Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage (48 page)

4. 
Stuff the sausage into the fibrous casings. Insert an electronic cable probe in one of the chubs. Close the ends of the chubs with twine. Refrigerate the stuffed casings overnight to permit the seasoning to be absorbed by the meat. Use an uncovered container.

5. 
The next morning, dry the stuffed chubs in front of an electric fan until the surface is dry to the touch. Alternatively, dry the surface of the casings in a 140° F (60° C) smoker with no smoke.

6. 
Smoke at the lowest possible temperature for two hours or more.

7. 
Over a period of about one hour, raise the temperature to 170° F (77° C) and continue cooking, with or without smoke, until the sausage reaches an internal temperature of 140° F (60° C).

8. 
Remove the turkey salami from the smoke chamber and finish cooking by steaming or poaching. Please see Chapter 6 for these cooking instructions.

APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Spices, Herbs, and Seasonings

Comments on the applications for the various spices, herbs, and seasonings that are listed below are generally limited to their use for sausage. Culinary specialists, among others, distinguish between a spice and an herb. The distinction is not necessarily maintained in the descriptions that follow.

ALLSPICE:
The name of this spice comes from the fact that it has a flavor similar to a blend of three spices: cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. It is most commonly used with red meats such as beef, pork, and lamb.

ANCHO
CHILE POWDER:
Ancho
chile powder is moderately spicy, but it has a hint of sweetness. It can be bought on the Internet, but you may also find it in Latino grocery stores. Whole
ancho
chiles (dried
poblanos
) seem to be easier to find than the powder. I buy the whole, dried
ancho
chiles, remove the seeds, and grind them into a powder with a spice mill. This may be the fastest, easiest, and least expensive way to get the powder. If everything else fails, substitute regular chili powder for the
ancho
chile powder.

ANISE SEEDS:
These small seeds have a mild licorice flavor, and they are sometimes used in sausage. Some varieties of Italian sausage, for example, use whole or powdered anise seeds as an essential ingredient.

BASIL:
This essential herb for Italian cooking is also used to season lamb, poultry, fish, and shellfish. It is used occasionally for other meats such as beef, pork, and game. Basil is a member of the mint family.

BAY LEAF:
Bay leaf is very pungent. Use sparingly. Bay leaf goes well with all red meats, variety meats (tongue, heart, etc.), and especially with game meats. If used in powdered form, consider a pinch (less than ⅛ teaspoon) to be equal to one bay leaf. When bay leaf is used in sausage, it is always used in powdered form.

BLACK PEPPER:
See
Pepper
.

CARDAMOM:
Some curry mixtures contain this aromatic, expensive, and pungent spice. Germans and members of other European cultures use cardamom to season sausage. Guatemala is now the largest producer. It imparts a complex flowery, fruity, piney, and eucalyptus-like flavor. Use sparingly.

CAYENNE:
True cayenne is extremely hot; it is hotter than red pepper. Quite often, unfortunately, the names and labeling of these two spices are confused. Nevertheless, both products produce lots of heat, and they are used most often to flavor highly spiced meats and sausage. Neither cayenne nor red pepper is related to common black pepper.

CELERY SEED:
The seeds come from a plant that is related to the celery that is grown as a vegetable. Use this spice sparingly in sausages and marinades. It has a bitter, celery-like flavor.

CINNAMON:
The use of cinnamon to flavor pork, lamb, and other meats is not unheard of, but you should try it cautiously. Many palates rebel at the combination of cinnamon and meat. Nevertheless, cinnamon is required in small amounts to make certain kinds of ethnic sausage—the Italian mortadella, for example.

CLOVES:
Use judiciously in sausage and with pork, beef, or fish. Cloves are very pungent. Used in excess, cloves can be mouth numbing and overpowering. When cloves are used in sausage, they are always used in powdered form.

CORIANDER SEEDS:
The ground seeds have a mild flavor that is between the flavor of nuts and citrus fruit. Taste a pinch of it. If you like it, use it in sausage and on any kind of meat, poultry, or fish.

