Online Workshop: Project B (August 2012)

Cabonaia · Post by **Cabonaia** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 17:20

Cross section of the csabai, which has been smoked then poached. Tastes great and the texture feels good - I am happy with that. But you can see I got a few fat pockets. They are here and there, not everywhere. Could this be from bringing up the water temp too fast? I am suspecting this because I ground the meat half frozen, and the fat frozen, and kept everything very cold all along the way. The poaching, on the other hand, went much faster than I planned.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 17:30

For poaching eggs I drop them into boiling water. For poaching sausage I start with cold sausage and cold water and heat everything together. Rather like making stock, meat cooks long before water boils.

Cabonaia · Post by **Cabonaia** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 20:14

Ross - Thanks for the tip. That's a great way to remember. I should take better notes, but I think I started with cold sausage and cold water, but I began with the flame all the way up, and the water reached 180 before I turned it down to let it settle in at a lower temp. Before it got there the sausage internal temp was 160. Too fast and too hot, it seems. Most of the links don't have any fat pockets, so my guess is that the ones directly over the heat source were those worst affected.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 20:44

The water to sausage ratio will also make a difference. I like to use a canning kettle for the large diameter and large volume. That way a high fire won't have such a fast effect. I stir the pot with my hand until it starts to get too hot for that. Just as we raise the heat in the smoker a few degrees at a time with some holding time at each setting. Water transfers heat much more quickly than does air but the sausage needs time to heat through so that the outside isn't 20 degrees ahead of the center.

Cabonaia · Post by **Cabonaia** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 22:37

I poached these in a wide, 4-inch deep skillet. Not going that route anymore. Usually I use a big stock pot, though when I am poaching it's generally a big mortadella or cotto. I was at Wallmart yesterday looking for a nice long and deep turkey roaster, which for me would be ideal. They only had a shallow one. Still in the market for something long, as the stock pot doesn't allow for much length. Oh, and it's got to be cheap! Maybe Amazon......

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 22:50

Goodwill often has enameled roasters for a couple of dollars and also enameled canning kettles.

Dudley · Post by **Dudley** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 01:14

OK gang I have a problem with Kabanosy.
My first batch I had to throw in the garbage.
Grinding and mixing went fine. Into the masterbuild smoker set to 120 degrees, next time I looked the temp had risen to 136 degrees. Opened the door and got the temp down but it would cycle between 115 and 125. Left it this for 45 minutes then increased temp to 160 until I had a IMT of 145 per instructions. Cooled on the counter with a fan then let them sit overnight. Next day the fat had risen to the surface, the taste was greasy and uneatable. Three days later they were worse. Garbage time. I am sure the high temp. at the start was my problem.

Second try
I separated the fat and meat so I could get about a 90/10 mix. Set the smoker for a max 115 temp. for one hour then 170 for a IMT of 155. This worked fine, the texture is good and they have a great chew, but the taste is nothing special. Maybe I need the extra fat? I did bump up the caraway some. Please any help would be appreciated. I am afraid to go on to csabai until I get this right.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 01:26

Cabonaia wrote:

CW welcome back! Ross did a fine job holding down the fort and keeping the fire burning. But the site was not anything the same without you around. We were all kind of milling around.

Jeff, thanks for your kind words. That's great lookin' sausage. Tell me, how does it rate in comparison to your kielbasa and Italian sausage? Have you got a favorite?
You wrote:

I also made another batch of kabanosy, because that first batch hooked me hard.

Now you know why I`m 30 lbs. overweight!

Ross, you`re right about a brown paper bag "tempering" the drying process. It`s important NOT to use a plastic bag, as mold will develop. If a little white mold develops while using a brown paper bag, just wipe the mold off with a clean cloth. If you have deep, white, flaky mold, use just a touch of vinegar on the cloth.

And Northfork, you ol` muleskinner ...
You said,

"detail becomes a habit after many years of being bound to it's importance.

That`s why you don`t have to go back to correct many details. If you keep a record of them, they`ll be right where you need them for reference. Good goin` pal.
And then:

There is sure a lot more to makin' sausage than grinding meat and stuffing it in a gut!

What an understatement! Now you know why we help each other learn and work as a team instead of a bunch of jealous individuals running around with supposed "secrets".

