Homemade Sausages - Our Family Recipe
My grandmothers, one from Moldova and the other one from Ukraine, liked to take care of their homes and both made very tasty food, specific to each area, of course. Both of them made delicious sausages and, over time, we managed to make a recipe that contains little secrets from each grandmother. The one from Ukraine would always put mustard and marinated the meat overnight. The grandmother from Moldova liked to season with garlic and pepper and later with ground coriander.
I guarantee that this is an exceptional homemade sausage recipe and not even the best sausages on the market can compete with this taste. It's already been tested and verified for many years. I recommend making a slightly larger quantity and keep some in the freezer. It freezes very well and you'll always have good homemade sausages on hand.
Get the meat and pork bacon ready for mincing.
I prefer to use two grinder plates. I grind half of the meat using the plate with more round holes and I use the plate with three large holes for the other half. I bought the latter from the market and adapted it to my electric meat grinder.
If you can't find a three hole plate, you can cut some of the meat with a knife, or you can grind it all with a regular grinder plate.
Add the crushed garlic to the minced meat.
Then season with salt, pepper, mustard, coriander and other spices, to taste.
Mix everything well with your hands.
Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours to allow all the flavors to blend.
I've been using this sausage stuffer for two years and I strongly recommend it. It's high quality, it works quickly and effortless.
Before this, I would use the stuffing tube from the meat grinder, but I didn't like the sausages made like that.
Wash the salty pork casings several times with water and vinegar or lemon juice. Leave to hydrate in hot water for 30-40 minutes.
Slide the open casing end onto the stuffer tube and shape the sausages.
Try not to fill them too much, without making them too thin either. Twist the casing to make shorter sausages.
Sausages prepared in this way can be frozen or cooked immediately. You must first prick them with a safety pin in as many places as possible, so that they won't crack while cooking.
Notice that I lined the oven sheet with baking paper, to make it easier to wash and clean afterwards. As the sausages are baking, I like to brush them with the fat they release in the pan, in order to brown more evenly.
They are good warm, with any side dish you like, but also cold, as an appetizer.
Enjoy!
