Greek Smoked Sausage Recipes

GREEK LOUKANIKO SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Chop your pork and lamb into rough chunks. Mix in the salt, curing salt (if using) and sugar and grind through a coarse die on your grinder. Put this in the fridge overnight if possible or for at least an hour. The step helps the sausage bind to itself when you stuff it.
• Set aside 1/2 of the coriander, black pepper and fennel seeds in a small bowl. Soak your hog casings in warm water. Put the wine in the fridge. Make sure all your grinding gear is cold.
• Mix the remaining spices with the meat and fat and grind the meat a second time into a bowl. You can grind coarse again or go fine. Your choice. I do half-and-half. Set the bowl for the meat into another bowl full of ice if your room is warmer than 70ºF. Once it's ground, put the meat in the freezer and clean up.
• Get out your stand mixer and find the heavy paddle to it (not the dough hook). If you don't have one, put the meat mixture in a large bin so you can mix it by hand. Add the orange zest, reserved spices and the wine and mix the sausage well for 2 minutes, or until it forms a sticky, cohesive paste. If you are doing this with your hands, they should ache from the cold.
• Get out your sausage stuffer, which if you've been smart has been living in your fridge or freezer for the past few hours. Fit it with the appropriate tube and stuff the sausage. Do it all at once before you twist it into links.
• To twist into links, start at one end and compress the meat into the casing, then tie off the casing. Measure out a good-sized link, then pinch with your fingers. Do the same another good-sized link down the coil. Once you have them both pinched, twist several times to tighten the link well. Repeat on down the line of the coil, then tie off the final link after compressing it, too. (Here is a quick video on twisting sausage links.)
• Once you've finished, hang the links so your twisting does not come undone, or tie off each link with string. Use the needle to prick any air pockets, and compress the meat in the casing to fill those pockets; be careful or you can rupture the casing if you do this too roughly.
• Hang your sausages to dry for about 2 hours in a normal room, only 1 hour if the room is warmer than 75ºF. Ideally, you hang the links overnight at about 40ºF.

ORANGE AND LEEK LOUKANIKO (GREEK SAUSAGE) RECIPE

Steps:

• Place pork, lamb, and fatback in a large bowl and toss with kosher salt and pink curing salt. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Set parts of a meat grinder, including large cutting die, in freezer. Set bowl and paddle of stand mixer in freezer.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and reduced in volume, 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely, then add leeks to bowl with meat and toss to distribute evenly. Chill for an additional 20 minutes.
• Grind meat and fat mixture through a chilled meat grinder fitted with large cutting die, into a large bowl set in another bowl filled with ice.
• Add garlic, orange zest, coriander, black pepper, oregano, and thyme. Using chilled paddle attachment and chilled bowl of a standing mixer, mix at low speed for 1 minute. Add red wine and vinegar and mix until liquid is incorporated and sausage is uniform and sticky, about 1 minute longer.
• Form a small sausage patty; place rest of sausage mixture in refrigerator. Cook patty in a small frying pan over medium-high heat until cooked through. Taste and adjust seasonings of sausage if necessary.
• Stuff sausage into hog casings and twist into 6-inch links. Place sausages on a large wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for 2 to 3 days; rotate sausages daily to allow air to circulate around all of them.
• If smoking: In a grill, light 10-15 charcoal briquettes, or small amount of lump charcoal. When charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pile coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Place wood chunk on top of charcoal. Set cooking grate in place, place sausages away from fire, and cover, positioning air vent over sausages. Smoke until wood and charcoal are burnt out, 1-2 hours. Remove sausages from grill.
• Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over entire surface of charcoal grate. Alternatively, set all the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Grill over medium-high direct heat until sausage registers 160°F when an instant read thermometer is inserted in middle of link. Remove from grill, let rest for 5 minutes. Serve immediately or for extra crispy sausages, split links down middle and place back on the grill, cut side down, and cook until well browned, about 2 minutes.

GREEK PORK SAUSAGE WITH ORANGE PEEL (LOUKANIKA)

Steps:

• Combine pork shoulder, fat back, and remaining ingredients, except casings, in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate several hours.
• Rinse casings thoroughly in lukewarm water. Tie one end of a casing and stuff by pushing meat through a funnel inserted in the untied end; tie other end. Continue until all the meat and casings have been used.
• Poach sausages in boiling water for 1 hour. Cool. Cut into slices and fry in a skillet until browned.
• Note: If desired, omit casing, form sausage into patties, and fry until cooked.
• Culinary Arts Institute Greek Cookbook.

GREEK SMOKED SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Place onion in food processor and remove liquid.
• Crush fresh garlic.
• Mix meat, fat, seasonings, curing salt, and water in food processor or stand mixer until paste forms.
• Add dried oregano and mint leaves, mixing in by hand.
• Allow to cure in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Extrude into natural sausage casings.
• Smoke over pecan and cherry wood chips for 2.5 to 3 hours at 160 degrees.