Sausage

Sausage

We use a lot of it here, I make all of it. This started when my wife gave me a copy of Ruhlman and Polcyn: Charcuterie shortly after it was published. The two have a second book Salumi due out in late August.

Bruce Aidells, the Marianskis have books, Home Sausage Making, Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage, The Whole Beast and Professional Charcuterie are others.

Not to mention the CIA Garde Manger and the Professional Charcuterie series, different than Professional Charcuterie above (for when you win the lottery as it is $200+ a volume).

Charcuterie is not limited to sausage, and includes fermented sausage, which I’m not going to get into here. What will be here is an over view of the process, books (see above), supplies and equipment sources, see below, and tips I’ve picked up or discovered in the years I’ve been doing this.

Note: There will be recipes in the future, including those of the three I posted today, this is more of a how to and about.

There are grill sausage, which will be the first I post about, there are breakfast sausages and there are more general sausages for dinner, a charcuter plate or a mixed grill.

Tips:

First, while you want everything as cold as possible, do not put the grinder in the freezer, regardless of what the books say. Put it in an ice bath. Blades chip, which means discarding the entire grind (I also have a spare blade).

Second, if you do more than one grind at a time, don’t wash the grinder parts, rinse them in cold water. It is already clean, what is on it is clean food waste, rinse it off. Do not put the waste down the disposal, put it in the garbage. This is stuff the grinder couldn’t grind, why do you think the disposal will. It won’t like casing either, believe me I know.

Steel the blade of your grinder before each single use.

When you do grind, grind into a steel bowl set in an ice bath. If the room is in the low 60s so much the better.

If the recipe calls for a portion of ice cold water, use ice chips instead, the grinder won’t mind and it keeps it colder.

The meat grinder attachment on a stand mixer will work, but I do a lot of sausage, 20 pounds at a time is common. I use a commercial grinder from Northern Tool (see below). I also use a five pound stuffer from them.

I buy pork shoulders, remove the skin, debone and then pack in 5 pound put ups. I also use turkey thighs and chicken thighs both mixed with about 10% pork fat, veal is usually too dear, but some beef is used mixed with rendered suet for the fat. 5 pounds is my typical grind and I find that a shoulder is fatty enough. Obviously if you are doing a mix of pork and another meat, you want to use a smaller put up. The put ups then get frozen for several weeks, the skin and bones get turned into stock (the link is to chicken stock, but pork is the same, just use pork not chicken, this is a light or white stock basic recipe)

Freezing the pork for more than 3 weeks at below 0 F, removes the problem of undercooked pork harboring trichinosis, although with only 12 cases in the US for the last year reported this is a minor problem now. Trichinosis, see the paragraph on freezing.

Supplies:

The Sausage Maker

Butcher-packer

Northern Tool is probably your best bet for tools and food processing equipment such as a grinder or stuffer.

Take you put up out of the freezer and put it in the fridge for a couple of days to defrost.

Cut the meat into small pieces, I aim for ¾ of an inch on a side and not more than an inch long.

You want them small enough to slide down the feed tube without pushing them. Put the bowl containing you now diced put-up in a freezer for 30+ minutes. I simply move on to the next put up, but I do3 or 4 sausages at a time.

Or you can use the time for your mise in place. Liquids in the fridge until used.

Get your meat out of the freezer, put in a larger bowl, add the mise in place and mix. I use my hands, but you could use a spoon.

Now assemble your grinder direct from the ice bath and grind.

You may wish to use a mixer to insure a good mixture at this point, if using a fermenting agent this is vital, literally.

Back in the fridge until the next step, stuffing the sausage. Note, many sausages may be used out of the casing, if so save yourself time and money, by putting the sausage up without casing. I use ½ pound put ups of finished sausage, one is a lunch for two and three two dinners for two.

For five pounds of sausage you need one length, about 10 feet, of a medium hog casing; 32-35 mm.

yes I know that is a larger size, it was in stock.

Natural casing will keep indefinitely in a refrigerator when packed in salt. Cover in salt each time you take out the hank of casings.

Soak it in cool water and wash the inside, by filling with water and letting the bubble run through the length two or three times. It will remove the salt and make it much easier to get on the stuffing tube.

