Provencal-Style Chicken Sausage
- 4 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs with fat, cut into 3-by-1-inch strips
- 1/2 pound pork fat, cut into 2-by-1-inch strips
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, chilled
- 15 to 18 feet (about 1/2 ounce) salted pork or sheep casings
- Spread the meat and fat strips on 2 large rimmed baking sheets.
- In a small bowl, combine the garlic, dry seasonings and spices and sprinkle the seasoning mixture all over the meat and fat.
- Refrigerate the meat and fat for 15 minutes.
- Drizzle the liquid ingredients all over the meat and fat.
- Freeze the seasoned meat and fat until very firm, about 45 minutes.
- Chill the bowl of a stand mixer and the meat grinder's parts in the freezer.
- Set up the grinder with the coarse grinding plate; place the bowl below.
- With the machine at medium-high speed, gradually drop in the meat and fat.
- Add any liquid on the baking sheets to the ground meat.
- Put the ground meat in the freezer again to keep it at 32 to 40 (at 45, the fat begins to melt, ruining the texture of the sausage).
- Using clean hands or the paddle of the stand mixer, knead or beat the meat until a sticky mass forms, about 50 seconds; be careful not to let the meat get too warm.
- Refrigerate for up to 3 hours.
- Meanwhile, soak the pork or sheep casings in warm water for 30 minutes.
- Drain the casings.
- Working over the sink, gently run warm water through each casing.
- Pinch both ends and lift up the water-filled casing.
- Look for any spots that leak and cut out those portions.
- Place the sausage stuffer in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Set up the sausage stuffer and slip all but 6 inches of a casing onto the tube, leaving the trailing end untied.
- Tightly pack the sausage mixture into the canister.
- Start cranking the sausage stuffer very slowly until the meat emerges from the tube.
- Now tie a knot at the trailing end of the casing.
- Slowly crank the sausage into the casing, using your free hand to regulate how tightly the sausage is packed; make sure not to overstuff the casing.
- When the casing is nearly stuffed, tie off the end.
- Starting at one end, pinch off the first link by pinching your fingers around the sausage to separate the filling; 6 inches is a good average length.
- Then, roll the link toward you 3 to 5 times, creating a twist in the casing.
- Move down to form the next link, rolling 3 to 5 times in the opposite direction (this prevents unraveling).
- If the casing splits, remove the stuffing near the split and tie the casing closed before proceeding.
- Alternately, the links can be formed by sectioning them off with butcher's twine.
- Repeat with the remaining casings and sausage.
- Hang the sausages on wooden or metal racks over 2 rimmed baking sheets, making sure not to crowd them so that air can circulate around them.
- Sterilize a needle over a flame.
- Prick holes all over the sausages with the needle, especially where there are air pockets.
- Let the sausages hang to dry for 1 to 2 hours, then wrap in butcher's paper and refrigerate overnight before cooking.
skinless, pork, garlic, kosher salt, basil, thyme, ground black pepper, herbes, white wine, feet
Taken from www.foodandwine.com/recipes/provencal-style-chicken-sausage (may not work)