with water for 2 hrs
16g Sweet Hungarian Paprika
5 g Hot Hungarian Paprika
2.5g Whole Caraway
5g Icing sugar
2g Cure # 1 - if smoking
Gus’ Instruction:
Freeze the fat. Cube the meat and spread a single layer on the bench. Spread all ingredients on top, covering the whole surface. Mix together until the red colour develops. Cover in a bowl and refrigerate overnight. Grind together all ingredients with coarse plate, mix well and stuff into hog casing, 350mm/14" double links for smoking, 150mm/6" for fresh. Both should be hung in fridge for three days before freezing/smoking.
It is suggested that a patty is fried prior to stuffing to correct/modify for personal preference, bearing in mind that the original taste is a combination mainly of garlic, paprika and caraway. The hot version will require more of the hot paprika, should not be overbearing, but have a "bite".
Thanks Gus!
"Rhinocerahorse Andouille"
ReplyDeleteGarlic Cajun Sausage
Have you ever seen a Rhinocerahorse? They are certainly a horse of a different color… because they are half rhinoceros. And it’s not because a horse and a rhinoceros decided to “mate” one day. No, no, no… It is because of two different stampedes here in the west, both at the same time. You see, some ol’ time cowboy was sittin’ around his campfire drinkin’ beer and eatin’ beans. Well, nature took its revenge on his gluttony by calling for “relief” in two different ways. The “earthquake factor” plus his simultaneous belch, simply produced a ten-second roar above 295 decibels! A nearby herd of horses stampeded northward, while a local herd of rhinocerosesesesesszzz became startled and stampeded southward. Many animals ran smack dab into each other… some at such a speed as to combine their molecules when colliding. In the west, this became known as the “super collider” of Arizona, and in fact, the action continues to this day, where modern cowpokes may pick up a “rhinocerahorse” of their preference simply by paying a few more dollars and adjusting their saddles! Today’s modern rhinocerahorse, of course, stomps out campfires by repetitively jumping straight in the air on all fours, as well as climbing trees – a mighty handy talent when one of our western flash-floods comes a’ roarin’ down the canyon! If you just can’t locate any rhinocerahorse meat, go ahead and use pork butt.
9-1/2 lbs. fatty pork butt
1/2 lb. pork fat
2 level tspns. Prague Powder #1
2 cups soy protein concentrate
4 tblspns. salt
Six cloves of garlic
1 cup onions (diced)
1 tblspn. paprika
1 tblspn. sugar
2 tblspns. frehly cracked black pepper
1 tspn. cayenne pepper
1 tblspn. dried thyme
1 tspn. sage
½ tspn. mace
1/2 cup flat lager beer to adjust consistency
Proper Cajun-style andouille may be so coarsely ground the grain of the meat may be seen in the final product. This particular recipe skips the usual cloves, mace, and allspice incorporating more… you’ve guessed it – garlic! Shucks, don’t even bother peeling or chopping the garlic. Simply drop it into the grinder’s hopper in whole cloves and grind it with the meat. Be sure to grind the pork coarsely. It’s best ground through a 1/2" plate then mixed thoroughly with the seasoning. Mix the Prague Powder #1 with a little flat lager beer (or a little water) and distribute it thoroughly throughout the meat. Mix the meat well until a sticky “meat paste” is formed. Stuff the sausage into large 38-42 mm. hog casings.
Hang the stuffed sausage on sticks at room temperature to dry for an hour. Next, space the sausages, as to not touch one another, inside a 130-degree pre-heated smokehouse with the damper wide open to further dry them. Close the damper to ¼ open and use your choice of moistened sawdust to introduce smoke. It’s always a good idea to use a heat diffuser to promote indirect heat, and a drip pan to avoid flare-ups. After an hour, gradually, only a few degrees at a time, raise the smokehouse temperature to 165 degrees over the period of several hours. Insert a probe-type internal meat thermometer and remove the smoked sausages when the internal meat temperature reaches 150° Fahrenheit. Note that the smokehouse temperature should never exceed 170°F. Immediately shower the sausage with cold water and refrigerate the sausages.
Hastening the procedure by introducing more heat to the smokehouse will only shrink the sausages, dripping grease all over the floor of your smoker, and will produce a dry, wrinkled product resembling sawdust! Slow smoking produces moist, tender, sausage, having skins delivering that special "bite”. Although this product has been cured, it is perishable and should remain refrigerated.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Goodness Gracious Garlic Sausage
ReplyDelete(Fresh Garlic & Sage Expertise)
Some folks seem to think sage is just for turkey stuffing and breakfast sausage only. Wrong! Combined with a little garlic and hickory smoke in a sausage, it just can’t be beat. Who can resist the flavor of garlic in a good sausage? However, it can be a bit bitter or strong unless you know a little secret I learned years ago from an ol’ sourdough named “Dutch Oven Dick” – my fishin’ pard from Alaska.
The first time "Dutch Oven Dick" ran the rapids with me at the Red Creek confluence on the Green River, we took my aluminum canoe without a keel (scoots across the water). Dick’s eyes were large as tumbleweeds as we started down the "chute", scraped the bow, broached, rolled, and finally swamped the boat! Dick went under, washed down to the eddy, and shot out like a cork! Shaking and dripping wet, Dutch Oven Dick Lafferty cursed the 43 degree water temperature and as he pulled the boat back to the shore, he made reference to some type of female dog.
Kicking the gunwale, he screamed, "Look at the dent in that tub... We were nearly killed!" He added, "And to think we were dumb enough to run this rapid twice!"
"Twice?" I asked. "What do you mean ... twice?" I was puzzled. "We've only run this rapid one time" I said.
Heaving the paddle back into the canoe, he said..."Well we're going to do it again aren't we?"
