THE GREAT SAUSAGE CONTEST!

[redzed]

CONTEST CLOSES TOMORROW AT MIDNIGHT!

GET THOSE ENTRIES IN!

[Bones]

Hi to everyone. My name is Tsvetomir and I’m from Bulgaria. A few hours ago I finally decided to join the gang and the contest. English is not my first language, so I'll try to represent my recipe as short as possible.

Dry cured, fermented Pepperoni Snack Sticks

https://prikachi.net/image/2.oQW1J

Lean pork butt, Class 1 – 80 %.
Pork back fat – 20 %. Here we have abundance of it, especially around winter.

Salt – 1,8 %. I don’t eat much salt.
Cure # – 0,15 %.
Dextrose – 0,3 %.
Skim milk powder – 0,4 %.
Black pepper – 0,3 %.
Sweet, smoked Spanish paprika – 0,8 %. Fermentable sugars also present in the sweet / hot pepper.
Hot paprika – 0,2 %.
Fennel – 0,15 %.
Anise – 0,1 %.
All spice – 0,1 %.
Fresh garlic, pressed – 0,3 %.
5 % room temperature, filtered water. Mix the water with the cure for better distribution.
Homemade starter cultures.
1,5 % already cured & fermented sausage (the backslopping method). In this case some very ripe Cacciatore.
1,5 % fresh milk kefir.

1. Grind the pork meat and fat through 5 mm. plate. Mix all ingredients with the ground meat. Do NOT cure the meat before that or overmix the ground meat. The myosin extraction here is not desirable and will make the final product chewier. The fat is also critical. Under 20 % the sticks will be too dry and hard.

2. Fill the mix right away tightly in 19/20 sheep casings.

https://prikachi.net/image/17.oQZ5B

3. Wrap the raw sticks together in plastic wrap like a giant Nham and ferment at room temperature for 2 - 3 days.

3. Hang them in dark room (like basement), between 5 to 14° C. Humidity is not critical. The sausage just needs to loose from 35 to 50 % of its original weight. It’s up to you to decide when to stop the drying process, but usually this takes between two to three weeks.

https://prikachi.net/image/25.oQndI

https://prikachi.net/image/32.oQqSi

Thin cold smoking is also possible and will additional preserve / dry the final product.

4. Cut the sticks, then vacuum seal.

https://prikachi.net/image/34.oQNis

https://prikachi.net/image/36.oQ7nM

They are definitely shelf stable, but will continue to develop better in the fridge. The fats are also more stable at lower temperatures.

[Albertaed]

Welcome Bones!

[redzed]

The contest is now closed and the judges will adjudicate the entries. We have the following submissions for a "Great Sausage"

1. Salccicia Napolitana Dolce by Indaswamp viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9359
2. Jagdwurst, by Albertaed viewtopic.php?t=9340
3.Summer sausage, by jcflorida
4. Serbian sausage, by Scogar viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9365
5. Footlongs, by jjnurk
6. Salami Finnocchiona, by fatboyz
7. Pepperoni Snack Sticks , by Bones

Thank you for the entries. All are very nice sausages and the judges will have tough decisions to make.
Winning entries will be announced once the judging is complete and results tabulated.

[jcflorida]

3. Linguica Cuiabana, by jcflorida

Hey redzed, the recipe I posted is not for Linguica Cuiabana, its more of a generic summer sausage. I failed to entitle it, so my post was confusing.

[redzed]

Hey redzed, the recipe I posted is not for Linguica Cuiabana, its more of a generic summer sausage. I failed to entitle it, so my post was confusing.

Ok, it's been corrected.

[Albertaed]

Just wondering if a winner had been announced

[fatboyz]

I was wondering the same Ed? There was only 7 entries so I didn't think it would take that long?

[redzed]

Patience Boys! We are almost done, but still waiting for the scores from one of the four judges. As soon as we get those numbers we will announce the winner.

[fatboyz]

Thanks Chris!

[redzed]

The judges have now submitted their score sheets and the points have been totalled. The first prize goes to fatboyz for his Salami Finnocchiona and second prize to Albertaed for the Jagdwurst. Congratulations!

Unfortunately one of the four judges was unable to participate in the adjudication process due to a family illness. The entries were judged on a point system, based on Appearance, Selection and proportion on meats and fats, Selection and amounts of ingredients, Processing techniques, Recipe and description and Overall impression. Of course it would have been great to taste the sausages but we did the best we could with the information provided.

Thank you to all the members who entered the contest. The scores were actually very close, you all did very well. Hopefully we will have another contest soon, perhaps with a theme or a particular style of sausage, so keep honing your skills. No matter whether you are just a beginner or a seasoned sausage hand, there is always something new to learn and always room to improve!

Don and Ed, please PM me with your mailing address. Don please advise me which book you would like to have.

[fatboyz]

well that's Awesome. Congrats to everyone that participated. Ed, Not bad for a couple of small town Alberta Boys I'd say!

[Albertaed]

Congrats Don! It’s great to be apart of this group.

[Scogar]

Congrats guys!!! If the group ever meets up, you guys are making the sausage

[Indaswamp]

Congratulations to the winners!