The slightly garlicky-smoky flavor in these sausages is what most of us think as kielbasa. By slowly baking them in the oven they’re easy to make.
Medium hog sausage casings
1 pound boneless beef chuck or beef brisket
1/2 pound pork butt or boneless country ribs
1/2 pound pork fat
2 tablespoons smoked Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
11/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/4 cup beer
3 garlic cloves, minced
1. Prepare sausage casings as directed.
2. Cut beef, pork, and pork fat into 1-inch cubes. Place cubes in a mixing bowl, and toss with paprika, milk powder, mustard seed, salt, pepper, thyme, and nutmeg. Transfer cubes to a sheet of plastic wrap on a plate and freeze for 30 minutes, or until very firm. While meats chill, stir liquid smoke into beer. Set aside.
3. Grind meat and fat through the fine disk of a meat grinder, or in small batches in a food processor fitted with the steel blade using the on-and-off pulse button. If using a food processor, do not process into a paste, but ingredients should be very finely chopped.
4. Combine ground meat, beer mixture, and garlic in a mixing bowl, and knead mixture until well blended. Fry 1 tablespoon of mixture in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
5. Stuff mixture into casings as described and twist off into 5-inch links; prick air bubbles with a straight pin or skewer. If time permits, arrange links on a wire rack over a baking sheet and air-dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 1 day before cooking.
6. Preheat the oven to 200°F, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and arrange sausages on a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet. Bake sausages for 4 to 5 hours, or to an internal temperature of 160°F when pierced with an instant-read thermometer. Remove sausages from the pan with tongs, and serve immediately or cool to room temperature, lightly covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Note: Sausages can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 2 months. Once cooked, they can be refrigerated up to 3 days.