Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage (30 page)

¼ cup (60 ml) sherry

¼ cup (60 ml) sugar

3 Tbsp. (45 ml) Chinese light soy sauce

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) hoisin sauce

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) ginger root, grated OR 1 tsp. (5 ml) ginger powder

2 tsp. (10 ml) sesame (seed) oil 1½ tsp. (7.5 ml) salt

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) Cure #1

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) 5-spice powder (vary this amount to suit taste)

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) white pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

MIXING, CURING, GRINDING, AND STUFFING

1.
 
Day 1, morning
: In a large plastic food container with a lid, mix the seasoning and other ingredients for the marinade. Add the cubes of pork and stir well. Refrigerate. Shake the container, or stir the pork from time to time to redistribute the marinade and to recoat the pork cubes.

2. 
Day 2
: Shake the container of marinating pork (or stir) two or three times.

3. 
Day 3, morning
: Drain the pork, and discard the marinade. Rinse the pork briefly, and drain in a colander for at least one hour in the refrigerator. Chill the grinder and stuffer in the refrigerator.

4. 
Grind the meat with a coarse plate, and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes while the sausage stuffer and casings are being prepared.

5. 
Stuff the sausage into the casings, and twist into 6-inch (15 cm) links. Cut every other twist so that each link is joined to another link to form a pair.

6. 
Dry the stuffed sausage for one or two hours in front of an electric fan—until the surface is dry to the touch and the fingertips slide smoothly on the casing. Remove the sausages to a smoker preheated to 140° F (60° C), and open the smoker vents fully. (Do not smoke the sausage; use the smoker for drying only.) If possible, hang each pair on a rod. If they must be placed in baskets, ensure that there is adequate space between the links to facilitate drying.

7. 
Raise the smoker temperature to 175° F (79° C) slowly—over the period of one hour or so—and continue cooking without smoke until the internal temperature of the thickest link reaches 160° F (71° C). Remove the links from the smoker, place them in front of an electric fan for one hour, and then refrigerate them—uncovered—until they are well chilled.

8.
Hang the sausage pairs on a rod in the refrigerator and allow them to dry for three days. When the drying is finished, wrap them in plastic food wrap, put them in a plastic bag, and freeze the links for future use as a seasoning ingredient for other dishes.

Chinese-Style Mushroom Sausage

Chinese sausages tend to be highly seasoned, and they are often sliced thinly, minced, or julienned for seasoning stir-fried and steamed dishes. This sausage is a milder, somewhat westernized version of the true Chinese mushroom sausage, so it is a better match for the American and European palate.

A few ingredients have no good substitutes, and a few are unlikely to be found in a common grocery store. Hopefully, there is an Asian grocer in your town. If not, these ingredients can be found on the Internet.

The Chinese light soy sauce is milder than common soy sauce, but regular soy sauce can be substituted. The black mushrooms (
shiitake
) in the recipe are actually Japanese mushrooms, and dried
shiitake
are easy to buy in Asian food stores. However, if these dried mushrooms can’t be found, use about ¼ pound (115 g) of fresh button mushrooms, or fresh
shiitake
mushrooms. (Recently, fresh
shiitake
can be found in common grocery stores.) Sesame (seed) oil should be available in the ethnic food section of a well-stocked supermarket.

CASINGS

Sheep casings are definitely preferable, but small-diameter hog casings may be used. However, please keep in mind that the required drying time increases as the diameter of the casing increases. If you wish to use the small hog casing, rinse 7 feet (210 cm), and refrigerate it overnight in a little water. If 24 to 26 mm (1 in. to 1
in.) sheep casing is to be used, prepare about 14 feet (420 cm). Rinse the casing again, and soak it in warm water for a few minutes before using.

THE MEAT FOR 2
¹
⁄2 LBS. (1,150 G) OF MUSHROOM SAUSAGE

Prepare 2½ lbs. (1,150 g) of pork butt. Cut the meat into ¾-inch (2 cm) cubes and refrigerate. While this meat is being prepared, chill the grinder and sausage stuffer in the refrigerator.

SEASONINGS AND OTHER INGREDIENTS

1 oz. (28 g) black mushrooms (
shiitake
), dried

1 to 2 cups (240 to 480 ml) water for soaking (rehydrating) mushrooms

3 Tbsp. (45 ml) Chinese light soy sauce

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) Cure #1

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) sherry

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) onion granules

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) sesame (seed) oil

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) sugar

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) ginger, powdered

1 tsp. (5 ml) garlic granules

1 tsp. (5 ml) salt

¾ tsp. (3.75 ml) white pepper

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) liquid smoke (optional)

¼ cup (60 ml) cold water

MIXING AND STUFFING

1. 
Rehydrate the dried black mushrooms by putting them in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes. (If fresh mushrooms are used, omit this step.)

2. 
Grind the pork with a coarse plate. Refrigerate the ground meat for about 30 minutes.

3. 
Remove and discard the hard stems from the black mushrooms, chop the mushrooms finely, and put them in a large mixing bowl. While the ground meat is chilling, add all the rest of the ingredients to the same mixing bowl. Stir until well blended. Refrigerate this mixture for about 15 minutes.

4. 
Add the chilled ground meat to the seasoning mixture, and knead until it is well mixed and uniform. This will require about three minutes. Chill this meat and seasoning mixture again while the sausage stuffer and casings are being prepared.

