[USA] "Goodness Gracious Garlic"

[Chuckwagon]

Goodness Gracious Garlic
(Fresh Garlic & Sage Sausage)

Some folks seem to think sage is just for turkey stuffing and breakfast sausage only. Wrong! Combined with a little garlic and hickory smoke in a sausage, it just can`t be beat. Who can resist the flavor of garlic in a good sausage? However, it can be a bit bitter or strong unless you know a little secret I learned years ago from an ol` sourdough named "Dutch Oven Dick" - my fishin` pard from Alaska.

The first time "Dutch Oven Dick" ran the rapids with me at the Red Creek confluence on the Green River, we took my aluminum canoe without a keel (scoots across the water). Dick`s eyes were large as tumbleweeds as we started down the "chute", scraped the bow, broached, rolled, and finally swamped the boat! Dick went under, washed down to the eddy, and shot out like a cork! Shaking and dripping wet, Dutch Oven Dick Lafferty cursed the 43 degree water temperature and as he pulled the boat back to the shore, he made reference to some type of female dog.
Kicking the gunwale, he screamed, "Look at the dent in that tub... We were nearly killed!" He added, "And to think we were dumb enough to run this rapid twice!"
"Twice?" I asked. "What do you mean ... twice?" I was puzzled. "We've only run this rapid one time" I said.
Heaving the paddle back into the canoe, he said..."Well we're going to do it again aren't we?"

Dutch Oven Dick`s Garlic Secrets:

Raw garlic added to sausage is pungent and it may be a little bitter. Par-cooked or `barely browned`, it becomes sweetened with roasted garlic flavor. The ol` timer knew that oil and salt are the best kept secret ingredients in protecting garlic`s flavor. For example, if one were making a garlic marinade, oil and salt would be added to garlic, as omitting either would significantly reduce the flavor of the garlic. Why? It`s because oil protects and stabilizes allicin, the compound in garlic that`s responsible for its characteristic flavor. Allicin is produced when garlic is cut or crushed, and it quickly degrades into less flavorful compounds when exposed to air. When oil is added to comminuted meat, it coats the meat particles. However, once in oil, the allicin dissolves and is protected from air. With this protection, it freely moves into meat particles delivering full flavor. Salt has its own trick also as it speeds up the process. Salt draws water containing allicin out of the garlic much quicker than it would on its own. So, what is the secret? Don`t add all raw garlic to your sausage... cook most of it by poaching it just a few minutes in a little oil and salted water. When the liquid is reduced and cooled, put it into a food processor and pulverize the cooked garlic. Add the liquefied garlic mixture to the primary bind and blend it thoroughly with the meat.

10 lbs pork butt
29-32 mm. hog casings
1 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
2 tspns. freshly ground black pepper
2 tspns. rubbed sage
1 tspn. liquid smoke
4 cloves garlic (Prepared using instructions above)
90 grams salt
1/2 cup of water
2 tblspns. olive oil

Place the grinder knife and a 3/8" plate into the freezer. Cut the meat into 1" cubes to keep long strands of sinew from wrapping around the auger behind the plate as the meat is ground. Prepare the garlic, salt, oil, and water solution using the instructions above. Grind the meat and then mix in the garlic solution and the remaining spices. Work with small batches, refrigerating the meat at every opportunity. When the primary bind has developed and the meat shows peaks when pulled apart, stuff it into 29-30 m.m. fresh hog or lamb casings. This sausage is perishable and must be refrigerated. Use within three days or freeze the remainder.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

[Chuckwagon]

Topic Split 3.3.12 @ 1800 by CW : See: "Clostridium Botulinum in garlic oil" in Microbiology Of Meat forum