Dutch Oven Dick’s Garlic Secrets:
Raw garlic added to sausage is pungent and it may be a little bitter. Par-cooked or ‘barely browned’, it becomes sweetened with roasted garlic flavor. The ol’ timer knew that oil and salt are the best kept secret ingredients in protecting garlic’s flavor. For example, if one were making a garlic marinade, oil and salt would be added to garlic, as omitting either would significantly reduce the flavor of the garlic. Why? It’s because oil protects and stabilizes allicin, the compound in garlic that’s responsible for its characteristic flavor. Allicin is produced when garlic is cut or crushed, and it quickly degrades into less flavorful compounds when exposed to air. When oil is added to comminuted meat, it coats the meat particles. However, once in oil, the allicin dissolves and is protected from air. With this protection, it freely moves into meat particles delivering full flavor. Salt has its own trick also as it speeds up the process. Salt draws water containing allicin out of the garlic much quicker than it would on its own. So, what is the secret? Don’t add all raw garlic to your sausage… cook most of it by poaching it just a few minutes in a little oil and salted water. When the liquid is reduced and cooled, put it into a food processor and pulverize the cooked garlic. Add the liquefied garlic mixture to the primary bind and blend it thoroughly with the meat.
10 lbs pork butt
29-32 mm. hog casings
1 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
2 tspns. freshly ground black pepper
2 tspns. rubbed sage
1 tspn. liquid smoke
4 cloves garlic (Prepared using instructions above)
90 grams salt
½ cup of water
2 tblspns. olive oil
Place the grinder knife and a 3/8” plate into the freezer. Cut the meat into 1” cubes to keep long strands of sinew from wrapping around the auger behind the plate as the meat is ground. Prepare the garlic, salt, oil, and water solution using the instructions above. Grind the meat and then mix in the garlic solution and the remaining spices. Work with small batches, refrigerating the meat at every opportunity. When the primary bind has developed and the meat shows peaks when pulled apart, stuff it into 29-30 m.m. fresh hog or lamb casings. This sausage is perishable and must be refrigerated. Use within three days or freeze the remainder.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Italian (Sweet) Sausage
ReplyDeleteOur pal, Stan Marianski really puts together an Italian sausage and this one is his! When the Italians leave the cayenne out of their infamous fennel-laden recipe, they call it “Italian Sweet” Sausage instead of “Italian Hot Sausage”. Real Italian Sausage contains caraway, fennel, and coriander, and it is a superb sausage for frying or grilling. Sheeeyuks, “Bigfoot” the butcher in my local supermarket, uses so much salt in his “secret recipe” it could melt the salt on I-15 in January! Why not make your own Italian Sweet Sausage and save money, use much less salt and fat, and enjoy your breakfast or dinner even more? The dominant flavor in fresh Italian sausage is fennel with traces of coriander and caraway. By adding (or not) cayenne pepper we can create sweet, medium or hot variety. Now, get this: Fried on a hot plate with green bell peppers and onions, it is sold by street vendors everywhere in New York City. Don’t confuse it with cheap poached hot dogs on a bun; Real Italian sausage is larger and served on a long subway type roll. It is leaner than other fresh sausages and the US regulations permit no more than 35% fat in the recipe. Yes, fennel, sometimes added with anise, is the dominant spice in this sausage, although the coriander and caraway play their parts also.
Pork butt 1000 g. (2.2 lbs)
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat:
Black pepper, coarse 2.0 g. (1 tspn.)
salt 18 g (3 tsp. )
sugar 2.0 g (½ tsp.)
fennel seed, cracked 3.0 g (2 tsp.)
coriander 1.0 g (½ tsp.)
caraway 1.0 g ( ½ tsp.)
cold water 100 ml (⅜ cup)
Instructions
Freeze the fat then grind the meat and fat using a ⅜” (10 mm) plate. Mix the meat with all ingredients, including the water, then stuff the mixture into 32 - 36 mm hog casings and tie 5” (12 cm) links. Fully cook the sausage to 152 degrees Fahrenheit before serving. Note this particular sausage is recommended for frying or grilling.
Notes:
For Medium Hot Italian Sausage add 2 g (1 tsp) cayenne pepper.
For Hot Italian Sausage add 4 g (2 tsp) cayenne pepper.
Other Italian spices such as basil, thyme and oregano are often added.
Want even more flavor? Simmer the bone and trimmings in a little water and use the stock for the water called for in the mix.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Authentic Polish Kielbasa (Hot Smoked)
ReplyDelete(10 lb. Formula)
Did you know that Polish Kielbasa (smoked sausage) was an all-pork recipe until 1964? That’s the year the Polish government decided to allow 20% beef into the product. The only other ingredients in the traditional recipe are salt, sugar, pepper, garlic, and marjoram.
Pork Butt...... 10 lbs. @ 32° F.
Salt...... 4-1/2 Tbl.Spns.
Cure #1...... 2 tspns.
Pepper...... 1-1/2 Tbl.Spns.
Sugar...... 2 tspns.
Garlic...... 4 large or 5 medium cloves
Marjoram...... 3 tspns.
Water...... 1 cup
32-35 mm. hog casings
Place the grinder knife and plate into the freezer while you separate the fat from the lean meat using a sharp knife. Cut the meat into 1” cubes to keep long strands of sinew from wrapping around the auger behind the plate as the meat is ground. Grind the meat using a 3/8” plate and the pork fat using a 3/16” plate. Place the fat into the freezer while you mix the Cure #1 with a little water (for uniform distribution) and add it to the meat. Work with small batches, refrigerating the meat at every opportunity. Next, mix the meat with all the remaining ingredients (except the frozen fat), kneading the mixture to develop the proteins myosin and actin, creating a “sticky meat paste” (primary bind). Finally, fold in the frozen fat and distribute it equally throughout the mixture. Depending upon various recipes or preferences, the sausage may now be refrigerated several hours for maturing, or the sausage may be immediately stuffed into casings to avoid smearing while the fat remains frozen.
