Easter 17

For the sake of experimentation, I’ve made a new hot-smoked sausage for this Easter. There is nothing new or special about it: just a combination of emulsified pork with chicken, some ground and hand-cut pork, plenty or garlic – it’s an Ukrainian thing – with touch of cardamom and brandy. This “Easter 17” sausage actually tastes a lot better hot than cold although most members of my family eat it straight from the fridge.

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Recipe:

Lean pork – 13%

Fat trimmings – 18%

Semi-fat pork – 56%

Skinless chicken breast – 11%

Sea salt – 1.5%

Cure#1 – 0.25%

Sugar – 0.2%

Fresh garlic – 0.8%

White Peppers – 0.3%

Cardamom – 0.03%

Brandy – around a 3/4 cup per 10 kg of meat.

Lean pork was hand- cut into around 1 – 1.5 cm cubes, the rest – in larger pieces; all was mixed with cure#1, sea salt, and sugar before being placed in refrigerator. I’m always adding cure#1 to hot-smoked sausages to prolong the shelf life.

After three days in refrigerator, semi-fat pork went through 8mm plate on grinder. Fat trimmings and chicken breast followed garlic with roasted and cooled white peppers through 2mm; they were emulsified immediately after with ice-water and brandy. The cardamom was added during the emulsification as well. This emulsified mass was mixed with ground semi-fat pork and hand –cut lean pork and staffed into large diameter (around 42mm) pork casings.

Hanged in refrigerator overnight, sausages went to the smoker.

For the sake of experimentation, I’ve made a new hot-smoked sausage for this Easter. There is nothing new or special about it: just a combination of emulsified pork with chicken, some ground and hand-cut pork, plenty or garlic – it’s an Ukrainian thing – with touch of cardamom and brandy. This “Easter 17” sausage actually tastes a lot better hot than cold although most members of my family eat it straight from the fridge.
Recipe:
Lean pork – 13%
Fat trimmings – 18%
Semi-fat pork – 56%
Skinless chicken breast – 11%
Sea salt – 1.5%
Cure#1 – 0.25%
Sugar – 0.2%
Fresh garlic – 0.8%
White Peppers – 0.3%
Cardamom – 0.03%
Brandy – around a 3/4 cup per 10 kg of meat.
Lean pork was hand- cut into around 1 – 1.5 cm cubes, the rest – in larger pieces; all was mixed with cure#1, sea salt, and sugar before being placed in refrigerator. I’m always adding cure#1 to hot-smoked sausages to prolong the shelf life.
After three days in refrigerator, semi-fat pork went through 8mm plate on grinder. Fat trimmings and chicken breast followed garlic with roasted and cooled white peppers through 2mm; they were emulsified immediately after with ice-water and brandy. The cardamom was added during the emulsification as well. This emulsified mass was mixed with ground semi-fat pork and hand –cut lean pork and staffed into large diameter (around 42mm) pork casings.
Hanged in refrigerator overnight, sausages went to the smoker.
Around 60 minutes, the temperature was held at 194F (90C) without smoke.
Then – 200F (93C) with smoke from pecan and just a bit of hickory until internal temperature came to 155F (68C). Although pecan is my default choice of wood for smoking, the hickory was added to give a bit of “heaviness” for a more traditional oak aroma.

One sausage was taken for tasting:

the rest – cooled in iced water for around 15-20 minutes and placed in refrigerator. the rest – cooled in iced water for around 15-20 minutes and placed in refrigerator.