Sokath, his eyes uncovered

Basically, it just means that the surface of the sausages will dry out a bit which deepens the flavour and colour a bit more

Thank you, sir!

Had a chance to work there briefly and found out the place was FILTHY. Plus I learned a lot about their generally poor technique when it came to sausage making, etc. The product was never that great to begin with but it was the only stuff around. I found out why it was that way.

An-DOO-ee. The L's are silent and the emphasis is on that second syllable

Smokey, slightly spicy, garlic

So cold smoking is when you apply smoke to something but you maintain a low temperature in the smoke chamber, typically between 65-85f. You can do it a few ways. You can get little smoking rigs which are metal mesh that goes in a spiral or other pattern that functions as a sort of track for fine wood chips/sawdust. You light one end and it smokes like incense. This goes inside your chamber and generates smoke with very little heat. I use an external smoke generator that's basically a tower with an element at the bottom that you fill from the top with wood chips. This feeds into my smoker through a hole in the side. Personally, I only cold smoke when the outside temperature is lower than 4c. Makes it much easier to keep things food safe, especially when I'm cold smoking chicken.

Cold smoking is most commonly used for foods that have already gone through a curing process such as bacon, smoked salmon, etc. It can also be used for things that would melt at higher temperatures. Cheese, chocolate, and so on. In the case of these sausages, I do a long cold smoke to both get a deep smoke flavour and dry out the sausages casings to get a more snappy bite. I follow up the cold smoke with gradually higher temperatures at the end to fully cook the sausages.

Circle of life, baby!

I appreciate a fellow sausage guy! I use andouille in my gumbo, but jambalaya is another favourite of mine!

I appreciate that! I am, in fact, planning to open a specialty food shop in the future. Likely early next year. I'll be doing a decent bit of cured and smoked meats in house. For now, everything just goes up on my social media

Most polish sausage are on the mild side of things, whereas andouille has some heat from cayenne and black pepper

I used an attachment for my kitchenaid mixer. It's ok, but not the most efficient thing in the world. Probably going to upgrade to a Cabela's grinder this summer

Thanks bud! It's near impossible to get andouille up here in the part of Canada where I live, so learning to make my own has always been a goal. Same with gumbo. Only option for that is the canned stuff which is watery and full of tomatoes and soggy rice.

Just posted the recipe!

Getting ready to make a big ol pot of gumbo soon and the place I used to get andouille from has become.... undesirable. So I decided to try making my own! Super happy with the way they turned out! Good bind, great snap to the casings, awesome flavour and texture. There's a pleasant bit of firey heat from the cayenne and black pepper. Definitely going to do this recipe again!

• 3kg cubed pork shoulder
• 43g kosher salt
• 9g prague #1
• 4 Tbsp fresh grated garlic
• 3.5 tsp cayenne
• 2.5 tsp paprika
• 2.5 tsp dried thyme
• 2.5 tsp medium ground black pepper
• 170 ml ice water

Freeze the cubed pork for an hour before grinding once on a 3mm die. Return to the freezer for another hour. Add all the seasonings to the meat and mix until sticky. I did this much in two batches in my kitchenaid mixer. Stuff the sausages (I used 32/35mm hog casings) and twist into links. Dry in the fridge on wire racks for 24 hours. If you're able to set up a small fan to blow over them during this period, it really helps the process! Cold smoke for 24 hours. I do stuff like this in the winter because it lets me keep a food safe temperature in the chamber for that length of time. I used alder for my smoke because it's a good local wood here, but oak or pecan would be great too. After 24 hours, start bringing your smoker temp up. I used this schedule: 120f for an hour, 140 for an hour, 180 until they hit 155f internal. Take em out, drop them into ice water to cool completely, then wipe them dry with a towel and into the fridge they go overnight to bloom. I should also mention that it's essential to eat one as soon as it comes out of the smoker. That's just responsible cooking! Once they've had that final bloom in the fridge they're fully ready to either package up or start using.

Very satisfying!

Every now and then you need a good hit of nostalgia. I've really been feeling it lately, so I'm on a kick off recreating some of the dishes I grew up eating in diners and other mom n pop restaurants in the 80s and 90s. This was one of my favorites! Rich, meaty tomato sauce ladled over top your spaghetti and served up with those old shakers of cheese dust and red pepper flakes and a slice of garlic toast. It wasn't fancy, but it was good.

For the sauce I used a can of crushed tomatoes, half an onion, four cloves of garlic, dried basil, salt, and a bit of sugar. Browned up some ground beef, added the diced onions and garlic, cooked until the onions went soft, deglazed with water, added the tomatoes and basil, and let it simmer for the afternoon. Finished it with a bit of sugar to cut against the acidity of the tomatoes, and adjusted the seasoning with a bit more salt. For the garlic toast, I made a spread with butter, lots of fresh garlic, a bit of salt, some paprika, and fresh parsley. Spread out on both sides of your bread and chuck it into a 425f oven on a parchment lined sheet pan. 7-9 minutes per side. Done. (Diners, though, would often do the garlic toast on a flat top griddle)

Side note: before people get all up in arms saying it's better to toss your noodles with the sauce in a pan, I know. I'm a chef with decades of experience and I made my bones early in my career working in Italian restaurants. I'm going for a very particular feel in this dish, though. This is diner food, not Italian. Cheers!

Sounds amazing! I used a mix of ancho, guahillo, pasilla, and a few dried chipotle. Same method as you, but I used stock instead of water and then I threw it all in a blender to make a paste. Works a real treat!

Weather is finally turning cool and rainy here. Time for chili! Tried a few things differently from my usual recipe. Whole dried chilies instead of chili powder, different sources of tomato, and a couple other things. Super happy with it! Very flavourful, mild heat(I keep it mild to appease certain... weaker constitutions, but serve it with a spread of hot sauces), rich, meaty. Definitely a keeper!

From the grind to the grill, my friend

This is a Hungarian smoked sausage that has been a traditional pre-meal snack for Big Family Meals(birthdays, Christmas, etc) in my family for as long as I can remember. I recently got into making sausage and charcuterie, so I figured it was finally time to see if I could recreate these sausages! They're mild, seasoned mainly with paprika along with black pepper, garlic, and marjoram. After grinding, mixing, and stuffing, they cure overnight and then get smoked the next day.