5. 
Stuff the sausage into the casings, and twist into 6-inch (15 cm) links. Cut every other twist so that each link is joined to another link to form a pair. (Later on, each pair will be optionally hung to dry over a rod in the smoker and a rod in the refrigerator.) Refrigerate the links overnight to permit the seasoning to be absorbed by the meat. (It is not necessary to hang them at this time.) Use an uncovered container, but cover the sausage with a paper towel.

6. 
The next morning, dry the stuffed sausage for one or two hours in front of an electric fan until the surface is dry to the touch and the fingertips slide smoothly on the casing. Remove the sausages to a smoker preheated to 140° F (60° C) and open the smoker vents fully. If possible, hang each pair on a rod. If they must be placed in baskets, ensure that there is adequate space between the links to facilitate drying.

7. 
Raise the smoker temperature to 175° F (79° C) slowly—over the period of one hour or so—and continue cooking without smoke until the internal temperature of the thickest link reaches 160° F (71° C). Remove the links from the smoker, place them in front of an electric fan for one hour, and then refrigerate them—uncovered—until they are well chilled.

8. 
Hang the sausage pairs on a rod in the refrigerator and allow them to dry for three days. (If they can’t be hung, place them on paper towels.) When the drying is finished, wrap them in plastic food wrap, put them in a plastic bag, and freeze the links for future use as a seasoning ingredient.

Cotto Salami

Cotto salami is one of the best-known lunchmeat sausages in the United States. The origin of this sausage is Italy. In Italian, it is called
salame cotto
, which means
cooked salami
. Each region of Italy has its own variation of seasoning ingredients, but beef and pork are invariably used.

Cotto salami is usually smoked—and smoking is recommended—but if it will not be smoked, the optional liquid smoke will impart a similar smoked aroma. If the recommended amount of liquid smoke is exceeded, it may produce an unpleasant taste.

CASING

Any size of fibrous casing may be used. A large casing such as a 4-inch (10.16 cm) one is most common, but a 2½-inch (6.35 cm) casing is easier and faster to process, so it is recommended. For 2½ lbs. (1,150 g) of sausage, two of these casings—each 12 inches (30 cm) long—will be required. Prepare the casings by soaking in lukewarm water for 30 minutes. Be sure to flood the inside of the casings with warm water.

MEAT

Prepare 1½ lbs. (680 g) of beef chuck and 1 lb. (450 g) of pork butt; cut the meat into ¾-inch (2 cm) cubes. The total fat content should be about 20 to 25 percent of the meat. (Beef heart or wild game may be substituted for some of the beef chuck.) Refrigerate the meat for 30 minutes. While the meat is being prepared, chill the meat grinder and stuffer.

Grind the meat with a
-inch (4.8 mm) plate—or use a plate with smaller holes, if available. Chill the meat again while the seasoning and other ingredients are being prepared.

THE SEASONING

2 tsp. (10 ml) salt

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) Cure #1

2 tsp. (10 ml) black peppercorns, cracked

1½ tsp. (7.5 ml) black pepper, ground

1 tsp. (5 ml) garlic granules

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) caraway seed, ground

⅛ tsp. (0.625 ml) ginger powder

⅛ tsp. (0.625 ml) allspice

⅛ tsp. (0.625 ml) nutmeg

½ cup (120 ml) powdered skim milk

¼ cup (60 ml) red wine

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) Wright’s liquid smoke (optional)

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) light corn syrup

MIXING AND STUFFING

1. 
Mix the seasoning, red wine, corn syrup, powdered milk, and the optional liquid smoke in a large bowl until the ingredients are uniformly distributed. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

2. 
Add the meat to the seasoning mixture. Blend by kneading until it is uniformly mixed. This will require about three minutes. Chill this sausage paste for about 30 minutes.

3. 
Stuff the sausage into fibrous casings. Insert the cable probe of an electronic thermometer in the open end of one of the sausages, and close the casing around the probe with butcher’s twine.

4. 
Refrigerate the sausage chubs overnight so the seasoning and curing powder will blend with the meat.

5. 
The next morning, the sausage chubs may be smoked. Please see Chapter 7 for smoking suggestions. If they will be smoked, cold smoking followed by steam cooking is recommended. If the sausage will not be smoked, steaming or poaching is recommended. Cooking by steaming or poaching is explained in Chapter 6.

Cured Bratwurst

Most recipes for bratwurst are for fresh bratwurst, but some people like the cured variety, and others like it both cured and smoked. The formulation below is very similar to the fresh bratwurst in Chapter 9, except Cure #1 (curing powder) has been added, and nutmeg has been replaced by marjoram. (Marjoram is used instead of nutmeg or mace in many bratwurst formulas.) If this sausage is served between two halves of a roll and garnished with horseradish mustard, chopped onions, and dill pickle sticks, it will be a memorable treat. Don’t forget the cold beer!

CASINGS

Rinse 7 feet (210 cm) of small-diameter hog casing, and refrigerate it overnight in a little water. Rinse again in warm water before using.

THE MEAT FOR 2
¹
⁄2 LBS. (1,150 G) OF SAUSAGE

Prepare the meats listed below; cut into ¾-inch (2 cm) cubes and refrigerate. While this meat is being prepared, chill the grinder and sausage stuffer in the refrigerator.

•
1½ lbs. (680 g) of lean pork and
¹
⁄
2
lb. (225 g) of back fat—or 2 lbs. (910 g) of fatty pork shoulder.