Stuff the sausage into 32-36 mm. hog casings, allowing them to hang and dry at room temperature for an hour or place them into a smokehouse preheated to 130°F. (54°C.) for an hour with the damper fully open to assist with moisture elimination. When the sausages are dry to the touch, introduce hickory smoke and adjust the damper to only ¼ the way open. Gradually, only a couple of degrees at twenty minutes intervals, raise the smokehouse temperature until the internal meat temperature (IMT) registers 152°F. (67°C.). This procedure must be done slowly to avoid breaking the collagen and liquefying the fat. Remove the sausages, showering them with cold water until the IMT drops to less than 90°F. (32°C.). This sausage remains perishable and must be refrigerated.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
ReplyDeleteKnackwurst
Howdy Sausagemakers! While I was going through some ancient family recipes from the old country (Switzerland), I came across some instructions from a huge Danish Supply house that dates back more than a century and a half. It is for making 100 pounds of German “Knackwurst”. The original recipe specified ‘ground saltpeter’ as the curing agent but I’ve calculated the correct amount of Cure #1 containing sodium nitrite at 156 p.p.m. The supply house failed to give an exact measurement of garlic. The instructions simply read, “add a small quantity of grated garlic”. So, I simply added the amount of garlic powder recommended in “Home Production Of Quality Meats And Sausages” by Stan and Adam Marianski. The original recipe also specifies that the meat be chopped “very fine” and stuffed into beef rounds or hog casings, hung in the air for 8 days, then cold smoked another 6 days before preserving them in a “cool and dry place”.
I compared the formula to Rytek Kutas’ “Knockwurst” recipe. He liked to add a few more ingredients including powdered dextrose, mace, allspice, coriander, and a whopping amount of paprika. The man also liked to hot-smoke this sausage, (he sold hot-smoking cabinets) placing an “emulsified” mince into small or medium beef rounds, or 38-42 m.m. hog casings. He placed them on smokesticks, allowed them to dry completely, then put them into a smokehouse preheated to 135˚F. (57˚C.) one hour without smoke. He then raised the temperature to 165˚F. (74˚C.) and then applied hickory or alder smoke until the internal meat temperature reached 152˚F. (67˚C.). I suspect that you are not going to make a hundred pounds of this sausage, so I’ve written a recipe for 10 pounds of Knackwurst sausage
Knackwurst - Ten lbs. Swiss Recipe ( 4.5 kg. using Prague Powder #1)
6.0 lbs. lean pork
1.4 lbs. lean beef
2.6 lbs. fat pork
11.32 grams (0.4 oz.) Prague Powder Cure #1 (American = 2 level teaspoons)
81 grams salt
0.6 oz. black pepper
0.25 oz. caraway seeds (2.5 tspns.)
0.15 oz. garlic powder (1.5 tspn.)
*It is interesting to note that Rytek Kutas’s Knockwurst Recipe also includes the following ingredients. Why not try them? I especially like the addition of dextrose to “sweeten” and balance the sausage.
4 tblspns. powdered dextrose
1 tblspn. mace
½ tspn. allspice
1 tspn. coriander
2 tblspns. paprika
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Lone Peak Linguiza
ReplyDeletePortuguese Linguiza Sausage
A couple of years ago, a man from Seattle sent me a note that said my Linguiza recipe was awful and he would never try it again. He said he followed my recipe exactly… that is until he found that he had no red burgundy on hand. So, he substituted some of his “cousin’s special apple-brandy”, which was made in his own basement! His disdain for “my” recipe was evident as he even quit our website.
Linguiza is made very coarsely ground often through a commercial 3/4" plate. Linguiza is usually stuffed into hog casings and is quite different tasting than most other sausages. Some people say the taste is unique and takes a little getting used to. Outside of continental Portugal, Azores Islands, Madeira Islands and Brazil, Linguiza is also popular in Goa (India’s smallest state), Southeastern Massachusetts, Massachusetts' North Shore, Rhode Island, Southeastern Connecticut, and parts of California, Oregon, Seattle, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Okinawa. It is also available in many grocery stores in southern and central New Hampshire, and southern Maine. In these regions it is typically sliced before being braised or grilled.
The folks at Sausage Mania sent me a copy of their ingredients for Portuguese Linguiza - a very simple recipe from a Portuguese tapas bar in San Francisco, near Fisherman's Wharf. It contains sherry (Spanish wine) rather than vinegar and the only spices are salt and paprika. Sausage Mania says, “Dry sherries give sausage an unpleasant, flat taste. Try instead, Harvey’s Bristol Cream, which is rich, sweet and full-bodied.”
• Ground pork: 1 lb.
• Coarse salt: 1/2 teaspoon
• Dark sherry: 2 ounces
• Paprika: 1-1/8 tablespoon
I’ve learned over time, that alcohol added into sausage by spraying it into the primary bind as it develops the actin and myosin proteins. There is actually a scientific reasoning for this and I’ll share it with you if you care to email me. More than a tablespoon of alcohol in a 10 pound sausage recipe of any type, will just start breaking down and modifying the proteins, causing mushy meat. Better to serve good wine at the table – it’s just not necessary in sausage although many will disagree. Here’s my favorite recipe for making Linguisa. Authentic “sweet Hungarian paprika” and plenty of black pepper are a “must” in my kitchen.
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“Linguisa” (P. 2)
ReplyDelete10 lbs. pork butt
2 tspns. Cure #1 (USA)
4-1/2 Tblspns (1.8%) salt
2 tblspns. sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tblspn. garlic powder
1 tspn. coriander
1 tspn. red pepper flakes
1 tblspn. sugar
1 tspn. powdered ginger
2 tspns. black pepper
2 cups soy protein concentrate
5 oz. Greek Xinomavro wine (or good Italian red burgundy)
1 cup (or less) ice water – to adjust consistency of texture
Grind the pork using your largest plate. (1/2 inches is ideal but 3/8” will suffice). Mix all the meat together and knead it to develop the proteins. Place the cure into the cup of icewater and stir the mixture evenly throughout the meat. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to mix the meat just until a sticky meat paste is developed and shows “soft peaks” when pulled apart. Don’t get carried away “developing” the proteins, as the final texture may become “rubbery” or tough. Simply mix it until it develop soft peaks when you pull it apart.
