Albanska Sudzuka (Albanian Sausage)

[rgautheir20420]

So, a co-worker of mine is Albanian and knows I make my own stuff. He's tried most of it and loves it, so he's tasked me with attempting to make a sausage similar to one from where he's from. He buys a product from a local grocery that he really likes that named the above, and he brought it in for me to try. It's a little different from what I've read about the Sudzuka from the WD forums, but I think it'll be a little safer and simpler for me to produce. It's got a nice garlic flavor with hickory smoke. It's really good. I'll be using the below recipe, but fermenting it with F-LC and drying it until proper weight loss. However I don't want to use pre ground meat given that this is going to be a fermented product and cleanliness is big....and I know the back of the house at a supermarket isn't big on that. So I need to know what cut of beef to buy to end up with a 80-20 (or so) ratio. Is it a chuck roast? 

Here's the recipe (it's not mine):

3 lbs. of beef
2% salt
3 T garlic powder
3 T paprika
2 T ground black pepper 
2 T cumin
1 T cinnamon

2 T dried onion

F-LC

Cure #2

I think we are going to buying the beef and getting going on this this week, so I'll update the thread as a I go with pictures of the set up and stuffing and what not.

 

[bluewhisper]

*grabs popcorn*

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Chuck should get you pretty close to the 80/20. Trim the fat from the chuck. Weigh the fat first (since there is less) for 3 pounds you'll want 0.6 pounds, then add the appropriate weight of meat (2.4 pounds )to get to the 80/20 you're looking for.

 

[rgautheir20420]

 
Chuck should get you pretty close to the 80/20. Trim the fat from the chuck. Weigh the fat first (since there is less) for 3 pounds you'll want 0.6 pounds, then add the appropriate weight of meat (2.4 pounds )to get to the 80/20 you're looking for.

Ok thanks. I was thinking that would get me around what I wanted. I'm not overly concerned with an exact number (much like when I make pork sausage...any butt will do). Just wanted to make sure I wasn't going too lean. Continuing sausage posts to come!

 

[chef willie]

Looks interesting.....I have yet to do anything with F-LC or cure #2 but it's on the short list of things to start doing....I've been told, or read somewhere, that the ground beef in the chubs from the manufacturer, not the store grinds, are legit clean & processed in clean rooms. I have not looked for intel on that on the Web,,,,,just remember it......Willie

 

[rgautheir20420]

 
Looks interesting.....I have yet to do anything with F-LC or cure #2 but it's on the short list of things to start doing....I've been told, or read somewhere, that the ground beef in the chubs from the manufacturer, not the store grinds, are legit clean & processed in clean rooms. I have not looked for intel on that on the Web,,,,,just remember it......Willie

Chef I remember reading that also. I think it might have been a Pops article.

 

[chef willie]

 
Chef I remember reading that also. I think it might have been a Pops article.

could well be...so much info, so little brain cells left devoted to memory <grin>

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Be sure to post Q-view

 

[rgautheir20420]

 
Be sure to post Q-view

I surely will be. We picked up 3 lbs of chuck on lunch today. Gonna be going home and dicing it up and mixing it with the salt and Cure #2 tonight. I'll be sure to snap some pics.

 

[driedstick]

I'm in 

 

[rgautheir20420]

Alrighty. Chopped up meat and mixed with salt and cure. Currently sitting in the fridge now. Not a really exciting picture but it's something.

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• rgautheir20420
• Nov 25, 2014

Oh and threw together this homemade pizza topped with my hickory smoked chicken thighs and Hungarian sausage. Amazing!

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• rgautheir20420
• Nov 25, 2014

 

[driedstick]

Lookin good keep the pics coming and the pizza looks Yummy 

DS

 

[crazymoon]

We'll be watching !

 

[rgautheir20420]

Alright. So I stuffed and hung the sausages yesterday afternoon. Don't know why but they were a b to stuff. Never stuffed anything made fully of beef but that might be it. Either way they're hanging right now at 80 f and 85 rh. I'll pull them out tomorrow midday and smoke for 5-7 hours and then hang to dry.

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• rgautheir20420
• Nov 29, 2014

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• rgautheir20420
• Nov 29, 2014

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• rgautheir20420
• Nov 29, 2014

 

[reinhard]

Ill keep on this as well.  The recipe looks interesting.  As far as being hard to stuff, maybe the casings were not soaked long enough for the proper softness?  Dont see any water in your recipe.  Maybe a small amount would of helped in the mixing and stuffing process?  Reinhard

 

[rgautheir20420]

Reinhard, thanks for the notes. The casings were soaked for about 12 hours and were very pliable from what I could tell. The culture was mixed with a half cup of water also. The meat was VERY cold when I stuffed them so that probably didn't help.

Ohwell no worries. Thanks for all the interest everyone. They'll be getting smoked for 7 hours tomorrow when I'm away from the house with the AMNPS and dust. Then hung back in the chamber to dry.

 

[crazymoon]

The  meat might have been starting to set-up due to the salt ? Looks good keep us posted!

 

[rgautheir20420]

Crazy, that's definitely possible. Sausages went into the smoker with about a row and a half of dust. I expect it'll burn for about 6 hours. Some before shots.

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• rgautheir20420
• Nov 30, 2014

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• rgautheir20420
• Nov 30, 2014

 

[rgautheir20420]

So a small update. They got smoked for around 5 hours and are currently sitting in the curing chamber at 55 F and 77% RH. I'll update maybe in another week with some pics of the drying process.

 

[crazymoon]

Thanks !