Hungarian Smoked Sausage

Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat

Instructions

1. Grind meat through 2 mm plate. Cut back fat into 15 mm (1/4”) pieces.
2. Mix ground beef adding pepper until the mass feels sticky. Mix diced back fat with paprika, then mix everything together. Do not add water.
3. Stuff firmly into 40 mm beef rounds, 20-30” (50-75) cm long. Do not add water. Prick any visible air pockets with a needle.
4. Hang for 1-2 days at 2-6° C (35-42° F), 85-90% humidity. At this stage curing continues and beneficial curing and flavor forming bacteria start to grow.
5. Smoke with a thin cold smoke for 3-4 days until a yellow color with occasional red areas is obtained. At this stage natural fermentation takes place although pH drop (acidity increase) is insignificant as no sugar is added. Due to a large amount of fat (fat contains only 15% water), the sausage loses moisture rapidly.
6. Dry at 16-12º C (60-54º F), 85-80% humidity, for 1-2 months. The sausage is dried until around 30-35% in weight is lost.
7. Store sausages at 10-15º C (50-59º F), 75% humidity.