Stuff the sausage into 36 m.m. hog casings and place 5 inch links on smokesticks inside a preheated smoker at 150˚F. (66˚C.) with the dampers open. When the sausage appears to be dry to the touch after thirty or forty minutes, raise the smokehouse temperature gradually (only a couple of degrees every ten to fifteen minutes) to 160˚F. (71°C.) introducing light smoke for an hour. After an hour, raise the smoker temperature once more to 165˚F. (74˚C) while continuing the smoke if desired. When the sausages reach the internal meat temperature of 150˚ F. (66˚C.), shower them with cold water until they drop to room temperature. Refrigerate the sausage as this is a smoked-cooked product, not a dry-cured sausage.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Every time I run low on chorizo (yikes!), I always try to make a pound or two of something new, a pound or two of a favorite older recipe, and then scale what's left in a chorizo recipe.
ReplyDeleteIt's time for kabanosy! ...time also to re-run that good andouille recipe, for gumbo once winter sets in and it goes below 50 degrees around here. Both ought to be great, smoked, using that bag of whiskey barrel pellets that I bought last summer.
The rest of the pork goes to chorizo (made as a fresh sausage), this time with a shot of Sriracha in it. Yeow! ...that's good. As for something new, this time, I'll try a new chicken sausage recipe- - just boned out 1-1/2 kilos of thighs.
I don't care WHAT you say about Chuckwagon, he's right about kabanosy. It's delicious, and it's been too long since we've had any around here.
Duk
...got that andouille batch ground and mixed this morning, as well as some Kabanosy and a new chicken sausage recipe. It's based on a Moroccan spice scheme that we like to use when we grill chicken. If it turns out well, I'll post it. If not... Hey! What was that, over there? (...zoom!)
DeleteDuk
Chuckwagon’s “Outlaw’s Onion Sausage”
ReplyDelete(Fresh-Type “Loose” Sausage)
2.2 lbs. (1 kg.) pork butt with 30% fat
18 g. salt
2.0 g. coarse ground black pepper
2.0 g. ground thyme
2 Tblspns. finely chopped onions
9.0 g powdered dextrose (or 1/2 tspn. sugar)
Grind the lean (pork butt) through a 3/8” plate and the fat (frozen) through a 1/8” plate. Over medium-high heat, slightly pan fry the onions in a non-stick skillet, adding a teaspoon of water. Stir the onions until the water has cooked away. Allow the onions to cool. (They should be barely translucent). When the onions have returned to room temperature, add all the remaining ingredients to the meat and fat mixture and fold until the ingredients are blended well together. Refrigerate overnight in a refrigerator to meld flavors and use within three days, or freeze any remaining sausage. Brown and use this “loose” sausage in gravy for “biscuits n’ gravy” or your special spaghetti sauce.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
El DuckO’s “Paint Chip Sausage”
ReplyDeleteGreek Turkey Sausage
Here's that "Paint Chip" Sausage recipe that I promised. Those of you who are literal minded (you know who you are) should use paint chips in place of the vegetables and "secret blend of herbs and spices" listed here. Don't worry about density differences between paint chips and spices. If you choose lead paints, soon it won't matter anymore.
This is based on a Rytek Kutas recipe called "Greek Turkey Sausage." My copy of his book is in storage at the moment, but I've scribbled the reference down as "Great Sausage Recipes & Meat Curing, 4th ed." p.183. (Don't never, ever, agree to selling your house without thinking things like storage issues through.) You'll like this one if you like Greek food. ...or not. We do.
It's a fresh sausage, so the usual cautions and precautions apply- - keep it cold, stuff in the usual 22-24 mm size hog casing, cook thoroughly before eating, eat or freeze within four days, do not pass "GO," do not collect $200. (We're still mad at Hasbro for doing away with the "iron" token in their Monopoly game. What's next? ...the "sausage grinder" token?)(Oh. Wait. That's a little "cannon.")
Enjoy. This has been scaled so that you can buy a 1# package of ground turkey at the supermarket. In my experience, few commercial ground turkeys take to the air like wild turkeys do, so you should be good with ground commercial turkey.
You will note a colorful addition to the meat- - the green spinach and cilantro, the yellow garlic, the black (unless you use red/green/black mix) peppercorns, the white feta cheese, the yellow feet and beaks and skin and other unmentionables found in commercial ground turkey. These are a metaphor for paint chips. (Be sure and look up the word "metaphor" before you use real paint chips. Otherwise, please designate me as the beneficiary on your life insurance policies.) For added realism, finely chop the spinach and crush, rather than grind, the peppercorns, to achieve an approximation of paint chip size.
The recipe (in all its glory):
Rytek Kutas' "Greek Turkey Sausage."
• 7 oz (190 gm) ground pork (80/20 mix)
• 1 lb (450 gm) ground turkey (25% or so fat)
• 13 gm salt (gives 1.5% salt in the batch)
• 50 ml ice water (dissolve the salt in this)
• 100 gm Feta cheese (goat milk preferred)
• 15 gm white onion, chopped and rinsed
• 2 gm garlic, sliced to resemble paint chips, rinsed
• 2.2 gm peppercorns (mixed colors), crushed, not ground
• 1/2 gm cilantro leaf, chopped to paint chip size
• 1/2 gm oregano leaf, chopped to paint chip size
• 1/2 gm anise seed (better grind this one)
• 18 gm spinach, chopped to paint chip size
Eat this. Enjoy. Then ponder life's burning question:
Why is it spelled "turkeys" instead of "turkies" ?
