Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage (45 page)

In this chapter, we will make fermented-
style
sausages that look and taste similar to the classic dry cured and fermented sausages, but they are comparatively fast and easy to make, and they are fully cooked. To help accomplish this, we will use a commercial product called Fermento. Fermento is a flavoring made from dairy products, and it is manufactured expressly for this purpose. Fermento contains lactic acid. In true fermented sausages, lactic acid is produced during the long fermentation process, and this is what provides the characteristic tangy taste of these kinds of sausages.

Because we are adding Fermento to give it the tangy taste, we do not need to wait for weeks for the lactic acid to develop and for the sausage to dry; we can dry the sausage quickly. These sausages will not be fully dry cured; they will be
semi
dry-cured. Also, because we are drying them quickly and are not cultivating bacteria, we need not maintain certain temperature and humidity conditions favorable to the proliferation of the lactic-acid-producing bacteria.

In this book, there are recipes for salami, summer sausage, pepperoni, Thuringer, and the like. However, instead of requiring weeks to process, they can be processed in just a little more time than it takes to process the common frankfurter. And, because they are cooked, trichinosis and
E. coli
are not a concern.

For all sausages in this chapter, dry seasoning and other dry ingredients are mixed together first. Then wet ingredients are added, and mixing takes place again. There is a reason for mixing the dry ingredients first: The mixing of Fermento with the other dry ingredients helps prevent clumping of the Fermento when wet ingredients are added.

Most mail order companies in Appendix 5 that sell sausage-making supplies will offer Fermento.

Note: The sausages in this chapter have been arranged in alphabetical order.

Hot Sticks

Hot sticks are spicy, semi-dried snack sausages that are great with cold beer. They are usually consumed with gusto. Consequently, once the formulation is tweaked to suit your taste, you will probably want to double the formula and make 5 pounds at a time.

The instructions given below will result in a sausage weight loss of about 15 percent. If the drying proceeds until 20 to 25 percent of the sausage weight has been lost, they will be even less perishable, and the flavor will be more concentrated.

CASINGS

Sheep casings or small hog casings may be used, but sheep casings are best because the processing time is faster, and the casing will be tender. However, 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 2½ LBS. (1,150 G) OF HOT STICKS

A mixture of about 1½ lbs. (680 g) of pork shoulder butt and 1 lb. (450 g) of beef chuck is suggested. Some or all of the beef may be in the form of beef heart, or lean wild game can be used. The meat, no matter what kind is selected, should contain about 25 percent fat, and the total weight should be 2½ lbs. (1,150 g). 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

Dry ingredients

1¾ tsp. (8.75 ml) salt

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) Cure #1

1 tsp (5 ml) crushed red pepper

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) cayenne

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) thyme

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) garlic granules

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) allspice

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) ground coriander—packed in the spoon

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) whole mustard seed

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) mustard powder

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) MSG (optional)

¼ cup (60 ml) Fermento

Wet ingredients

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) light corn syrup

½ cup (120 ml) cold beer or cold water

MIXING AND STUFFING

1. 
Grind the meats together with a
-inch (4.8 mm) or smaller plate. Refrigerate the ground meat for about 30 minutes.

2. 
Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly in a large mixing bowl. Add liquid ingredients, and mix well again. Refrigerate this mixture for about 15 minutes.

3. 
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.

4. 
Stuff the sausage into the casings, and twist into long links. Weigh one of the links, record the weight, and mark it with a colored string, or the like. This weight is called the
green weight
. Refrigerate the links overnight to permit the seasoning to be absorbed by the meat. Use an uncovered container, but cover the sausage with a paper towel.

5. 
The next morning, dry the stuffed sausage for one or two hours in front of an electric fan. The drying is finished when the surface is dry to the touch and the fingertips slide smoothly on the casing. Alternatively, dry the surface of the casings in a 140° F (60° C) smoker with no smoke, and with the chimney vents fully open.

6. 
Smoke at the lowest possible temperature for two to four hours. The temperature should be held below 120° F (50° C), if possible. From this point, until the smoking, cooking, and drying are finished, the chimney vents should remain fully open to encourage maximum drying of the sausage.

7. 
Raise the smoker temperature to between 170° F (77° C) and 175° F (79° C) slowly—over the period of one hour or so—and continue cooking, with or without smoke, until the internal temperature of the thickest link reaches 160° F (71° C). Weigh the link marked with the colored string to determine if this link has lost at least 15 percent of its green weight. If it has, the smoking and cooking are finished. Proceed to step 9. If not, go to step 8.

8. 
If the link marked with colored string has not lost at least 15 percent of its green weight, reduce the smoker temperature to between 160° F (71° C) and 165° F (74° C) and continue cooking. Check the loss of weight every hour or so. When 15 percent of the weight has been lost, proceed to step 9.

9. 
When the sausage has lost at least 15 percent of the green weight, remove the links from the smoker, and cool the sausage in front of an electric fan for one hour.

10. 
Refrigerate the sausages overnight, uncovered. The next morning, cut them to single-portion lengths, and then wrap them in plastic food wrap. Sausages that will not be eaten within a few days should be individually wrapped in plastic food wrap, placed in a plastic bag, and frozen.

Landjager-Style Sausage

Landjager
is German and means
land hunter
. It is appropriately named because landjager sausage is often used as a trail food.

The classic landjager is made with raw meat, and it is never cooked; it is only cold smoked and semidried.

The instructions below describe how to make the cooked version of landjager sausage. When the cooked version is eaten, trichinosis and
E. coli
0157 are not a concern.

This is a great snack sausage, and some people prefer it to jerky. You might notice that the salt in the formulation is a little less than that normally used for cured sausage. The flavor is concentrated when the sausage is dried, so less salt is required.

The instructions suggest that the links be dried until they have lost at least 15 percent of their original weight. If the drying proceeds until 20 or 25 percent of the weight has been lost, they will be even less perishable and the flavor will be more concentrated.

CASINGS

The size of casing used is a matter of personal taste. Any size of casing from a small-diameter sheep casing to a medium-diameter hog casing may be used. The drying time for the sausage stuffed in smaller diameter casing will be shorter, however. 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 2½ LBS. (1,150 G) OF LANDJAGER

Prepare 1½ lbs. (680 g) of beef chuck and 1 lb. (450 g) of pork shoulder 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

Dry ingredients

1¾ tsp. (8.75 ml) salt

½ tsp. (2.5 ml) Cure #1

1 tsp. (5 ml) ground black pepper

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) garlic granules

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) ground caraway seeds

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) coriander—packed in the spoon

¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) cardamom

¼ cup (60 ml) Fermento

Wet ingredients

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) light corn syrup

cup (80 ml) cold water

MIXING AND STUFFING

1. 
Grind the meats together with a
-inch (4.8 mm) or smaller plate. Refrigerate the ground meat for about 30 minutes.