Good morning all. Gonna try my hand at this recipe today. I've read a lot about mixing your spices with water. Should I mix the spices with the wine? Also, any suggestions/modifications to the recipe? Thanks.
10-lbs pork
2-cup cold red wine (homemade, of course :))
2-cup chopped fresh parsley
10-tsp salt
2-tbsp garlic powder or-4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
2-tbsp fresh ground pepper
6-tsp cayenne
6-tbsp fennel seed
4-tsp crushed chili peppers
10-tbsp paprika
Using a 7mm plate
Sounds like it will be good. You've got the fennel and the peppers, so the flavor should be in line with what you're looking for. The Paprika should add a nice color, too.
Since you aren't curing it, you will definitely want to ensure everything stays cold while you work with it, and you either use/cook it soon, or freeze it ASAP.
Other than the salt, the seasonings you have will not dissolve, nor will they absorb too much of the water/wine you're planning on adding (and the red wine is a nice touch here - go for it - but add it cold as well). If you were using something like soy protein concentrate/isolate or nonfat dry milk, I would caution against mixing it ahead of time. Doing so is like trying to mix a lump of clay in your meat, and that's a huge pain in the butt. Learn from my mistake and don't... What I do always do is mix any cure I'm using in enough water to dissolve it, or in the water or wine I'm adding to help insure an even mix - don't want hot spots and uncured spots. Save that tip for later, if you use cure in sausage in the future.
How are you going to use this stuff? Loose fresh, stuffed fresh, meatballs, or what?
This reminds me - was planning on a spaghetti tomorrow night. Better see if I have any Italian Sausage in the freezer. If not, I better make up a few pounds.