Duk
Chuckwagon’s Lone Peak Pastrami (20 lb. formula) P. 1
ReplyDeleteWith “Shotgun Sanford’s .12 Gauge Mustard” - (Mustard Dressing For Pastrami)
“Basturma” originated in Asia Minor where people yet today make the recipe using camel meat. Historically, even horsemeat has been used. Later, in Romania, a highly spiced pork product known as “pastrama” was developed about the time Slavic Jews in Europe fashioned a kosher “beef version” known as corned beef - the “corns” referring to the coarse grains of salt used to cure the meat. Introduced to America by the immigrating Jewish community, “corning” beef became popular long before refrigeration was devised or commonly utilized. Today, more often than not, we make it for its unique flavor and texture. Technically, pastrami is “kicked up” corned beef, having an outside layer of crushed coriander seeds and black peppercorns rubbed and pressed into the meat before it is smoked. Round up 20 lbs. of beef brisket or beef plate and then make a 40° SAL curing brine by mixing the following ingredients:
1 gallon water
7-1/2 tblspns. (136 g.) Prague Powder Cure #1
1 pound (453 g.) kosher salt (coarse)
3 tblspns. coriander seeds (added for its flavor)
2 tblspns. black peppercorns (added for “spiciness” – please crack the peppercorns – don’t pulverize them.
1 tlbspn. white peppercorns (cracked for “spiciness” – if not available, use additional black peppercorns.
8 cloves fresh garlic (minced to provide flavor)
2 tblspns. yellow mustard seeds (added for “spiciness”)
3 tblspns. brown sugar (added to provide sweetness)
3 tblspns. paprika (added to provide pungency and spicy hot quality)
A pound of salt in a gallon of water is an old favorite (easy to remember) of many sausage makers. This brine is 40 SAL degrees and about 10.5% salt. Some people prefer a more “sturdy” 60 SAL solution by using 1-1/2 lbs. of salt (nearly 16% salt by weight). Of course, the duration in the brine is shorter and it is a little “stiff” for poultry, but just fine for beef or pork. Toast the peppercorns and seeds in a dry skillet a few minutes, to release their oils and flavor. Stir all the ingredients into the water, bring the solution to boil, remove it from the heat, and allow it to return to room temperature.
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Chuckwagon’s Lone Peak Pastrami (20 lb. formula) P. 2
ReplyDeletePump the briskets (or plates) in several places with enough brine to equal 10% of the weight of the meat. Place the meat in a non-reactive container covered by the remaining brine for 5 days at 38° F (3° C.). Be sure the meat is submerged; use a couple of clean dinner plates to hold it down if necessary. (I stopped using rusty horseshoes long ago!) Having “baptized the brisket” five days, flush away the brine and cover the brisket overnight using fresh, cold, water. It is a good idea to change the water once again during this period after about four hours. Finally, rinse the meat and pat it dry. Press and rub freshly cracked black peppercorns into the surface (with more coriander seeds if desired) to form a thick coating. When the meat has dried completely, hang the pieces inside a preheated 140° F. (60° C.) smokehouse and smoke them an hour in your favorite smoke. Hickory is very nice. Careful now, beef is not as forgiving as is pork, and may be easily oversmoked. Next, cover the meat with foil (to hold in moisture) and finish cooking the pastrami inside a “slow” oven at only 200° F. (93° C.). Continue cooking the meat slowly until it eventually reaches an internal meat temperature of 165° F. (74° C.). The meat may also be baked inside a covered Dutch oven if you prefer not to use foil. When the pastrami has cooled to room temperature, place it into the refrigerator 8 hours before slicing.
“Shotgun Sanford’s .12 Gauge Mustard”
(Mustard Dressing For Pastrami)
1/2 cup Coleman’s dry mustard powder
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tspn. pulverized red pepper flakes
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tspn. prepared horseradish
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tspn. salt (un-iodized flaked)
1-1/3 cup mayonnaise
*water
Heat the flour in the bottom of a Dutch oven, until it start to turn golden brown. Remove the utensil from the heat and add the remaining ingredients except the mayonnaise. Stir the mixture to blend it. If more moisture is needed, add cold water as you continue stirring. Replace the Dutch oven over the heat and simmer the mixture while continuing to stir. When the mustard begins to thicken from the heat, remove it and allow it to cool for a few hours. Finally add the mayonnaise and stir it until blended. Store the mustard dressing in a glass container for a week before using it on pastrami.
Best wishes,
Chuckwagon
"Wounded Witch Trick Or Treat Pepperoni Stix" P.1
ReplyDeleteHere is a quick, 2-day semi-dry-cured pepperoni using Bactoferm FLC culture. In many countries, large companies have produced “fast-fermented” type pepperoni for so long that the public has now come to believe that all pepperoni must be “tangy” to be any good. Chr. Hansen in Denmark now produces a Bactoferm™ product (LHP) that is so quick that it can drop a pepperoni product safely below pH 5.0 in merely two days! A forty-two-gram packet of LHP will treat 500 pounds (225 kilo) of meat and any leftover culture may be re-frozen (up to 6 months). In a pinch, people have often used their smokehouses for curing chambers by adding a pan of water to the hotplate for the first few hours. It is also so quick, you must use Cure #1 as there is simply no time allowed for the breakdown involved in Cure #2 from sodium nitrate to sodium nitrite and ultimately, nitric oxide (not to be confused with nitrous oxide). It is the nitric oxide that actually cures the meat.
It is most convenient to use collagen casings to make 19 m.m. sticks. Ask for the brown, "smoked" casing. They are simple to use, come in a sterile accordion-type tube, and load on your stuffing horn with no water, no mess, and no fuss. All you have to do is crank out some large coils of the stuff onto the table, let it "set-up" five minutes, and then cut it into one-foot (or desired) lengths with a pair of scissors.
Most suppliers are now offering a stuffing tube for 19 m.m. casings. I made mine some time ago using a six inch section of stainless steel tubing I found at a plumbing supply store. I welded it into an old collar and it has worked perfectly for me for years. Now, you can just buy ‘em to fit smaller sizes of casings. I just can’t bring myself to toss out “ol’ reliable”!
