My Homemade Sausages
First of all, if you want the dish to be spicier, add more garlic and pepper, along with a little hotter paprika. However, it is important to taste constantly, so as not to turn the sausage into a dish that is too spicy. The paprika I use is brought from Hungary, directly from the source, and not from the local market or stores. The preparation process starts with cleaning the meat, which is ground with a meat grinder, using a coarse mesh. After the meat is ground, the amount of spices is divided into two parts: one larger and one smaller. The larger part is added to the meat in the mixing bowl.
For easier mixing, it is good to add a little cold water (about half of the amount specified in the recipe). We start kneading the meat, systematically taking it from one side of the bowl to the other. It is essential to bring the meat from the bottom of the bowl to the surface and to focus on the edges and corners, to ensure that no unmixed portions remain. We knead for about 20 minutes, after which we taste the mixture. We put a piece of meat on our tongue and suck a little juice from it, discarding what is raw. If necessary, we add the remaining spices from the smaller part and knead again. This is where personal taste comes into play – those who want a spicier dish can add hot paprika and more garlic or pepper, while others can stick to the basic recipe.
Salt should be added carefully, as some types of salt are saltier than others, and sometimes an additional amount of water is needed to facilitate kneading. Kneading continues until the mixture is no longer sticky. After that, we can move on to cleaning the casings, if we haven't already prepared them. I bought clean casings from the butcher, but I washed them in several warm and cold waters, rubbing them with salt and then with julienne-cut onion. I let them sit for half an hour, after which I rinsed them again.
Here I recall a childhood tradition: when I was home helping with the pig slaughter, my friend’s mother cleaned the casings and taught me a trick – to throw them against a wall that was coated with lime. At first, I thought she was joking, but I realized that casings that are not completely clean do not stick to the wall, sliding down, while clean ones remain stuck. This was our test over the years to check the cleanliness of the casings. After we finished washing, I blew into each casing to fill it and check if they were torn or punctured. I placed them in a bowl of cold water and moved on to filling the sausages.
I used the sausage stuffer, pulling the first casing onto the nozzle. I put a little of the meat mixture on the nozzle to grease the material, thus facilitating the sliding of the casing during filling. It is important to have a needle handy to prick the casing from time to time, in case it traps air. We must be careful not to overfill the casings, as they may burst, and if we underfill them, air can form inside, which can lead to spoilage, even after smoking. After we finished filling, we twist the sausages in half and hang them on a wooden rack to dry overnight. The next day, they can be smoked, usually for 3-4 days, depending on their thickness. Additionally, the leftover meat on the nozzle or in the grinder can be used to make very tasty meatballs. If a sausage breaks during filling, there is no need to panic; it can easily be fixed by taking the filling that has come out and sticking it over the break.
Ingredients: 10 kg of pork (minced - use a large sieve in the machine) 100-125 g of salt (depends on the salt used and its salting power) 55-65 g of ground black pepper (more if you want it spicier) 100-125 g of sweet paprika (for a more pronounced color, you can add more) 2-3 heads of garlic, separated into cloves and finely crushed (with large cloves) 150 ml of water 10-15 meters of intestines (pork intestines)
Tags: garlic christmas and new year's recipes gluten-free recipes lactose-free recipes
