Homemade Sausage in Collagen Casing
Description
The appetizer is quick and easy to prepare. The use of curing salt in sausage production inhibits bacterial growth, extends shelf life, gives the finished product a sausage-pink color, and makes the flavor more pronounced. If you truly want to make sausages for your family, I recommend ordering from an online store (there are many of them now) curing salt, collagen casing (it stores very well for several years; mine is 32 mm in diameter, but you can get larger ones too), thick cotton twine, and a thermometer. I also order ready-made sausage seasoning blends; they do not contain salt or other additives—only natural dried spices and glucose. A 50-gram packet of seasoning will last you a very long time. You can put together your own spice blend or skip spices altogether. My sausage seasoning consists of: ground black pepper, garlic, coriander, and glucose. The spice dosage is standard: 3 grams per 1 kg of meat. Today I ended up with 5 sausages, each 26–27 cm long and weighing 210 to 230 grams. If you have any questions, write in the comments—I’ll be happy to answer. Good luck making homemade sausages. Serve the appetizer at the table.
Instructions
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Step 1
So, to make homemade sausage you will need: pork, chicken, fatback, two types of salt, water, and spices. You will also need collagen casing and cotton thread. Let's get started!
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Step 2
Pass the chilled pork and chicken through the meat grinder using the coarse die. Remove the rind from the fatback, pass it through the meat grinder or cut it into cubes. Transfer to a large, convenient bowl.
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Step 3
Add ice-cold water, salt, curing salt, and sausage spices. Mix the meat mixture very thoroughly until protein “threads” appear—this is when the mixture has become so homogeneous that when you lift a piece, a strand of meat stretches behind it. The mixture is ready.
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Step 4
The minced meat is ready to chill.
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Step 5
Level the mince with the back of a spoon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. During this time, mix the mince thoroughly 3–4 times.
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Step 6
The next day you can start shaping the homemade sausages. Cut the collagen casing into sections; from this amount of meat I usually get 5 sausages about 26–27 cm each, plus leave a couple of centimeters for the tails. I cut the casing into 30 cm lengths so it’s easier for me to lay sausages of this size on the oven rack.
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Step 7
Rinse the cut pieces of collagen casing under warm water; it will immediately become soft and easy to work with.
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Step 8
Assemble the meat grinder, put one collagen casing on the sausage attachment. I don’t tie the ends right away so extra air doesn’t get trapped in the sausage.
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Step 9
Fill the sausages tightly with the filling, holding the edge — the collagen casing may burst if sharply bent.
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Step 10
Fill until you run out of the ground meat. My 5 homemade sausages are ready.
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Step 11
Take each sausage in your hands and check that there are no air pockets; if there are, prick that spot with a thin needle and the air will escape when pressed. Tie the ends with cotton thread.
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Step 12
Place the Krakow-style homemade sausages on the oven rack spaced apart; they should not touch each other. Leave them on the counter and let them rest for 2–3 hours at room temperature. Then place the rack with the sausages in the center of the oven. Cook at 60°C for 1 hour, at 70°C for 1 hour, and at 80°C for 1.5–2 hours. The entire oven-cooking process for the sausages should take at least 3.5–4 hours!
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Step 13
After 3.5–4 hours, remove one Krakow sausage, insert a thermometer inside, and measure the temperature inside the sausage—it should be within 69–72°C! This is very important: at a temperature below 69°C, the sausage is not considered done. And at a higher temperature, the collagen casing will start to burst, and the sausage will be dry. All meat products that contain nitrite salt must not be heated above 150°C.
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Step 14
After 4 hours, when the Krakowska sausage has reached the target temperature of 69–72°C, submerge it in ice water or give it a cold shower. This will stop the cooking process and make it easier to peel the casing from the sausage. Pat the sausage dry with a towel and refrigerate for 24 hours.
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Step 15
Homemade Krakow sausage is ready! Aromatic, delicious—look at that cross-section. I highly recommend trying to make this homemade sausage yourself!