One more thing… collagen will not hold twisted links and must be tied with string. However, in smaller diameters, it may be easily cut into lengths using scissors. Collagen doesn’t have the strength to hang from smokesticks without breaking, so I’ve just always laid out the sausages on smokescreens - they’ve always worked perfectly.
Here's how to make ten pounds:
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“Wounded Witch Trick-Or-Treat Pepperoni Stix” (Ten-pound Recipe) P.2
ReplyDeleteSemi-Dry Pepperoni (fast fermented sausage using Bactoferm™ FLC)
7.0 lbs. lean pork butt
3.0 lbs. lean beef
105.00 g. salt
11.00 g. cure #1
118.30 g. ice water
45.50 g. powdered dextrose
150.00 g. soy protein concentrate
45.50 g. sugar
15.00 g. freshly-ground black pepper (grind it "coarse")
30.00 g. Hungarian paprika (not Spanish paprika... it's too bitter)
14.50 g. fennel seeds
9.0 g. cayenne pepper (or 14 gr. for very hot flavor)
1.14 g. Bactoferm™ FLC culture
19 m.m. collagen casing
Place the grinder knife and plate into the freezer twenty minutes before you use them. Cut the meat into 1” cubes to keep any long strands of sinew from wrapping around the auger behind the plate as the meat is ground. Grind the meat (and fat) through a 3/16” plate. Mix the Cure #1 with a little water (for uniform distribution) and add it to the meat. Mix the FLC culture with a little distilled, chlorine-free water and follow the directions on the package allowing the bacteria time to “wake up”. Add the remaining ingredients and develop the proteins. Mix the sausage until “sticky peaks” are formed when the meat is pulled apart. Stuff the mixture into 19 m.m. collagen casings forming a long coil or long lengths. As mentioned before, collagen casing will not hold twisted links. Having allowed the sausage ten minutes to “set up”, simply cut uniform lengths using a pair of sharp scissors, laying them out on smokescreens in your preheated smokehouse at 100°F. The humidity should be elevated to 85%. If you don’t have a curing chamber, use an open pan of water on top of the hotplate but don’t exceed the SHT of 100 degrees for a day. After 24 hours, apply light smoke and raise the smoke house temperature to 115°F. for six hours more. Note that an FLC culture is able to produce lactic acid at this temperature. Now, gradually increase the smokehouse temperature until the internal meat temperature reaches 152°. Careful now… special precaution must be taken not to overcook this delicate, narrow 19 millimeter sausage.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Chuckwagon’s “Paralyzin’ Pickled Polecats” P. 1
ReplyDeleteHabanero-Laced, Pickled, Andouille Sausage
The first time I ever tried one of these scorchin’ hot, tonsil n’ tongue toastin’, 12-gauge sizzlin’ slugs, I had just gotten my driving license. I had stopped at a local “gas n’ go” where I bought several “Louisiana home-made” pickled sausages, made with something called “Extry-Warm Scotch Bonnets”. As I bit down on the delicious-lookin’ sausage, the last thing I remember thinking was how great the texture was. Then all of a sudden the habanero clobbered me like a sack of horseshoes… at about 60 miles per hour! I was still screamin’ like a banchee when I came to a stop. My ol’ pickup was turned around in traffic and I had laid down enough rubber to give Charles Goodyear a heart attack! There was a smoky-blue haze layin’ low in the atmosphere and people were staring at me as I attempted to put the fire out with Colorado Kool-Aid (Coors). Shucks pards, these hot and spicy Cajun sausages are very nice, but should come with printed consumption instructions.
Laplace is a Cajun town about 30 miles from New Orleans calling itself the Andouille Capital of the World. Folks from Laplace tell us western cow kickers that their sausages are made with fewer seasonings than those made in other areas, and often contain a little wine, lots of black pepper, garlic, and onions. I like the stuff grilled over diminishing hickory coals, but if you want a real treat, try “pickling” a few links. Classic Cajun andouille was brought to Louisiana by German and French immigrants. Roasted and sliced in small sections, the sausage is a perfect appetizer for parties, having a spicy, smoky, rich, and earthy flavor with a noticeable hint of herbs and garlic. Further pickled for five days, it is irresistible!
Chuckwagon’s "Paralyzin’ Pickled Polecats"
5 lbs. pork butt with fat
1 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero Pepper
1 cup cold water
1 level tspn. Prague Powder Cure #1
2 tblspns. kosher salt
1/2 cup onions (diced)
1 Tblspn. granulated garlic
1 tblspn. freshly ground black pepper
½ tspn. dried thyme
1 tblspn. paprika
1 tspn. finely crushed bay leaf
1 tspn. parsley
beer to adjust consistency
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Chuckwagon’s “Paralyzin’ Pickled Polecats” P. 2
ReplyDeleteUse plastic gloves and eye goggles while handling the habanero. Cut the pepper open and remove the seeds and veins. Pulverize the pepper in a blender with a little beer, the cup of water, and the cure #1. Set the mixture aside. Cut the fat from the meat, dice it very small or grind it through a 3/16” plate, and then freeze it. Cut the meat into chunks, semi-freeze it, and then grind it through a 3/8" plate. Finally, mix the remaining ingredients (except the frozen, diced, fat) with the cure-pepper liquid and distribute it evenly throughout the meat. Continue mixing the meat to develop the primary bind (sticky paste), and then fold in the frozen diced fat, distributing it evenly. Stuff the sausage into 42-45 mm. hog casings and make stubby links only three or four inches long, allowing them to hang and dry at room temperature for an hour. Place the sausages into a preheated 130-degree smokehouse for an hour, and then insert a probe-type internal meat thermometer into a sausage. Introduce hickory smoke with the dampers barely cracked open. Slowly, only a couple of degrees every quarter-hour, raise the smokehouse temperature to 165° F. Remove the smoked sausages when the internal meat temperature reaches 150° F. and immediately shower them using cold water. Smoke-cooking sausages by raising the temperature only two degrees every 15 minutes may take quite some time; don’t get in a hurry. If you add too much heat too quickly, you’ll “break the fat” and ruin the sausage. Note that the smokehouse temperature (in this recipe) should never exceed 165 degrees. While the sausages are smoking, prepare the “Polecat Brine”, cool it, and then refrigerate it overnight. Refrigerate the sausages overnight then “pickle” them inside a quart canning jar, covering them with the brine. Refrigerate the sausages five days before eating them. Keep sausages only 7-10 days.
