Polish is not poolish.

[madbaker]

This week's Resolution Recipe: Polish Cold Smoked Sausage. This is the predecessor of today's hot-smoked Polish sausage.

1 kg lean pork shoulder butt
1.5 kg butt trimmings (non-lean)
45 g salt
6 g insta-cure #2
20 g salt
5 g sugar
3 g ground pepper
1.25 g marjoram
1.25 g garlic (Hah! I used a lot more than that.)

Cut meat into 2" cubes, mix with 45 g salt and insta-cure #2. Pack tightly in a container to eliminate air (I used a Ziploc) and place in a cooler or not-too-cold fridge for 72 to 96 hours.

Grind meats through 1/2" plate. Add remaining salt and other ingredients and mix well until it feels sticky. Stuff into hog casings.

Hang for 1-2 days at 35-42 F and 85-90% humidity to jump-start the fermentation. Smoke in a thin cold smoke for 1 to 1.5 days (below 72 F) until they are yellow to light brown. Dry at 50-53 F and 75-80% humidity, until sausages lose 13% of their original weight (about two weeks).

What worked: Everyone has liked them so far. They had a nice fermented tang to them that was not overwhelming but was definitely present. The garlic was likewise there (I thought it needed more, but I usually do). Good firm texture and not-overly smokiness.

What didn't: I probably gave them too much smoke during the process, but it turned out fine. They developed a few mold spots (which is normal, and I washed them off thoroughly with a brine to make them safe).

Will I make it again? Definitely. This is a (mostly) period-style quick slow cured sausage that I'd feel comfortable eating for lunch, especially with a stinky cheese. I wanted to try a modern recipe like this before attempting to redact some of the similar period ones. I might get some of the modern salami mold culture to dip these in before hanging; that will encourage the good mold and not leave space for the I-must-get-rid-of stuff.

Comments

[albionwood.livejournal.com]

No starter culture? I'm surprised you get much fermentation going at 35-42F.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Maybe the bulk of the fermentation is supposed to start when it's in the container? The first batch was slightly tangy; the second had no discernible fermented taste, kind of like a (higher-quality) summer sausage. I'll have to double-check the recipe - it's from Marianski's book.

[albionwood.livejournal.com]

It sounds like one of the "traditional" recipes that relied on luck and the presence of a culture built up in the processing area. Somewhere I read of some research that indicated little fermentation occurs during that initial step before the meat is ground; it's a surface-area thing as well as a population thing.

The recipe does sound kind of like a high-quality summer sausage, with the relatively short cold fermentation period (not much fermentation is going to take place at 35-40F) and only losing 13% weight.

Sometime I'd like to take a simple recipe and split it into 2 or 3 batches, inoculated with different cultures, just to see how different the taste came out. First though, I'd just like to get one batch to dry properly...