Looking For Lukainka (French Basque?) Sausage Recipe

[thirdeye]

I've never had such a hard time finding info on a sausage before. here is some history on it's origins. https://pil-pilean.com/2013/08/13/lukainka-el-ancestral-chorizo-vasco/

I just opened your link, translated with Google. Great history, and the photo of the sausage being grilled is about the color of the sausage I'm after. When raw, you see more flecks, but when cooked only black pepper can be seen.

As usual , google something like this , good chance you'll get a hit from SMF . Not sure if this will help , but worth tagging .

"REAL" Basque Chorizo

After having made several successful batches of traditional Polish kielbasa (my wife’s family are Polish), I decided to investigate some sausage recipes that would reflect MY own Basque heritage. I have made a number of ‘Basque-style’ dishes before, but never looked into the ‘tube-meats.’...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

I know this is not what you're looking for , just a way to compare spice pairings .

This will be added to my bucket list, it looks fantastic. With the help of the owners of a Mexican restaurant, I make a modified Chorizo recipe from the Poli site, and recently bought a Chorizo seasoning from Walton's to try out, as it's more of an Americanized Chorizo, similar to the Johnsonville Chorizo. I'm still in the testing stage with the Walton's seasoning, but so far I'm liking it.

 

[chopsaw]

, I make a modified Chorizo recipe from the Poli site

I do alot of reading and comparing on his site . That's where I read about the french 4 spice .
Have you looked at the French style sausages in the fresh sausage section ?

 

[thirdeye]

I do alot of reading and comparing on his site . That's where I read about the french 4 spice .
Have you looked at the French style sausages in the fresh sausage section ?

Not in detail, but I will check them out.

 

[thirdeye]

I found this post on a Basque site, so the information I got years ago about Lukainka and French Basque is likely correct.

My grandparents were French Basque, they used to make a pork sausage caled “lukinka”. I would like to make this and keep the recipe in the family. So if anyone knows of this sausage I would appreciate if they would give it to me.
Thanks, Patty

 

[couger78]

Hi all!
I've seen something similar to the Basque "sausage in question" and tried it at a Basque festival in Elko, NV a number of years ago. It was quite different from the Basque chorizo I posted here. Milder. Lighter in color. Slightly less heat but still delicious! I asked the vendor the ingredients. He rattled off these (or as best I can remember): pork, onion and bell pepper, black pepper, allspice, coriander, piment d'Espelette chili powder and maybe some caraway (I think). The piment d'Espelette is the key ingredient for REAL Basque flavor, according to the sausage seller who was actually from the Pyrenees.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Thirdeye Thanks for the like it is appreciated.

Warren

 

[thirdeye]

Hi all!
I've seen something similar to the Basque "sausage in question" and tried it at a Basque festival in Elko, NV a number of years ago. It was quite different from the Basque chorizo I posted here. Milder. Lighter in color. Slightly less heat but still delicious! I asked the vendor the ingredients. He rattled off these (or as best I can remember): pork, onion and bell pepper, black pepper, allspice, coriander, piment d'Espelette chili powder and maybe some caraway (I think). The piment d'Espelette is the key ingredient for REAL Basque flavor, according to the sausage seller who was actually from the Pyrenees.

I talked to two others yesterday that recently tried some Lukainka, and ran this list of ingredients by them. Obviously, a good ratio of ingredients reflect an overall flavor without one thing standing out, but many sausages have 'signature' flavors (like fennel in Italian sausage), but we all thought onion, bell pepper, black pepper could be players. I can't be sure about the coriander, and I don't think allspice or caraway was in it. When doing some reading on the piment d'Espelette, I stumbled upon a domestic producer from California, that seemed very devoted to this style of pepper. Boonville Barn Collective

 

[lukeseippel]

Hi all!
I've seen something similar to the Basque "sausage in question" and tried it at a Basque festival in Elko, NV a number of years ago. It was quite different from the Basque chorizo I posted here. Milder. Lighter in color. Slightly less heat but still delicious! I asked the vendor the ingredients. He rattled off these (or as best I can remember): pork, onion and bell pepper, black pepper, allspice, coriander, piment d'Espelette chili powder and maybe some caraway (I think). The piment d'Espelette is the key ingredient for REAL Basque flavor, according to the sausage seller who was actually from the Pyrenees.

I'm originally from Elko NV, now I live in Mobile Al. I sure miss the Basque festival. It was one of my favorite things to do in the summer.

 

[DanMcG]

Ok I sent another message to Big Horn Basque Club and got an immediate response but not as informative as I had hoped. I asked if he could share the main players in the sausage if he couldn't get a actual recipe.
Quote;
I am so sorry I didn't get back to you, we've been very busy! I did ask the old guys and they said there's no written recipe, of course lol! But the the ingredients are simple, salt - pepper - garlic and a little bit of red pepper
Dan, my folks made lukainka every December. Ground pork, Dad used the scraps from butchering hogs and had it ground, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Let the flavors penetrate the meat, then refrigerate for a couple if days and cook and taste. Mom usually always added more garlic!!! We then bought casings, borrowed a sausage press,then made big links, the size if Italian sausage in the stores. Cured for two weeks and then cut into 2” links and fry. YUM
Our family didn’t use red pepper.
Unquote.