“Polecat Brine”
1 cup vinegar
¼ cup of diced onion
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 Tblspn. kosher salt
½ Tblspn. sugar
1 Tblspn. pickling spice,
½ cup water.
Instructions: Bring the contents to boil, remove it from the heat, and allow it to cool. Refrigerate the brine overnight. Place the sausages in a jar and pour the brine over them. If necessary, “top off” the jar with added vinegar. Seal and tip the jar to distribute the seasonings. Marinate sausages 5 days before eating them cold with your favorite sudsy libation.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Lone Peak Pork Loin (Canadian Bacon) P. 1
ReplyDelete(5-Day, Brine Cured, Smoked, Pork Loin)
Many meat products are soaked in saltwater brine with added nitrite. Often, up to fifteen percent of the meat’s weight in brine, is injected throughout the product to ensure complete distribution. One of the most popular meat products cured in this manner is Canadian Bacon which is not bacon at all. Pork loins are trimmed of their silver skin and excess fat, and cured in a strong saltwater solution containing Prague Powder #1. Ten percent of each loin’s weight is calculated and that much brine is injected into each loin. Very small “shots” are injected equally into several places in each loin. To determine the correct amount of brining solution to inject, simply weigh the meat. Move the decimal point one place to the left to determine the weight of ten per cent solution. In other words, if the meat weighs 15 pounds, inject 1.5 pounds of brine into the loins. Next, the loins are placed into the leftover brine and refrigerated. Note that it is most important to keep the temperature as near 38˚F. (3˚C.) as possible. Temperatures much above that point may enable the meat to begin spoiling; below that point, the cure’s effectiveness may be compromised.
10 lbs. pork loins
3 tblspns. Cure #1
4 qts. icewater
¾ cup powdered dextrose
2 tblspns. Mapleline (maple flavoring)
1 cup salt
Rinse the loins well following the fifth day brining, and pat them with a paper towel. I like to roll Smoked Pork Loin in plenty of freshly cracked black peppercorns before they go into the smoker. The meat is slowly smoke-roasted to an internal meat temperature of 150°F. (66°C.), making it one of the most delicious types of “ham” you might slide across your tongue! As a reference, ten pounds of loin requires about six or seven hours cooking in a 200°F. oven or smoker. Two hours actual smoking is plenty.
(Continued in next post)
Lone Peak Pork Loin (Canadian Bacon) P. 2
ReplyDelete“On the trail” without refrigeration, a portable cooler containing cubed ice or snow may be used to cover and keep the water and the loins as close to 38° F. (3° C.) as possible while the meat cures. As the ice melts, the solution becomes weaker and diluted as water is poured off each day. Compensation for the loss of salt and cure must be made by adding a teaspoon of Cure # 1 and two tablespoons salt, once a day on each of the last three days of curing. Be sure to completely dissolve the cure into the water just before adding more ice to the cooler to compensate for that which has melted. (If you are using snow, be sure to pack it inside a large, plastic, zip-lock type bag.) At the end of the fifth day, soak the loins in cold, clean, water for an hour. Dry the loins completely before smoking them. Lots of folks roll Canadian Bacon in yellow cornmeal rather than black pepper. They call it “peameal bacon”. Some misunderstood souls even omit the smoking.
Chuckwagon’s “Horseradicot Sauce”
Horseradish-Apricot Sauce For Pork
1 cup Apricot jam
¼ cup (4 tblspns) tomato paste
¼ cup (4 tblspns) lime juice
¼ cup (4 tblspns) bourbon
5 Tblspns. cider vinegar
2-1/2 Tblspns. ketchup
2 Tblspns. minced green onion
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1-1/2 Tblespns prepared horseradish
1 Tblspn. soy sauce
1 Tblspn. brown sugar
1 Tblspn. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tblspn. minced fresh ginger
½ tspn. hot pepper flakes
Simmer all ingredients (except the horseradish) in a saucepan over medium-low heat for ten minutes, stirring often. When the sauce reduces to a thick liquid, allow it to cool. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water. When the sauce has returned to room temperature, stir in the horseradish until thoroughly blended.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
ReplyDelete"Rattlesnake Rub 'N Roast"
(Cookin' A Western Diamond Back Rattler – Bite ‘em Back!)
Did you know there are 32 species of Crotalinae and seventy sub-species? As Ray would say, “Boy Howdy”! I'm sure lots of others know a heck of a lot more than I do about these critters, but I couldn't help postin' my recipe for the WESTERN diamondback. My ol' fishin' partner got nabbed in the sagebrush by one of these devils and it screwed up his entire immune system for the rest of his life.
If you kill a rattler for supper, step on its head, cut it off and leave it alone. The unpredictable reflexes of the reptile may yet deliver venom up to twenty minutes more. As with any other meat, the flesh must be cooled before cooking it. Wash the flesh, pat it dry, and keep it clean. If you are going to use the head, skin, and rattles to fashion a great hatband that will bewilder, amaze, and impress everyone you cleverly and subtly bump into, make sure the reptile is dead as a can of store-bought corned beef before you start operating. Hang the snake by tying a strong cord around its flesh behind the head. Separate the head from the flesh but not the skin. Make a vertical slice down the belly almost to the rattles. Eviscerate the innards but leave the rattles connected to the skin as you easily pull the skin from the snake. Roll the head, skin, and rattles in plenty of salt, refrigerate the thing, and take it to a taxidermist as soon as possible, or get busy yourself, tanning the skin and preserving its head.