CUMIN SEEDS:
Cumin is an essential ingredient in chili powder and curry powder. It has a strong and spicy-sweet taste, and it is commonly used to season meats. The Germans and other ethnic groups use it to flavor some varieties of sausage.

CURE #1:
Cure #1
(also called
pink salt
or
pink powder
) is nothing more than common salt with the addition of a very small amount of sodium nitrite (6.25 percent). A special process is used to bond these two ingredients so that the mixture will always be uniform. Pink food color is added so that this product will not be mistaken for common salt. Cure #1 is used as a curing agent and color fixer in many cured sausage formulas in this book. When processing smoked sausage, it is used to prevent botulism. The word
Cure #1
is neither a brand name nor a trade name;
Cure #1
is sausage makers’ jargon for any brand of curing powder that consists of 6.25 percent sodium nitrite and 93.75 percent common salt. Cure #1 is sold under several brand names. The most common brands are the following: Prague Powder #1, Instacure #1, and Modern Cure.

DILL:
Both dill seeds and dried dill leaves are used (the plant and leaves are sometimes called dillweed). Both dill seeds and dill leaves have a mild, carawaylike taste. Of course, the same herb is used to flavor dill pickles. Dill is often used on fish, lamb, and fowl. The use of dill in sausage is rare, and it is generally limited to fish sausage.

FENNEL SEEDS:
These seeds have a mild licorice flavor, and they are sometimes used on oily fish and in sausages. Fennel seeds are essential in many Italian sausage formulas. Depending on the sausage formula and personal preference, they may be used whole, cracked, or powdered.

FERMENTO:
Fermento is a manufactured seasoning made entirely from dairy products. It contains lactic acid—the same acid that is produced by bacteria when fermented, dry-cured sausage is made. The use of Fermento allows us to make products like pepperoni, summer sausage, and Thuringer without the lengthy and difficult dry-curing process. Please see Appendix 5 for sources of this product if you wish to make fermented-style sausage.

FIVE-SPICE POWDER:
Five-spice powder is a classical Chinese seasoning blend. The blend usually contains five spices, but it sometimes contains six or seven. It invariably contains cinnamon, anise, fennel, and cloves, and it usually contains Szechuan pepper. (
Szechuan
is also spelled
Szechwan
.) Sometimes common black pepper is substituted for the Szechuan pepper, and sometimes ginger and licorice root is added. East Asian grocery stores stock this seasoning, and sometimes the United States-manufactured Sun Luck brand is available at common grocery stores. Several recipes for this seasoning blend can be found on the Internet; use a good search engine and search for
five-spice
powder recipe
.

FRENCH FOUR SPICES:
See
Quatre Épices.

GARLIC:
Garlic granules or garlic powder is usually specified in this book, but garlic in other forms can be used in most cases. Substitute minced garlic or garlic juice.

GINGER:
The root of this plant is used worldwide to season all varieties of meat, fish, and fowl. It has a distinctive bite and aroma. Individual tolerance for the aroma of this spice varies enormously. Start with a small amount and, if you like it, add a little more the next time. Fresh ginger (root)—grated, minced, or sliced thinly—can replace ginger powder in cures and marinades.

IMITATION MAPLE FLAVOR:
Imitation maple flavor is a liquid product made of natural ingredients. It is used to impart an aroma similar to that of maple syrup. The most common brand is
Mapleine
, and it is manufactured under the
Crescent
trademark.

JUNIPER BERRIES:
Most of the berries harvested from the juniper evergreen tree are used to flavor gin. They are used occasionally in fish and meat marinades. Their use in sausage is rare, but not unheard of. Just a few berries will impart a piney, gin-like taste.

MACE:
Mace is the outer covering of nutmeg. This spice can be obtained easily at a reasonable price from ethnic grocery shops that sell products used in Indian cuisine. Both mace and nutmeg have a similar taste, and both are used in some sausage varieties. The sweet, nut-like taste can be imparted with very little mace or nutmeg. Use sparingly.

