Landjaeger

[grisell]

1 kg/2 lbs pork (70% lean, 30% belly)
1½ tbsp nitrite salt
½ tsp white sugar
2 tsp white pepper
½ tsp caraway
½ tsp coriander
1½ tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp MSG
200 mg ascorbic acid
50 cc/1 fl oz cold water
Lactic acid fermentation starter
Hog casings

I used European nitrite salt (99.4% NaCl, 0.6% NaNO2). Landjaeger traditionally contains 50% beef, but I skipped that since I don't like beef in sausages. The sausages should be pressed into a quadratic shape, but I found that procedure complicated so I skipped that too.

The sausages were fermented at room temperature for 4 days, then cold-smoked at 20 C/70 F for 20 hours, then hung to dry in 12 C/54 F, 70% RH until having lost 35% of their original weight (1-2 weeks). Then moved to dry room temperature for 24 hours.

[the chorizo kid]

any idea why ascorbic acid is used along with a starter??

[saucisson]

It accelerates the conversion of nitrite to NO2, and it also has anti-oxidant properties, as well as lowering the pH to some extent.

[the chorizo kid]

re the anti-oxidant properties, i thought that was only a concern if you wanted your meat to stay pink, which is not a concern with these. is there some other reason for an anti-oxidant?

also, re conversion of nitrogen salts, since this is a dried and aged sausage made to be eaten uncooked, would not cure #2 be a good choice

also, that is a tremendous amount of garlic, equivalent to about 2 cloves per pound. that would seem high even for hungarian salami. i thought that, generally, german sausages have little to no garlic.

[grisell]

The sausage is cured for only a week or two, so I wanted the ascorbic acid there to hurry up the nitrite conversion. I don't know if it's necessary.

Yes, I should have said that - sorry! It's a lot of garlic, but it turned out very good and I like it that way. Maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp would be more suitable for sensitive palates. I think it was ½ tsp in the original recipe, which I unfortunately have lost.

[the chorizo kid]

the reason i asked about the ascorbic acid is because i was wondering if it might be added as a texture thing. i know when we add vinegar to the standard chorizo recipe, a number of us get a dry and crumbly product. not all that pleasant for a chorizo. so i wondered if a landjaeger would be helped by somthing that made the meat somewhat dry and stiff, as perhaps the ascorbate might do. it was just a thought. one thing i do have trouble with is getting the firm yet moist texture that my favorite [and out of business] german butcher was getting with his various snack sticks. dang, i wish i knew how he did that. you could almost snap them in half, yet they were somewhat moist, and chewy. usinger's comes close to that with their sticks [for those of us in the states].
thanks for the recipes. i am going to try the gyulai this weekend!!

[grisell]

No, the ascorbic acid was not in the original recipe. I think that this Landjaeger will get a consistency somewhat like the one you describe. This is because it is pressed during the four days of fermentation (ideally, they should be turned 90 degrees after 2 days and end up quadratic). Well, I pressed mine, but they were elastic and ended up more or less like before. Anyway, I just tasted one, and it was quite delicious. Needs a few days more drying (4 days already). The consistency was superb, just the way you described it. This must have to do with the pressing.

[grisell]

Are you planning on eating the gyulai raw or cooked? If raw, double the amount of salt. I edited the recipe.

[the chorizo kid]

i always eat it raw [for the last 4 decades], so i will use cure #2 and diddle with the salt as needed. ordinarily i use 1 1/2 tsp salt per # meat and 1/5 tsp cure #2. i think aftrer drying this is about 2.5% salt. i use canning salt; not kosher. still don't know what the big deal is about using expensive kosher salt. haven't kicked the bucket yet. looking forward to trying your recipe!! thanks again.

[the chorizo kid]

sorry, forgot to ask: what is nitrite salt?? not familiar with that one here in the states.

[grisell]

Nitrite salt is 99.4% NaCl, 0.6% NaNO2. Use your own salt/cure mixture in the way you are used to. You seem to have the knowledge.

[grisell]

Changed the recipe after tasting.