Having removed the entire contents from inside the snake, thoroughly wash and cool the meat. Slice it into two inch sections including the rib bones, and then rub the meat with a little black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and a bit of cayenne pepper. Pan-fry the pieces in butter or grill them over mesquite coals. The meat is not exceptionally flavorful, and contrary to popular belief, it doesn't taste like chicken. It tastes like... a gall-derned old rattlesnake. Actually, they aren’t too bad, and I'd rather see one spread out on the grill than coiled in the sagebrush.
Chuckwagon’s "Rattlesnake Steep"
(20 Minute Marinade For Lean Fish Or Rattlers)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup grape seed oil
1/2 tsp. white wine vinegar
1 tspn. dried herbs of choice
"Robber's Roost Rattlesnake Venom"
(Hot N' Spicy Sauce For Chicken Or Rattler)
1 cup Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tspns. brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tspn. black pepper
1 tspn. cayenne pepper
1/2 stick of butter
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Moroccan Style Chicken Sausages
ReplyDelete. . . . . . . By el Ducko
Introduction: Inspired by the taste of Merguez sausages (lamb) and the spiced foods of Morocco, this recipe is an adaptation of a favorite spiced, grilled chicken recipe to sausage.
Chicken is quickly and easily prepared and cooked, either whole or in a few parts. Once killed, the chicken requires careful handling and refrigeration until cooked and eaten. Historically, reliable refrigerated storage has not been readily available in Morocco. Perhaps for this reason, most chicken dishes are prepared using fresh chicken.
The popular sausage is Merguez, which is made of lamb. Lamb requires extensive butchering, compared with chicken, but can be stored longer. Sausage recipes for other than lamb are rarely found in the Muslim world. Beef requires extensive grazing, compared with sheep, and for religious reasons pork is unacceptable.
The Recipe: One of my favorite recipes comes from cook book author Tess Mallos, who has written extensively about the foods of the Mediterranean region. The following is adapted from her "Spiced Grilled Chicken" recipe in "Cooking Moroccan," Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, pages 60-61. In adapting the recipe, several issues need to be considered. For one thing, Moroccans would never use hog casings out of religious considerations. For another, chicken needs to be more thoroughly cooked than other meats, due to concerns over bacterial contamination. But fortunately, the smaller diameter sheep casings mean the sausages are more thoroughly cooked, and crisp up a bit, like grilled chicken would. That little bit of char tastes great.
Basis: 1 Kilogram boned chicken leg quarters (with skin)
. . . . . . . style: fresh . . . . . . fat: 20.2%, salt: 0.83% . . . .
0.00890 kg - 1.49 tsp - - 8.900 gm - 0.83% salt (coarse non-iodized) - 1 tsp, increased to 1.5
0.85000 kg - - - - - - -850.000 gm - 79.63% - chicken thighs+skin,or meat of two 1#-10oz chickens
0.02000 kg - 20.00 ml - -20.000 gm - 0.019% - Fat: olive oil - 4 tsp
0.15000 kg - - - - - - -150.000 gm - 14.05% - Skin/fat to total 1kg chicken
0.02000 kg - 20.00 ml - -20.000 gm - 1.87% - lemon juice - 4 tsp
0.00150 kg - 0.50 tsp - - 1.500 gm - 0.14% - turmeric - pinch of saffron
0.00800 kg - 3.20 tsp - - 8.000 gm - 0.75% - garlic (fresh) - 2 cloves
0.00320 kg - 1.52 tsp - - 3.200 gm - 0.30% - paprika sweet - 1-1/2 tsp Spanish
0.00050 kg - 0.28 tsp - - 0.500 gm - 0.05% - cayenne (ground) - 1/4 tsp
0.00420 kg - 2.00 tsp - - 4.200 gm - 0.39% - cumin (ground) - 2 tsp
0.00110 kg - 0.52 tsp - - 1.100 gm - 0.10% - pepper (black) - 1/2 tsp
----------------
1.0674 - - - - total weight, kg of sausage (ignores casing)
Volumes are approximate.
Cooking Instructions: To prepare the chicken, bone out chicken leg quarters or legs and thighs, saving both meat and skin. Refrigerate at every opportunity. In preparation for grinding, chill to the point that the meat/skin are partially frozen.
Abstract:
Pickle: - - - -
Grind: - - - - Bone out chicken leg quarters, saving both meat and skin. Cut into 1-1/2" or smaller pieces. Chill until nearly frozen. Grind fat and meat with 3/8" plate. Chill.
2nd Grind: - -
Mix: - - - - - Add all ingredients. Mix until primary bind. Chill.
Stuff & Tie:- -Stuff into 22mm sheep casings, 6" to 8"links. Chill again.
Rest: - - - Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
TO COOK: Charcoal or grill medium heat for 20 minutes, until sizzling and beginning to char.
Smoke: - - - - DO NOT SMOKE
Cool: - - - -
Store: - - - - Consume or freeze within 3 days.
Package: - - - Vacuum plastic pack.
Working on this pork, fennel, orange zest, wine, coriander sausage idea at the moment. Any one used orange zest in sausages. I have yet to make it. I will make a fresh version before I make a smoked cooked version. The ultimate aim is for a fermented sausage.
ReplyDeleteA couple of questions.
Has anyone used orange zest in a cured sausage?
Do herbs/spice weights need to be altered between fresh and cooked sausage?
Mark AKA Markjass
Got to try the chicken recipe thanks. I was watching Martha Stewart make sausage and the meat was left on the counter at room temp. Being here tell us a lot different. Refrigerate at every opportunity. In preparation for grinding, chill to the point that the meat is partially frozen. WOW
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ReplyDelete