OK, I am a Canadian. I don't do hot food like you crazy Americans. That being said, I like a touch of heat but I am usually constrained by She Who Must Be Obeyed who is even less tolerant of spicy food than I am. Regardless, I decided to make hot links that I would like and SWMBO could just eat something else. OK, I asked her if it was all right first.
I modified Willie's Hot Links for Canadian tastes and this is the result.
First, I cubed some pork shoulder I had put in the freezer for 40 minutes for the grinder on my KitchenAid and weighed it.
I ran it through the medium plate.
I put the ground meat in the fridge for 30 minutes and mixed up my seasoning slurry. For each Kg of pork I mixed:
125 ml beer
10 ml ground pepper
11 ml crushed chilies
11 ml cayenne
13 ml paprika
14 ml kosher salt
7 ml mustard seed
15 ml minced garlic
2 ml ground coriander
2 ml dried thyme
1 ml mustard powder
7 ml light corn syrup
25 ml skim milk powder
3 grams Prague powder #1
I know many are still in the last century with pounds and cups over metric. For you poor souls, the slurry would have the following per pound:
1/4 cup beer
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon crushed chilies
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/4 teaspoon paprika
5/8 teaspoon mustard seed
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
5/8 teaspoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons skim milk powder
0.048 Prague powder #1
I spread the meat on a tray and spread the seasoning slurry over it. I mixed the meat and slurry by folding it over, turning a quarter turn and pressing down for 3 minutes. I put the meat in the fridge for 30 minutes.
I put the meat in my KitchenAid bowl with a paddle on and beat it for 3 minutes. I put the meat back in the fridge for 30 minutes.
While the meat was chilling, I did a fry test and started to get excited!
I set up my stuffer with 12 feet of hog casings I had rinsed and soaked overnight and then put in hot water. When I stuffed them they were thicker than I expected but that is a good thing, right?
I twisted them off at 6 inch lengths.
Here I did something different. It was running below freezing outside so I cold smoked the sausage for 4 hours with my A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker. I put ice in thinking the smoker might raise the temperature but I didn't need it. It was plenty cold outside.
I let the sausage sit in the fridge overnight to allow the smoke to equalize and then put it in a 140 F smoker, slowly increasing the temperature to 180 F. I cooked them to an internal temperature of 155 F.
I waited until the next day and cooked up one of my New England style buns by buttering the sides and grilling it while I grilled the hot link. I loaded it up with SWMBO's great Zucchini Mustard Relish and mustard.
The Verdict
Pure heaven! A nice spicy sausage with a great bite and very moist. The spice was lots for me but if you are into burn your mouth out hot, these aren't them. However, your mouth will be warm after each bite. I would say they are the same heat as hot pepperoni.
There is no way SWMBO will eat these and that really upsets me. Sigh, I will just have to eat them all myself.
Disco
I modified Willie's Hot Links for Canadian tastes and this is the result.
First, I cubed some pork shoulder I had put in the freezer for 40 minutes for the grinder on my KitchenAid and weighed it.
I ran it through the medium plate.
I put the ground meat in the fridge for 30 minutes and mixed up my seasoning slurry. For each Kg of pork I mixed:
125 ml beer
10 ml ground pepper
11 ml crushed chilies
11 ml cayenne
13 ml paprika
14 ml kosher salt
7 ml mustard seed
15 ml minced garlic
2 ml ground coriander
2 ml dried thyme
1 ml mustard powder
7 ml light corn syrup
25 ml skim milk powder
3 grams Prague powder #1
I know many are still in the last century with pounds and cups over metric. For you poor souls, the slurry would have the following per pound:
1/4 cup beer
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon crushed chilies
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/4 teaspoon paprika
5/8 teaspoon mustard seed
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
5/8 teaspoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons skim milk powder
0.048 Prague powder #1
I spread the meat on a tray and spread the seasoning slurry over it. I mixed the meat and slurry by folding it over, turning a quarter turn and pressing down for 3 minutes. I put the meat in the fridge for 30 minutes.
I put the meat in my KitchenAid bowl with a paddle on and beat it for 3 minutes. I put the meat back in the fridge for 30 minutes.
While the meat was chilling, I did a fry test and started to get excited!
I set up my stuffer with 12 feet of hog casings I had rinsed and soaked overnight and then put in hot water. When I stuffed them they were thicker than I expected but that is a good thing, right?
I twisted them off at 6 inch lengths.
Here I did something different. It was running below freezing outside so I cold smoked the sausage for 4 hours with my A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker. I put ice in thinking the smoker might raise the temperature but I didn't need it. It was plenty cold outside.
I let the sausage sit in the fridge overnight to allow the smoke to equalize and then put it in a 140 F smoker, slowly increasing the temperature to 180 F. I cooked them to an internal temperature of 155 F.
I waited until the next day and cooked up one of my New England style buns by buttering the sides and grilling it while I grilled the hot link. I loaded it up with SWMBO's great Zucchini Mustard Relish and mustard.
The Verdict
Pure heaven! A nice spicy sausage with a great bite and very moist. The spice was lots for me but if you are into burn your mouth out hot, these aren't them. However, your mouth will be warm after each bite. I would say they are the same heat as hot pepperoni.
There is no way SWMBO will eat these and that really upsets me. Sigh, I will just have to eat them all myself.
Disco
