Many people know that store sausages have a rather dubious composition, which is why they are harmful to the body. But what if you want to preserve your health and eat delicious gourmet sausage? It's simple - you need to cook dry-cured sausage with your own hands. It's not hard.
Cured sausage is made from high quality meat without any heat treatment. This sausage is not boiled or even smoked; it is air-dried. A properly prepared product has an exquisite taste and is considered a delicacy. However, it should be borne in mind that it is very high in calories due to its high fat content, so it should not be overused.
What is needed
To make the process of making dry-cured sausage easy, and the final product is completely safe for health, you must have the following on hand:
- Quality meat. Dried sausage is made at home from almost any meat. For example, beef, pork, chicken, horse meat, etc. However, you must be completely confident in the quality of the meat you will be using. Buy it only from trusted people and trusted places. Otherwise, there is a great risk of spoiling the sausage, allowing pathogenic microflora to enter it.
- Starter cultures. These are beneficial microorganisms, with the help of which not only the overall ripening time of the sausage is reduced and its taste improves, but also the risk of the growth of putrefactive bacteria and other undesirable microorganisms in the product is significantly reduced. Starter cultures are easy to purchase in specialized stores. But, if you can't get them in any way, you can do without them, replacing them with ordinary cognac.
- Nitrite salt. This is a special formulation that protects the sausage product from the dangerous bacteria that cause botulism. Sodium nitrite contained in such salt is quite dangerous for the body in large quantities, therefore it is recommended to strictly observe dosages and not use nitrite salt for preparing other dishes.
- Cognac. If you are not using starter cultures and nitrite salt, add cognac to your sausage. It will add a spicy flavor to the dish, reduce the drying time and protect the product from the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
- Spice. Without seasoning, the taste of sausage will seem too bland and not particularly interesting to you. You can choose your own set of spices, strictly according to your taste, or you can follow the recipe or even buy a ready-made set of seasonings for making dry-cured sausages.
- Guts for stuffing sausages. To prevent your sausage from falling apart when drying, you need to put it in something. Natural pork or beef casings are best suited for this. If you have not found them on sale, you can get by with simple gauze.
In addition, you will need to find a cool, ventilated drying area and have a meat grinder with a sausage attachment.
Cured sausage on cognac
This is the simplest and most successful recipe for making dry-cured sausages at home. It does not require any nitrite salt or special starter cultures. The following ingredients act as natural antimicrobial additives: cognac, spices and common table salt.
This recipe is the best fit for the first ever experiment with the preparation of dry-cured sausage. If you succeed, and you enjoy the cooking process, you can proceed to more complex and demanding recipes.
What products you need:
- pork - 2 kg;
- beef - 1 kg;
- lard - 0.5 kg;
- garlic - 2 heads;
- cognac - 150 g;
- salt - 70-80 g;
- pork or beef intestines - about 6-7 m;
- ground black pepper - 1 tsp;
- red pepper - 1 tsp;
- paprika - 2 tsp;
- cardamom - 0.5 tsp;
- cumin - 0.5 tsp;
- nutmeg - 0.5 tsp
Step-by-step recipe:
- Wash and dry the meat well, remove the veins and films. Cut the meat into pieces that fit your meat grinder.
- Pass the prepared meat along with the garlic through a meat grinder. Select the nozzle with the largest holes.
- Pre-hold the bacon for about 1 hour in the freezer, then cut into small cubes.
- Grind all the spices in a mortar or coffee grinder, then add salt and brandy to them, mix.
- Combine prepared spices with minced meat and lard. Put all this in the refrigerator for a day.
- Then you can start stuffing sausages. To do this, you need a meat grinder with a special attachment. Take the intestine and tie it at one end (you can use twine). Then, using a meat grinder, squeeze the minced meat into the intestine until the sausage is the length you need (the recommended length is 30 cm). Stop squeezing the minced meat and measure out a few more centimeters of the gut without it. Cut off the intestine, tie it up. Repeat all these steps with the remaining minced meat.
- Hang the sausages to dry in a well-ventilated place with a constant humidity of about 75-78% and a temperature of no more than 15 degrees. If it is not hot summer and winter outside, you can use the balcony. A refrigerator with a "No Frost" system will also work well.
- Once every 3 days, remove the sausage and put it under a press for 8-10 hours, then hang it up to dry again. The sausage will be ready within 20-25 days.
Dried chicken sausage
Dry-cured chicken sausage turns out to be no less tasty than pork or veal sausage. This is a great budget and low fat option for a delicious delicacy. Such a sausage is prepared without starter cultures, but with the obligatory addition of nitrite salt.
What ingredients are needed:
- boneless chicken breast or thigh - 2 kg;
- pork or beef intestine - 1 pc.;
- nitrite salt - 18-20 g;
- garlic - 4-5 cloves;
- ground coriander - 1 tsp;
- ground black pepper - 1 tsp
Step by step recipe:
- Rinse the chicken fillet and cut it into small and fairly thin pieces.
- Mix the prepared meat well with nitrite salt, finely chopped garlic and spices.
- Wash the colon thoroughly and dry it.
- Use a meat grinder with a sausage attachment to fill part of the intestine with the resulting minced meat. Try to keep the sausage no more than 30 centimeters long. Once it reaches the required size, tie it tightly on both sides with twine and tie it with a ring. Repeat all these steps with the remaining minced meat.
- Place all the sausages under oppression in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Then hang them to dry in a cool, ventilated area with sufficient humidity for 20-25 days.
Horse meat sujuk
Sujuk is an incredibly tasty and fragrant dry-cured meat delicacy with a fairly firm consistency. It is an excellent beer snack.
In addition, sujuk will definitely surprise your guests with its original look and taste, and they will appreciate your culinary talents.
Sujuk is made from lamb, beef or horse meat.
What products you need:
- fat horse meat - 2 kg;
- horse fat - 300 g;
- nitrite salt - 23 g;
- starter cultures - 1 g;
- beef intestine - 1 pc.;
- garlic - 1 head;
- spices (ground black pepper, caraway seeds) - 6-8 g.
Step-by-step recipe
- Remove all veins and films from the meat, if present. Cut the horse meat into small, thin strips.
- Scroll the meat, garlic and horse fat in a mincer with the smallest holes.
- In a small cup or mortar, combine the nitrite salt, spices, and starter cultures. Then add it all to the minced meat. Stir.
- Stuff the beef intestines with this mixture. Try to keep each sausage about 25-30 cm long. Remember to tie each sausage stick tightly on both sides!
- Place the sausage in a warm place with a constant temperature of at least 25 degrees (and no more than 28) for 2 days.
- Then hang all the sausages in a dark and cool place (the temperature should not exceed 15 degrees) with good ventilation and a humidity of at least 78%.
- Every few days, take out the sausages and flatten them slightly between two cutting boards to make them oval.
- When 20 days have passed, place the sujuk between two cutting boards and press down with some kind of pressure. Leave this structure in the refrigerator for another day.
- Sujuk is served in very thin slices with beer or dry red wine.
