My family comes from Greece's northernmost province, Macedonia. It's capital city is Thessaloniki.
Like much of Greece, Macedonia has mountains, flat lands and sea. Macedonia also has lots of pig.
One of my favourite things to eat is sausage and I mean quality sausage. It could be Italian, Polish, Bratwurst or even Chinese!
My favourite has to be our very own Macedonian Sausage. I'm not expecting everyone of you to go out and make your own sausages but if you enjoy them as much as I do and you want to know what's in them...making them yourself is the only sure way isn't it?
If you live in a city with a sizeable Greek community, ask for Macedonian sausage from your butcher.
I've seen Macedonian sausages at St. Lawrence Market, on the Danforth, Kostas Meat Market and at Highland Farms.
I like sausages on the grill, I like them fried up, I like them baked or...I like them done over the fireplace!
If any of you have made sausages before, you know there's some work involved and at the very least, an assistant is needed (one to plunge the sausage mix into the machine, the other to guide the sausage into the casings, twist the links and replenish casings as they run out).
Macedonian Sausages
20 lbs. medium ground pork
(from pork shoulder)
1/2 case of leeks, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cup black pepper
1/2 cup Boukovo (red chilli)
250 gr. Vegeta seasoning
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/8 cup dried oregano
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup sweet paprika
2 little tubs of hog casings
- Soak the hog casings in cold water for 30 minutes and then rinse. Replenish the cold water and leave them in a bowl of water.
- Mix all the above ingredients in a large Rubbermaid container and mix well with your hands.
- Take a handful and fry it off on your stove to taste test. Adjust seasoning.
- Take a hog casing and place it on the bottom nozzle where your sausage mix will come out.
- Place the sausage mix on the top entry point of the sausage maker and start pumping out sausages (I have an electric sausage maker).
- Twist the sausages into links of your desired size.
- Replenish hog casings to the nozzle of the sausage maker as they run out. Repeat until all of your sausage mix has been made into links.
- Hang your sausages for a week in a cool, dry place like a cellar or if you have a spare fridge.
- Freeze the sausages in zip lock bags. They are good for one year (beyond that you're tempting freezer burn).
27 comments:
Oh wow, these sound fabulous! So, these are cured sausages? Or can they be used fresh as well? Why oh WHY don't we have a Greek community here? WAH!
These sound great. Have never tried the Macedonian sausages before and they are very different from the Spartan ones, which are my favourites, lots of orange peels in them. The Cypriot ones are marinated in red wine and corriander seeds and I remember whole peppercorns in them.
Nikki, they are not cured...just dried a bit for some firmness.
Ivy, I can stand the Spartiatika with portokali (orange) and I've yet to find any of them in the north. I've only tried Seftalia.
These sound SO good, Peter. Delicious! My thea used to make homemade sausage all the time and I would beg my yiayia to take me there on a day she was :)
I have made sauasage patties in the past, but making them the true way is something I will only have to dream about.
Oh my Peter! Your killing me with all this good food!! I can't keep up with you, you're a cooking machine!! But seriouly, your sausage looks fantastic! I'll have to venture over to the many Greek comunities we have here and look for that! I have made Italian sausage many times with my MIL when she was alive, all by hand, with this little funnel that I still have tucked away in my kitchen drawer, we would only buy the casings at a certain place,she was very particular about that, and of course our star ingredient was fennel.
Oh God - I need a cigarette! You have in 2 consecutive blogs posted my 2 most favourite dishes in the world - saganaki and Maci sausages (how I loves the prasa!)...and I've just viewed them both at the same time! I simply cannot work now...
P.S. K and I also think your sausage looks fantastic :-P
OMG I can't believe you make your own sausage, I am so impressed! I keep eyeing the sausage attachment of the kitchen aid, but being too chicken. Time to man up!
Elly, homemade sausages ares where it's at!
Marie (Proud Italiana), I've had homemade Italian sausages too and it's hard to go back to the supermarket kind.
the_j & K, I knew you gals would dig these "loukanika"...you may exhale now.
Katerina, I did use the attachment on my Krupps mixer (like a Kitchenaid) and it's big help. I can do my own grind and make the sausage.
Employ your beau to help in making your own sausage.
Sigh, I am officially on the market for the sausage-making attachment for my KitchenAid. You'll be my undoing, Peter the Greek!! /shakes fist
Another great post with tempting food and good instructions.
I have my "rib" post up! Thanks again, Pal :)
Hi Peter, I've just came across your lovely blog through Valli. Gosh I am SO impressed with what I see here and homemade mouth-watering sausages that are so tempting! Very impressed indeed! Rosie :)
Oh no. Not the meat temptation again! Makes me want to me more flexetarian than ever.
It's all about the leeks here. They just add the most amazing flavour. I have yet to find store bought sausages that can even come close to homemade Macedonian sausages. The_J, can you post my thoughts more often as I haven't had a lot of time to as of late :)
Great job on all your dishes Peter!
K
I'm a very big sausage connoisseur as well though I'm surprised to have never come across these. I will be hunting them down in the Greek neighborhoods very soon...
Wow! I am impressed! I won't tell you how long I sat here trying to think of a comment that didn't sound "dirty"! It's hard to talk about a good-looking sausage and keep it clean!
thought the best sausages I tasted were from Larissa, well I was a young girl way back then travelling up north when the bus stopped in Larissa... but now I know there are different varieties of loukanika.
`i miss mezodopoleio very much where one can enjoy ouzo and wine with loukanika...
I used to work for organic estate managing the household and the family have their own organic pigs so I used to help in the kitchen making sausages....
My mouth is watering looking at all of those nice sausage photos. Great job on making your own!! They sound tasty.
It is a cold, rainy, grey day in Melbourne - when I saw these sausages, I instantly felt warmer - they look delicious!
Wow Peter, I like this post! And I surely would like your macedonian butifarras (sausages). You are rigth they are good anyway! But the last picture (the recipe one) looks soooooo inviting! MMMmmmm
these sausages look perfect. cooking them over hot coals as you have in the picture must bring out the gorgeous flavours.
Peter, I'm not a huge fan of sausages but these just look so very delicious, I simply must try this!
Everything about this post is wonderful, from the pictures to the recipe. I have a couple questions: How long do you hang them? What specific flavor does the vegeta add; in other words, what could be substituted for it?
Peter, I think this is going to be your entry for the Best of 2008. I love it.
Heather, your comments are blog posts alway crack me up, that's a good thing!
Maryann, the pleasure was mine, palsy-walsy.
Rosie, welcome and visit often!
K, nevermind work, get back here.
Annmarie, London has a good sized Greek population, you should find them there.
Kevin, they are tasty!
Cakalaw, they are good all year'round.
Nuria, I recently bought some Chorizo too!
Shalimar, Greeks make different loukanika.
Maybahay, those sausages were done in the fireplace.
Pixie, homemade sausages takes the mystery out of the "mystery meat".
Laurie, lots of gems left for 2008!
So impressive! I've got one question though . . . where do I find the Vegeta seasoning?
Laurie and SwirlingNotions: Vegeta looks like a chicken soup base but it also includes dried vegetables in the mix, tastes less harsh than seasoning salts.
Here in Toronto, I can find it in the international/ethnic shelves and at Slavic delis and markets.
Look for info also at www.vegeta.com
I've never tried Greek sausage before! and props to you for being so bold and making a HUGE plate of them. Think sausage will stay good in the mail from toronto to philadelphia? ;)
Post a Comment