Greek Smoked Sausage Food

GREEK SMOKED SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Place onion in food processor and remove liquid.
• Crush fresh garlic.
• Mix meat, fat, seasonings, curing salt, and water in food processor or stand mixer until paste forms.
• Add dried oregano and mint leaves, mixing in by hand.
• Allow to cure in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Extrude into natural sausage casings.
• Smoke over pecan and cherry wood chips for 2.5 to 3 hours at 160 degrees.

ORANGE AND LEEK LOUKANIKO (GREEK SAUSAGE) RECIPE

Steps:

• Place pork, lamb, and fatback in a large bowl and toss with kosher salt and pink curing salt. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Set parts of a meat grinder, including large cutting die, in freezer. Set bowl and paddle of stand mixer in freezer.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and reduced in volume, 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely, then add leeks to bowl with meat and toss to distribute evenly. Chill for an additional 20 minutes.
• Grind meat and fat mixture through a chilled meat grinder fitted with large cutting die, into a large bowl set in another bowl filled with ice.
• Add garlic, orange zest, coriander, black pepper, oregano, and thyme. Using chilled paddle attachment and chilled bowl of a standing mixer, mix at low speed for 1 minute. Add red wine and vinegar and mix until liquid is incorporated and sausage is uniform and sticky, about 1 minute longer.
• Form a small sausage patty; place rest of sausage mixture in refrigerator. Cook patty in a small frying pan over medium-high heat until cooked through. Taste and adjust seasonings of sausage if necessary.
• Stuff sausage into hog casings and twist into 6-inch links. Place sausages on a large wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for 2 to 3 days; rotate sausages daily to allow air to circulate around all of them.
• If smoking: In a grill, light 10-15 charcoal briquettes, or small amount of lump charcoal. When charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pile coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Place wood chunk on top of charcoal. Set cooking grate in place, place sausages away from fire, and cover, positioning air vent over sausages. Smoke until wood and charcoal are burnt out, 1-2 hours. Remove sausages from grill.
• Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over entire surface of charcoal grate. Alternatively, set all the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Grill over medium-high direct heat until sausage registers 160°F when an instant read thermometer is inserted in middle of link. Remove from grill, let rest for 5 minutes. Serve immediately or for extra crispy sausages, split links down middle and place back on the grill, cut side down, and cook until well browned, about 2 minutes.

GREEK SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• In a 7- or 8-qt. slow cooker, combine sausage, sweet peppers, onion, stock, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook, covered, on low until vegetables are tender, 5-6 hours. Add tomatoes; cook until wilted, about 30 minutes longer. If desired, serve with rice.