Chicken Sausage Weekend: Chicken Pepperoni, Chicken Cheese and Parsley, Buffalo Chicken, Pop's Brea

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worktogthr

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Nov 3, 2013
2,928
1,032
Massapequa, NY (Long Island)
So I got a great deal on some chicken thighs, so of course I bought 15 pounds worth.  Ran all of them through the medium plate in my grinder and got to work.  Spent so much time making all this stuff that I haven't had a chance to eat it yet haha.  Sorry for the lack of cooked shots in advance.

So we shall start with the Chicken Pepperoni.  I never made any pepperoni before so i figured..hey..I'll make chicken pepperoni.  Before I share the recipe/procedure I have to thank @Chef Willie  for the great recipe and the help getting started and  @CrankyBuzzard   for the help along the way.

So here we go:

Used the following recipe of Chef Willie's:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/248602/pepperoni

Only changes are that I used chicken and made a half batch.

1.  Mixed seasonings with red wine

2.  Mixed seasonings into meat with clean hands for at least 2 minutes until it was very tacky/sticky (palm of the hand test)

3.  Let it sit overnight in the fridge

4.  Stuffed and tied long links with hog casings I had soaked for a couple of days

5.  Back into the fridge over night

6.  Next day, dry in the smoker (MES 30) for about 1.5 hours @ 100 degrees with no smoke. 

7.  Apply 4 hours of hickory smoke at 150 degrees,

8.  Pull from smoker (IT at about 130)

9.  Transfer to warm water bath (I just use a big pot on my stove and use my thermopen to keep an eye on the water temp)  Remember, the water shouldn't get above 165ish or you will risk the sausage fatting out.

10.  Warm water bath until the sausage has reached 165 IT.

11.  Plunge in ice water the stop cooking and bring temp down as quickly as possible

12.  Hang to bloom for a couple of hours before throwing it in the fridge

Made a pizza in my new Blackstone pizza oven to give the pepperoni a try on some pizza.   Turned out great despite the fact that I had the oven a little too hot and the pizza was a bit well done.  Still learning the pizza oven.

Verdict:  This is a great recipe.  The pepperoni has a nice kick and the wine gives it a unique flavor that is different than the pizzeria pepperoni I am used to but great!  It cooked up so great on the pizza that my wife was stealing it off the uneaten pizza.  Thanks again to Chef Willie for the great recipe and help and Charlie for the help along the way as well as all those who reassured me when I was worried it didn't cure properly.

Here are some pictures of the process:














Next the Cilantro Chicken Burgers.  Don't have too many pictures but here's the recipe per pound of meat:

1 lb. ground chicken

1/3 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup of pamesan, asiago, or romano (I used a combo of parmesan and asiago)

1/4 fresh cilantro (which is ideal but I had to use dried so I used a heaping tablespoon

1/4 to 1/2 tsp of coarse ground black pepper

pinch of salt

These are a staple in our house.  Change the cilantro to basil or parsley to switch it up a bit, but I usually like these with a slice of smoked cheese and some guacamole.  My wife loves them with some sweet bbq sauce.




The Buffalo Chicken Sausage next.  This also turned out out to be a very simple recipe that I adapted from a published one that was not very good and I had tried a while back.  The test patty tasted just like a chicken wing so I am hoping when the flavors meld, they will be even better.  Haven't tasted them yet so I can't report on the final product but I will when I have eaten some.  Here's the recipe:

5 pounds of ground chicken

1 cup of frank's red hot buffalo sauce

2 T of Kosher Salt

2 T of Paprika

1 tsp of Cayenne



Finally, the Cheese and Parsley sausage.  This recipe is really sacred to me.  Why might you ask?  Because it is the one sausage I wanted to recreate when I started making sausage.  It was the type we would get from special occasions from the butcher and my whole family loved it.  It's also special to me because it is the first sausage recipe I truly created on my own.  I spent months obsessing over this, trying different recipes from the internet and just missing that taste I was looking for.  So I tried test batch after test batch combining the flavors that I liked from each.  And finally I created something that I am really proud of.  I was talking to @c farmer

about how I wasn't sure  I wanted to share this recipe, maybe making it a family secret or what not  but I have learned so much from everyone here and used so many of your recipes that I decided what the hell.. So here goes:

