How to make Chinese sausages

Casings:

The best casings are animal intestines that have been cleaned, salted and dried. I get mine from China's mighty online marketplace. When you're ready to make sausages, you need to wash them and soak them to get rid of excess salt.

Cut of meat:

The meat must be fatty enough so that the sausages don't dry into rock-hard links. The best proportion is a 60-40 ratio of lean meat to fat. For that reason, I choose a well-marbled pork hock and add a generous strip of skinless fatty belly.

Marinade:

I prefer the fragrant marinades of wine and sugar. But I take care to choose which wines I use－a combination of the best Shaoxing yellow rice wine, and an intensely scented white liquor from Tianjin called Meiguilu, named after the city flower, the rose. That, together with top-grade soy sauce and the best raw cane sugar, produce the characteristic taste of Cantonese sausages.

But for my Beijing family, I also do garlic and chili sausages to cater to their more savory palates.

Ingredients:

Whole pork hock, skinned and boned (about 2 kg)

500g belly, skinned

3 meters sausage casings, soaked and drained

Marinade:

2 cups raw cane sugar

1 cup top-grade soy sauce

4 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons black pepper, freshly cracked

1.5 cup Shaoxing wine

1/2 cup Meiguilu, or any other Chinese white spirit

Marinade for garlic and chili sausages

1 cup top-grade soy sauce

4 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons black pepper, freshly cracked

1 cup chili flakes

1 bulb garlic, skinned and finely minced (about 1/2 cup)

1 cup Shaoxing wine

1/2 cup Meiguilu, or any other Chinese white spirit

Patiently dice the meat into 0.5-cm cubes. Hand cutting the meat is a good way to ensure your sausages have good texture. Mix the two cuts of meat well.

Pour the marinade ingredients over the meat and mix with your hands till all the liquid is absorbed. Cover the meat and leave aside to rest for two hours.

Prepare casing by running your hand over its length to check for major tears.

The easiest way to get the meat into the casings is to use a funnel. My ayi (helper) uses the top half of a mineral water bottle. The casing slips easily over the mouth, and it can be fastened with string to keep it from slipping off.

Spoon the meat into the funnel and push down with a chopstick.

The trick is to push the meat slowly and steadily so there are no large air pockets. Use your hands to help the meat travel down the casing.

I prefer to stop every meter or so to shape the links. That way, you can minimize damage should a tear or hole occur.

Twist off your desired length of sausage, and tie with cotton string. Keep in mind that the sausages will shrink by about 30 percent as they dry.

Then, check every link and use a needle to pop any air pockets.

Repeat the process until you finish meat and casing.

The next part really depends on where you are. If your area has cold, dry winters, find a shady spot out of direct sunlight and string up the sausages to dry. One word of caution: They will leak juices as they dry, so place some paper underneath to catch the drips.

If you are in a more sunny clime, you need to let them dry in a cool place in your home, preferably where there is good air flow. The refrigerator will work, but it will take a much longer time because of the humidity.

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