Slide the whole length on to the appropriate (there will probably be 3) size of stuffing tube.

The sausage waiting for the stuffer.

Bratwurst in the corner, Sweet Italian at the edge and Knockwurst in the center.

And twisted into links. I use the width of my left hand to size the length and alternate the twist from clock wise to counter clockwise, which saves twisting the whole 10 foot length.

The whole table is designed to take a wood clamp around the entire edge, which keeps the stuffer from moving. This also works on the mixer to keep it from walking.

And lunch, fresh knockwurst just off the grill

Sausage will keep for a couple of months in a zip lock, but label carefully, they all look alike frozen. If you use a Food Saver they will keep longer, but that is more work and money, what is your turn over here?

Camera Nikon D-90 with internal flash.

Lens(es) AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f2.5-5.65G

                AF-S NIKKOR 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G

                AF-S NIKKOR 35mm F1.8G

                AF-S NIKKOR 50mm F1.4F

                AF DC-NIKKOR 105 mm F2

Recipe with pictures Downloadable PDF  Link doesn’t work 

on the PDF itself

Recipe without pictures Downloadable PDF Link doesn't work

 on the PDF itself

As always feel free to use and distribute, if you use our pictures 

and/or text then give us credit – thanks.

If you do use the recipe drop us a note in the comments, a link to your post or just what you thought.

© 2012 Virginia L. Dyson & Warner W. Johnston  

Chicken Fricassee with Chorizo and Peppers

This post is short of pictures, they will be added the next time we do this dish. This happens.

1 Chicken Cut up
8 oz chorizo (see Ruhlman and Polcyn)
4 bell peppers, medium dice (note mix the colors if you wish)
1 14.5 oz can dice tomatoes (unless you can get consistent fresh,   
                use canned tomatoes)
2 medium onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, quartered (yes of course you peel them)
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste, save the rest in a small jar in the             
                      refrigerator for later. 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (if you only have salted, use less salt)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper (fresh ground pepper).

[This can be reduced, we did it with two quarters and half of everything else except the chorizo - which I put up in 8 oz packs]


Season the pieces of chicken.

Place the chicken, skin down, in a hot skillet with the butter and oil. Skillet should not be smoking but hot. Saute until golden, perhaps five minutes, then the same on the other side.
Transfer to a platter, and hold if doing a second batch, season again when all are done.
Sweat onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes over low heat in the uncleaned pan. Set aside
Cook the sliced chorizo in the pan until done. Set aside.
Add the chicken, garlic and onions back. Add stock, tomatoes and tomato paste, cook over low heat, until chicken is done turning it perhaps twice in the process.
Add the peppers and chorizo, cook over low heat until peppers are soft, perhaps 10 minutes.

Serve with rice or fresh pasta and a robust wine, but it doesn't need to be a red.

Camera Nikon D-90 with internal flash.

Lens(es) AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f2.5-5.65G

                AF-S NIKKOR 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G

                AF-S NIKKOR 35mm F1.8G

                AF-S NIKKOR 50mm F1.4F

                AF DC-NIKKOR 105 mm F2

Recipe with pictures Downloadable PDF  Link doesn’t work 

on the PDF itself

Recipe without pictures Downloadable PDF Link doesn't work

 on the PDF itself

As always feel free to use and distribute, if you use our pictures 

and/or text then give us credit – thanks.

If you do use the recipe drop us a note in the comments, a link to your post or just what you thought.

© 2012 Virginia L. Dyson & Warner W. Johnston  

Chicken Stock

Chicken Stock

Posted by ntsc at 1/19/2011 11:29 AM 
Categories: stock, canning
Tags: canning

I try to avoid making stock in the summer, between mid may and the end of September. Cooling this place is expensive and stock is a heat process. 

Snow covered skylight noon 1/18/11

So the answer is to make lots of stock during the winter, when the heat from the stove helps warm the kitchen. I can the product, so space in the freezer isn't a real problem. The basement is about 2000 square feet, not empty, but plenty of space.

First we get out the big stock pot, the 40 quart one that lives in the basement and rinse it out. I've a wood shop down there, but I don't want the fiber.