5 lbs.  Ground pork (or in this case chicken)

2 T Moron's Kosher Salt

1 T fine ground black pepper

2 T fennel seed

6 cloves of minced fresh garlic

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 cup NFDM

8 oz. cold water

8 oz. Extra Sharp Provolone (by weight) diced in small cubes

Mix dry seasonings and water

Mix slurry and parsley into the meat until very sticky

Stuff in hog casings for links or sheep casings for pinwheels (which is what I did since I always had them like that as a kid)

Just a few things about the recipe:

1.  Don't be afraid of the large amount of fennel...for some reason it works

2.  Try hard to get extra sharp provolone.  It's strong flavor stands up to the other flavors in the sausage and holds up well while cooking so you have pockets of nice gooey cheese (perhaps because it is a harder cheese it doesn't disappear out of the sausage (perhaps the hardness makes it act similarly to high temp cheese)

Well I hope you enjoy this as much as my friends and family do and here are a couple of picture:





I did not get any pics of the Pop's breakfast chicken sausage unfortunately.  It was a busy but fun weekend of cooking and sausage making and my freezer is now well stocked.  Thanks everyone for looking and as always thanks for everything I have learned on this great forum

-Chris
 
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That is a lot of delicious looking sausage, great job, and thank you for posting the Cheese and Parsley sausage recipe.
 
That's some great looking sausage Chris!

I bet that pizza was really good!

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Al
 
 
That's some great looking sausage Chris!

I bet that pizza was really good!

icon14.gif


Al
Thanks a lot Al!  The pizza was good.  A little on the well done side though.  Still learning the ins and outs of my pizza oven but that's half the fun of it, right? 
 
WOW.   Looks great.   A lot of work put into them.

I buy leg quarters and breasts by the 40 lb box.    Guess I should start grinding some of them.
 
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thanks so much for the mention....glad I was able to help out answering some questions you had on my original post. Your efforts look delicious and thanks so much for sharing that last recipe, your favorite. I myself sometimes have a hard time sharing recipes with up & coming new cooks as they learn but was able to push past that rationalizing I ain't gonna live forever and many helped me along my way in the learning curve. So, like others on here, sharing your 'secret/special' recipes is a great way to roll. I intend to make that one you worked so hard on...it sounds great...thanks again for posting it. This IS a great forum with so many happy to help a person out and relieves that stress we all sometimes feel trying something new.....Willie

PS.....would like some more info/pics of the pizza operation....crust looks legit
 
 
WOW.   Looks great.   A lot of work put into them.

I buy leg quarters and breasts by the 40 lb box.    Guess I should start grinding some of them.
Thanks so much!  I usually use boneless skinless thighs only because I can get them pretty cheap and they are much easier to process but leg quarters would definitely work!
 
 
thanks so much for the mention....glad I was able to help out answering some questions you had on my original post. Your efforts look delicious and thanks so much for sharing that last recipe, your favorite. I myself sometimes have a hard time sharing recipes with up & coming new cooks as they learn but was able to push past that rationalizing I ain't gonna live forever and many helped me along my way in the learning curve. So, like others on here, sharing your 'secret/special' recipes is a great way to roll. I intend to make that one you worked so hard on...it sounds great...thanks again for posting it. This IS a great forum with so many happy to help a person out and relieves that stress we all sometimes feel trying something new.....Willie

PS.....would like some more info/pics of the pizza operation....crust looks legit
Thanks for the kind words and the help along the way!  It really was hard to post that recipe because it is one of the few that I actually consider my own and not borrowed from this forum, a website, or a cook book.  But like you said, if I really enjoy it, why not share it?  If you are going to try it, i'd say go the pork route first... use untrimmed butt for the full fatty, juicy, sausage experience haha.  I only go with chicken or leaner pork because I want to eat sausages often and not pack on too many extra pounds.

As far as the pizza is concerned.. I received the Blackstone Pizza oven for Christmas.  Amazing unit because it pumps out serious heat to cook some pretty amazing pizzas in just a couple of minutes.  I am still learning the correct temps and methods but it beats anything I could put out with my oven and a pizza stone.  I have to start making my own dough, because it seems the store bought stuff, although it tastes just like the dough at local pizza places in NY, I am not sure it is designed for such high heat cooking.   I get excess bubbling, overly charred crust, etc.
 
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