I love andouille a lot because I love gumbo. However, I also eat it as a snack, on pizzas and in many dishes. I have been refining the recipe since my first batch and have got it to where I want it. That is the best thing about making your own sausage, you can get it the way you like it.
In this case, that was no small feat. I want enough heat to give a zing to gumbo, jambalaya and the like. However, too much heat and I face the wrath of She Who Must Be Obeyed. I make up for a little of the last flavour from reducing the heat a bit by using fresh onions in the grind.
I start of by cubing some pork shoulder and weighing it. Then I spread the meat on a tray and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
For each kilogram of pork, I chop 40 ml of onion. That would be 1 1/4 tablespoon per pound of pork If you still use the cup/pound measures from an earlier century.
I grind the meat through the fine plate and mix the onion into the grind.
Then I measure the following per kilogram of pork:
10 ml kosher salt
12 ml paprika
6 ml cayenne
1 ml crushed chilies
4 ml coarse ground pepper
3 ml thyme
2 ml mace
1 ml mustard powder
1 ml mustard seed
1 ml allspice
1 ml cloves
7 ml sugar
75 ml skim milk powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 grams Prague powder #1
40 ml water
Once again, for those still in the dark ages, that works out to the following per pound of pork:
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1/3 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon mustard seed
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2/3 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 tablespoon skim milk powder
1 clove garlic, minced
0.048 ounces Prague powder #1
1 1/3 tablespoon water
I mix these into a paste and mix it well with the meat.
I put the meat in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Then I put the meat in the bowl of my KitchenAid with the paddle on and beat it at medium speed for 3 minutes.
I put the meat in the fridge for an hour and do a test fry while the meat is chilling.
The test fry doesn't give an accurate taste of the final product but does let you know if there is way too much of anything.
I ran the meat through my LEM stuffer into hog casings.
I measured the casings into 8 inch lengths and twisted off. Then I cut the lengths into two link sections.
I let the links sit in the fridge overnight.
I did do something a little different this smoke. It was just below freezing and I wanted to cold smoke some cheese anyway so I fired up the A-Maze-N Tube smoker and put it in the pellet smoker with the cheese and sausage and cold smoked both for 3 hours. The tube smoker increased the temperature in the smoker to about fridge temperatures.
I took the cheese out and wrapped it. I also took the sausage out and fired my mini smoker up to 150 F.
I put the sausage in and slowly increased the temperature to 180 F and cooked to an internal temperature of 155 F.
I always have one short king of lightly stuffed sausage that I tried the next day.
The Verdict
This is andouille the way I like it. It has just enough heat to warm your mouth and a nice onion undertone. The extra cold smoke really added some complexity. I will have to try it again.
Disco
In this case, that was no small feat. I want enough heat to give a zing to gumbo, jambalaya and the like. However, too much heat and I face the wrath of She Who Must Be Obeyed. I make up for a little of the last flavour from reducing the heat a bit by using fresh onions in the grind.
I start of by cubing some pork shoulder and weighing it. Then I spread the meat on a tray and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
For each kilogram of pork, I chop 40 ml of onion. That would be 1 1/4 tablespoon per pound of pork If you still use the cup/pound measures from an earlier century.
I grind the meat through the fine plate and mix the onion into the grind.
Then I measure the following per kilogram of pork:
10 ml kosher salt
12 ml paprika
6 ml cayenne
1 ml crushed chilies
4 ml coarse ground pepper
3 ml thyme
2 ml mace
1 ml mustard powder
1 ml mustard seed
1 ml allspice
1 ml cloves
7 ml sugar
75 ml skim milk powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 grams Prague powder #1
40 ml water
Once again, for those still in the dark ages, that works out to the following per pound of pork:
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1/3 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon mustard seed
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2/3 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 tablespoon skim milk powder
1 clove garlic, minced
0.048 ounces Prague powder #1
1 1/3 tablespoon water
I mix these into a paste and mix it well with the meat.
I put the meat in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Then I put the meat in the bowl of my KitchenAid with the paddle on and beat it at medium speed for 3 minutes.
I put the meat in the fridge for an hour and do a test fry while the meat is chilling.
The test fry doesn't give an accurate taste of the final product but does let you know if there is way too much of anything.
I ran the meat through my LEM stuffer into hog casings.
I measured the casings into 8 inch lengths and twisted off. Then I cut the lengths into two link sections.
I let the links sit in the fridge overnight.
I did do something a little different this smoke. It was just below freezing and I wanted to cold smoke some cheese anyway so I fired up the A-Maze-N Tube smoker and put it in the pellet smoker with the cheese and sausage and cold smoked both for 3 hours. The tube smoker increased the temperature in the smoker to about fridge temperatures.
I took the cheese out and wrapped it. I also took the sausage out and fired my mini smoker up to 150 F.
I put the sausage in and slowly increased the temperature to 180 F and cooked to an internal temperature of 155 F.
I always have one short king of lightly stuffed sausage that I tried the next day.
The Verdict
This is andouille the way I like it. It has just enough heat to warm your mouth and a nice onion undertone. The extra cold smoke really added some complexity. I will have to try it again.
Disco