Then we get out the tools and the chicken, actually that is about 1/4 of the chicken. My supermarket chain of choice, Shoprite, was having a chicken sale with backs at 49 cents per pound, if you could find any. Quarters at 59 cents per pound. 

Now, I'm also in a year long project called #Charcutepalooza, and there are posts here with that tag. I would not be surprised that one of the projects will be a breakfast sausage, and I happen to like chicken for that so I will trim 5 pounds of dark meat for that. 

Cut off the leg, and if you use a cleaver know where your other hand is. However if you happen to make a serious error I can highly recomend Keith B. Raskin, M.D.

I cut up the pieces, here a back, as more surface area the richer the stock.

Start filling the pot, I want the water to cover the chicken by a couple of inches in either the 40 quart pot or the 20 quart pot.

And the stock pot will go on the corner burner, the one with the cast iron 'simmer' plate on it. This stove is not subtle and even with as low a flame as will stay on, I need to separate the bottom of the pot from the flame to avoid to hard of a boil. 

And my five pounds of dark meat for sausage in the near future.

And a watched pot never boils, and I don't want a boil, just a strong simmer for at least six hours.

About one hour before I finish the stock, I add onions, carrots and celery in a 2:1:1 ratio, in this case I'm using 5 pounds of onions so it is 2 1/2 each of the other two.

Add peppercorns, thyme and salt to taste. 

After the hour with the vegetables strain and cool. I've been known to use a snowbank or ice in the sink. You can not cool this safely in a refrigerator, it doesn't have the cooling power. You only have a couple of hours to get it below 40 F. However a 10 degree breeze in a snow bank is quite effective.

That is the stock, fat removed, and brought back to a boil about to be canned. It would be prettier if strained through cheesecloth, but I don't bother. This is going to be used in other foods, not served.

Canning funnel and short handled ladle, but needed. And 16 clean 1 pint Ball wide mouth jars. I only use wide mouth pints as they can be frozen and are easier to clean. Since this is going to be in boiling water for over 10 minutes I do not bother sterilizing the jars, just make certain that they are clean. They aren't hot either, I used to heat them, but I've never lost a jar because of thermal stress.

The lids are kept, until used in a pot of warm water, it will help the sealant flow. 

NEVER REUSE A LID - NEVER REUSE A LID - NEVER REUSE A LID

It can kill you.

The screw bands in the lower corner serve only to keep the lid in place during processing, finger tight only. And careful, those jars are now boiling hot.

There is a fully loaded pressure canner, and if the device doesn't say it is a canner do not use it for canning. There are pressure cookers which are not meant for canning. There is boiling water in the bottom and 3 tablespoons of white vinegar to prevent mineral build up on the glass.

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS  READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

On the heat, I'm waiting for the interlock to close, then I will let it vent air for a specified time

Once it has finished venting, I will close the vent and let pressure come up to an indicated 12 pounds, which is what I need for my altitude, taking the dial calibration into account.

Once cooled the jars will join their brethern in the basement, that is about half the canned goods, the pickles and some stock are on another set of shelves. 

However I've a few more dozen jars on hand, about 12 as well as 7 dozen quarts and lots of smaller jars. 

I find the wide mouth pint to be the right size for most things, but do put up vegetable juice and some stock in quarts. 1/2 pints get used for some jams as well as some mustards.

A well stocked pantry is a good thing, and this one needs the stock shelf re-stocked.

Lobster, chicken, pork, veal, beef, lamb and vegetable on hand.

A general note, this will work for any stock. Fish and vegetable stocks don't simmer as long, beef you can actually cool the bones and do a second pot the next day, remoulage it is called.

In a dark or brown stock the bones are roasted prior to the simmer, in a light or white stock they aren't. Any meat can be done in either. I use roasted poultry bones but consider the result to be light.

Further instructions on pressure canning may be found here and on the web 

Pictures taken with a Nikon CoolPix

Downloadthe PDF here – unless this is the PDF itself.

This is for reuse, spread it around. If you use our pictures and/or words give us credit. If you change something, drop us a comment so we can go look at how you improved it.

© 2011 Virginia L. Dyson & Warner W. Johnston