Sausage Making Read Online Free Page B

first link, and twist forward for about seven rotations.

    Form the second link, and this time, pinch firmly and twist backward.

    Repeat this process, alternating forward and backward, until you reach the open end of the casing.

    Twist the open end right at the last bit of sausage to seal off the whole coil, and then tie a knot. For larger, heavier sausages that are cased in beef middles or bungs, twist the links as directed, then tie off each link at both ends with a length of kitchen twine.
    STEP 13: It’s best to let fresh sausage sit or hang overnight, refrigerated, so that the meat adheres to the casing, making for an especially snappy sausage. A sausage that dries overnight will also smoke more evenly and the smoked sausage will have a better color. You can place the sausage on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet or, if possible, hang your fresh sausage in the refrigerator so that it is exposed to air on all sides.
    This master technique is utilized, in part or in full, in every recipe in this book.
Cooking and Keeping
    You can make the greatest sausage in the world, but if you don’t cook it correctly or store it properly you can easily ruin all of your hard work. In essence, sausage cookery should be approached just like you approach all meat cookery: with care.
    Regardless of which method you’re using, raw sausages should be cooked until they reach the correct internal temperature. Too high a temperature and you risk splitting the casing and drying out the interior; too low and you risk a sausage that has, at best, an unpleasant texture and, at worst, is a health risk. Cooking a sausage is no different than cooking a steak: No matter how you choose to do it—and we give suggestions for the best approach for each of the recipes in the book—you want to cook it to the perfect point of doneness. The following methods will ensure success.
GRILLING
    A caramelized sausage hot off the grill is one of life’s simple, great pleasures. I prefer using a charcoal grill and hardwood charcoal, which burns hot and clean, without the addition of the chemicals that are used to treat most briquettes.
    I use a chimney to start my charcoal.

    When the coals are glowing dump them into a kettle grill and add a few more lumps of hardwood charcoal (or some small logs) to the smoldering pile and let the fire cook down for at least 30 minutes, until there is a solid bed of medium-hot coals.

    Rushing is a common griller’s mistake; take time to get the coals right before you start grilling your sausage.
    When the coals are ready, rake one-third of them to one side of the grill to create a multi-zonal fire; the sausages can then be moved from a hot zone to a cool zone as they cook, ensuring they get caramelized and cooked through, but not charred.
    Before beginning, lightly oil both the grill grate and the exterior of your sausages with oil, which will help prevent sticking. If the sausages stick and the casings tear, the juices flow out, which can result in a dry sausage. Start the sausages on the grill over the hotter zone.

    If you notice a lot of fat dripping from them, it’s a sign that the coals are still too hot; if this is the case, move the sausages to the cooler zone of the grill.

    Dripping fat results in flare-ups, which in turn cause the exterior of your sausage to burn before the interior has cooked through.
    Raw sausages plump up as they cook because cooked protein swells in the casing and the fat liquefies, creating delicious juice. The goal is to gently, slowly cook the sausage so that the casing caramelizes—but doesn’t split—in about the same time it takes for the sausage to cook through. Just as with any raw meat on the grill, doneness can be determined by touch and temperature. When the sausage is fully cooked it should be firm to the touch but should not look shriveled; insert a metal cake tester into the center of the sausage and press it to the top of your hand. If