Beef sausages

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Beef sausages

Serves 8 as Appetizer.

Most recipes for homemade sausages are centred around pork. For those who don't/can't eat pork this is a good alternative. Becuase beef tends to be drier than pork this requires a relatively high fat level. I was advised by Len Poli at http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/index.htm to work on the basis of at least 30% fat, personally I found even then the sausages were a bit too dry so I upped it a bit, I go for just under 50% of the weight of bola in fat. The onion will also help with moistness.

• 500 g Bola/beef shoulder
  
• 240 g Beef fat
  
• 100 g Onion
  
• 20 g Salt
  
• 2-1/2 g Pepper
  
• 1-1/4 g Smoked pepper
  
• 1-1/4 g Cumin seed powder
  
• Collagen sausage skins as reqd
  

The recipe makes 16 sausages, based on sausages of approx 10cm long.

Put the bola and beef fat into the freezer to cool but not freeze. When cold combine chunks of bola and fat and mince. Try to use a proper meat mincer as this will give the desired texture.

Finely dice the onion and prepare the seasoning (salt, pepper, smoker pepper and cumin seed powder. Combine onion, seasoning and mince beef and fat in a bowl.

It is worth heating a pan and cooking a patty of the mixture for taste. Alter seasoning if required. A word of warning - the minced meat with onion and seasoning will be left to sit in the fridge overnight so the tastes will change slightly.

Ideally the mixture should be left in a fridge overnight, at the very least it should be placed in the fridge to cool down before it is stuffed into the sausage skins. To stuff the sausages follow instructions on your mincer/stuffer.

When it comes to cooking the sausages place them in a hot pan/griddle/grill and turn the heat down relatively low and cook for a long period of time. Sausages are not steaks that cook quickly. Give them time to cook, don't hurry things.

Keywords: Kosher, Intermediate, Beef

( RG1379 )