MAPLE FLAVOR:
See
IMITATION MAPLE FLAVOR.

MAPLEINE:
See
IMITATION MAPLE FLAVOR.

MARJORAM:
This herb is closely related to oregano, and it has a similar, but milder, taste. These herbs are in the mint family. Both are widely used to season any kind of fish, meat, or fowl.

MINT:
Lamb is sometimes seasoned with fragrant mint leaves before it is processed. There are many varieties of mint, and each variety has a distinctive aroma. The use of mint in sausage making is uncommon.

MSG:
Monosodium glutamate is not a true seasoning; it is a flavor enhancer. It works to intensify other flavors. MSG is made from natural products, but it is considered a chemical food additive. Used in excess, it tends to produce a distinctive “MSG-intensified-flavor.” Many people like it; many people don’t. It is quite rare, but some people have an allergic reaction to this product if it is used in excess. The symptoms are dizziness, sweating, and chest pains; while the symptoms are unpleasant, to be sure, no fatalities have been reported. MSG is used occasionally in modern sausage formulations, but it is certainly not a traditional ingredient. However, if you like it, it can be added to almost any sausage recipe.

MUSTARD:
Both powdered and whole mustard seeds are used in many varieties of highly seasoned sausages. The flavor is similar to, but sharper than, the prepared mustard we eat on hot dogs. Yellow seeds are milder than smaller brown ones.

NUTMEG:
See
MACE
.

ONION:
Granulated onion is often specified in this book, but powdered onion, minced onion, or onion juice can be substituted in most cases.

OREGANO:
See
Marjoram
.

PAPRIKA:
This bright red powder is made from certain kinds of ripened red peppers. The sweet paprika widely available in the U. S. has a very mild taste, and it is used for red coloration as well as for its mild flavoring. Hungarian paprika is considered the most flavorful, and there are several varieties.

PEPPER:
Black pepper is the most widely used spice in the world, and it needs no introduction. White pepper is a little more aromatic than black pepper, but black pepper is more pungent than white pepper. However, the flavors of the two are essentially the same. Use powdered white pepper when the black specks are not desired. Alternatively, use black pepper
powder
—rather than granulated pepper—whenever large black specks would distract from the appearance of the product. Black pepper powder can usually be found in Asian food markets, and it will probably be cheaper than the white pepper powder sold in a common supermarket. White pepper is made from the husked berries of the pepper plant, but black pepper is made from the un-husked berries. The husk, of course, is black.

PINK POWDER:
See
Cure #1
.

PINK SALT:
See
Cure #1
.

POULTRY SEASONING:
This blend of spices and herbs contains sage, thyme, black pepper, and—depending on the processor—may contain coriander, rosemary, allspice, onion powder, marjoram, celery seed, and cayenne. It is, as the name implies, excellent on poultry, but it is also appreciated for seasoning pork. In this book, it is used in
Warren’s Country-style Bulk Breakfast Sausage
and some sausages that contain poultry.

QUATRE ÉPICES
:
This is a blend of four spices often used in French cuisine and sausage making. In the United States, this blend is often marketed under the translated name, “
French Four Spices.
” The formula varies, but probably the four spices most commonly used are the following: pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. It seems that pepper is always the predominant spice, but sometimes black pepper is specified and sometimes white pepper is called for. In some formulas, cinnamon or allspice replaces the nutmeg, ginger, or cloves. I make my own
quatre épices
, and I use the following formula:

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) ground white pepper

1 tsp. (5 ml) ground nutmeg

1 tsp. (5 ml) ground ginger

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) ground cloves

RED PEPPER:
See
Cayenne
.

ROSEMARY:
The needle-like leaves of this evergreen shrub have a strong, piney scent, and they are used sparingly to flavor game, poultry, fish, and other meats. It is occasionally used in sausage.

SAGE:
This very aromatic herb is an essential ingredient in American country-style fresh sausage. It can be used to flavor all varieties of domesticated poultry and wildfowl, in addition to pork. Overuse can impart a musty taste. Avoid using sage with fish.