A traditional Polish smoked sausage, Kabanos feature a long thin U shape. Nowadays it’s possible to stuff them in thin collagen casing instead of sheep casing. This allows to keep their characteristic shape.
Ingredients
2 ½ lbs boar shoulder
10 oz fat (since I picked up a half boar from the butcher, there was plenty of fat to use from between the skin and shoulder. But if you have only the trimmed boar shoulder, ask your local butcher for pork fat. They should have some)
25 g salt
4 g sugar
4 g black pepper
2 g nutmeg
2 g caraway
3 g Cure #1
1/3 c ice water
Sheep casing or 22 mm collagen casing
Directions
1. Cube fat and meat
2. Combine seasonings and cure, then toss meat and fat in it. Place in the fridge and let the flavours mingle for 1 hour
3. Finely grind together
4. Mix in 1/3 cup of water with a stand mixer on low speed for 1-2 minutes
5. If you are using sheep casing, soak and rinse your casing before stuffing the sausage. Stuff long individual sausages (about 60 cm)
6. Using a sterile needle, poke any air holes
7. Dry in the fridge overnight
8. Tie butchers’ twine onto each end of each sausage and suspend from sausage hooks, by folding each sausage in half. Then smoke for 1 hour at 130°F with Bradley apple bisquettes
9. Raise the temperature of the smoker to 200-225°F and smoke until an internal temperature of 160°F (about 2.5 hours)
10. Dry the salami again in a cool, dark place (50-60°F) for 3-5 days before eating
By Lena Clayton