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Cabonaia · Post by **Cabonaia** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 01:47

Chuckwagon wrote:Tell me, how does it rate in comparison to your kielbasa and Italian sausage? Have you got a favorite?

I grew up eating Portugues linguica, and the csabai reminds me of that. Now if you understand that this is a Portagee talking to you, you will recognize the weight of that statement.

Linguica is very coarsly ground, with dominant flavors of garlic, paprika, and light smoke. It can include a little wine (red or port), and sometimes nutmeg and cinammon. It is marinated before grinding and smoking. So a lot of similarities. The carraway in the csabai makes t impossible to mistake with linguica, however. Since I love carraway, that's a plus! This sausage is a keeper! I will definitely be making it again. I also want to stuff it in a larger casing than 38mm hog, and dry it into a salami type.

I like it better than the kielbasa, and I didn't make the Italian yet. It's really hard to rate, though. They are all so good. The sausage that suprised me was the breakfast sausage. It tasted just like breakfast sausage in terms of the sage and pepper and all the flavors you expect, except it had this, howshouldisay howshouldisay POP! I took a bite of that and just started shouting.

Favorite so far has to be the kabanosy. I'm moving up to bigger batches of that since it disappears to fast (I've got 7 kids, so do the math!). Just ordered more 22mm collagen casing (don't even ask me about sheep casings...I'm not nimble enough to thread those). I'd like to try some other snack sticks, too, like a pepperoni type.

Fun stuff!!!

el Ducko · Post by **el Ducko** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 01:58

A union of two great hobbies:
One kilo of Csabii drying between two kegs of home brew. Life is good. ...gonna get better!

FYI the keg on the left is my traditional Münchner pils recipe, Helles "Windel Eimer" Diaper Pail Pale, so named because for many years I brewed in an enameled pot which had been used to store the kids' dirty diapers.

...special memories, special flavor... aaahhh!

Oktoberfest is over, now, in Germany (too many Americans, but a good party). Time for WurstFest in New Braunfels, Texas, shortly. Wilkommen, und y'all come.

grasshopper · Post by **grasshopper** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 02:09

Beginner question again. On the casabai recipe it calls for sweet and hot hungarian paprika. I live in a rural area, but we have a heath food store in the next town. they said the hungarian paprika is sweet. The did not know anything about the hot. This is what I bought. All ground items, ancho peppers. red jalapeno peppers and red chipotle peppers. Question what can I use in place of hot hungarian paprika.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 02:17

Dudley Ol' Man, you wrote:

Second try: I separated the fat and meat so I could get about a 90/10 mix. Set the smoker for a max 115 temp. for one hour then 170 for a IMT of 155. This worked fine, the texture is good and they have a great chew, but the taste is nothing special. Maybe I need the extra fat? I did bump up the caraway some. Please any help would be appreciated. I am afraid to go on to csabai until I get this right.

Rytek Kutas used to shudder when someone told him that the fat "broke". When the grease rises to the surface, it is a clear indication that too much heat was involved - heat nearing the temperature of 171°F. If it runs out of the sausage and onto the floor of the smokehouse, it has usually remained at that temperature for a few minutes. When this happens, the lean (with no protection), will dry in no time at all, and without the lubrication of fat, the sausage texture would resemble sawdust. Ol' Rytek used to shake his head and say, "yes, sawdust... exactly like sawdust".
So, cool the processing temp down and try adding another thermometer to your smokehouse to use for comparison. There will always be "hotspots" inside.
Most people start adding more caraway to the recipe. I'm a black pepper freak and I started grindin' it by the boxcar and putting so much in my kabanosy that it became a little "hot" to the bite. Over the years, I only found one other thing I'd put into the recipe, but then it is no longer true kabanosy.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Gulyás · Post by **Gulyás** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 02:21

Hi Dudley.

My opinion is, that good sausage/salami have to have between 20 to 30 % fat in it. Next time try to keep the fat about 20 to 25 %, it'll improve much on taste.

Dudley · Post by **Dudley** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 02:23

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problen kabanosy

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 02:25

Grasshopper, this is the best answer i can find for you: http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Caps_ann.html
Enjoy the reading.