 

[thirdeye]

Ok I sent another message to Big Horn Basque Club and got an immediate response but not as informative as I had hoped. I asked if he could share the main players in the sausage if he couldn't get a actual recipe.
Quote;
I am so sorry I didn't get back to you, we've been very busy! I did ask the old guys and they said there's no written recipe, of course lol! But the the ingredients are simple, salt - pepper - garlic and a little bit of red pepper
Dan, my folks made lukainka every December. Ground pork, Dad used the scraps from butchering hogs and had it ground, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Let the flavors penetrate the meat, then refrigerate for a couple if days and cook and taste. Mom usually always added more garlic!!! We then bought casings, borrowed a sausage press,then made big links, the size if Italian sausage in the stores. Cured for two weeks and then cut into 2” links and fry. YUM
Our family didn’t use red pepper.
Unquote.

Dan, thanks for following up on that. I see the quest continues.... I'm glad there was conformation on:

• Pork for the meat
• salt
• black pepper (which I can see in the links I have)
• garlic (confirmed also)
• red pepper (possibly confirmed, as I noticed a very subtle heat)

I can possibly pick-up bell pepper like cougar78 mentioned, but don't have taste reference to the piment d'Espelette , although 1) I wouldn't mind trying some after cruising the website I linked to above and 2) I'm not sure a smaller butcher shop would invest in that seasoning.

So, the clues so far kind of point toward a standard German sausage (salt, black pepper, white pepper and garlic.) except that some German sausages have some beef. I have a plan that may help identify the flavors in the links I have. Two brothers I know make an annual batch (like 900 pounds) of German sausage from a family recipe for church members and friends. This 3 day event is coming up in February. One brother is very tuned into flavors, so I'll give him a couple of links and see what he comes up with and report back.

It's interesting that the Basque Club member recalled using big links, but he may be referring to rings or coils? However, the links I get are larger diameter and weigh in at 1/3 pound each, I'm guessing they are in the 35 mm range.

 

[HalfSmoked]

I will ask my neighbor whose grandmother is pure French see what I can find out about the orgin or history of this.

Warren

Neighbors grandmother came from northern French border with Germany. He is out of town right now but is still going to ask her. Wondering if she will be any help as I seen this comes from southern border near Spain.

Warren

 

[thirdeye]

Neighbors grandmother came from northern French border with Germany. He is out of town right now but is still going to ask her. Wondering if she will be any help as I seen this comes from southern border near Spain.

Warren

That would be great. The more information we get, the easier it will be to shape a recipe.

 

[HalfSmoked]

We are going to have to have a sausage gathering when you get this perfected.

Warren

 

[couger78]

$10.50/shipped on Amazon -Piment d'Espelette

 

[Polka]

Now, depending on the fat content, and the freshness and amounts of Black Pepper / White Pepper, that could have been the source of your little dab of heat. I Bet that special French spice is the thing to set it off different, and depending on the actual peppers in it, source of subtle heat, too. Just my two cents. Happy grinding!! R

 

[HalfSmoked]

Thanks for the like chopsaw it is appreciated.

Warren

 

[thirdeye]

Now, depending on the fat content, and the freshness and amounts of Black Pepper / White Pepper, that could have been the source of your little dab of heat. I Bet that special French spice is the thing to set it off different, and depending on the actual peppers in it, source of subtle heat, too. Just my two cents. Happy grinding!! R

You are absolutely correct about the special spice, and that could be the thing would make the flavor pop on a sausage with such simple ingredients. I'm curious if Basque decedents in the US making lukainka a generation or two ago had access to that spice? And would a meat market spend the extra money to buy it?

 

[DanMcG]

I would think they brought the peppers over from the homeland, and grew their own from the seeds.

 

[DanMcG]

It's interesting that the Basque Club member recalled using big links, but he may be referring to rings or coils? However, the links I get are larger diameter and weigh in at 1/3 pound each, I'm guessing they are in the 35 mm range.

I just went back and reread what we have so far and notice that although he mentions big links , he then comments "the size if Italian sausage in the stores ", so I think you're right on the 32-35 casing.

 

[DanMcG]

Here's a store bought sausage that lists the ingredients for a basque sausage that sounds like what couger described

Basque Sausage au Piment d’Espelette

Basque Country has a rich culinary heritage distinct from French and Spanish cuisine, and often its recipes are enhanced with spicy and peppery flavors that surprise the palate. Basque Sausage au Piment d'Espelette is one such recipe. The ground por

www.gourmetfoodstore.com

with the ingredient list we should be able to reverse engineer it

EDIT: this looks to be the same sausage that I posted on page one, but with a different name.