Seeking Sumac Sausages. Sujuk?

Igor Duńczyk
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Post by Igor Duńczyk » Sun Sep 29, 2013 00:01

Hi guys,

Looking forward to hearing´bout your experiences with antioxidants in the thead that Chuck just opened!
Wishing you a Good Day!
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el Ducko
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Post by el Ducko » Sun Oct 13, 2013 16:48

Hey, Markjass
...went to the specialty meat market yesterday and scored some ground lamb. It must have been flown in from your part of the world, 1st class seat, given the price. One of the old-timers found it in the freezer, and told me they don't sell much lamb except around Easter. (...gave me one of those "You ain't from around here, are ya, Son?" looks, so I bought some beef brisket too, just to be safe.)

Using your`advice, I cut back a bit on the cayenne, weighed a tablespoon of sumac to check the density, and verified the recipe amount against the two data points that you mentioned. I'm using your meatball recipe, but stuffing it as a fresh sausage rather than go for the fermented style of the WD recipe. (I can't control the fermenting conditions- - haven't built the apparatus.) Thus, I suspect it won't have enough sourness to represent the real thing.

We'll grab some beef today at the market and I'll make up some soujouk. I have just enough lamb to split it and make some gyros too. It won't approach the special flavor that the guys with vertical rotisseries get, but it still ought to be good, baked/sliced/fried on the griddle. Beloved Spouse loves tzatsiki on everything, so this one is approved in advance. ...will keep you posted. (Note to self: buy cucumbers, yogurt, and pita.)
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Post by markjass » Tue Oct 15, 2013 22:50

Hiya el Ducko

How did it go. Do you have any suggestions?

Mark
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Post by el Ducko » Wed Oct 16, 2013 00:21

...just mixed it up. I'll let it rest overnight, and bake it in a loaf pan tomorrow afternoon.

Beloved Spouse wouldn't part with nylons for hanging the sausage out on the back porch to ferment, like some of the recipes say the Armenians use (!), so this won't be authentic. ...probably for the best. There are all sorts or 'possums, raccoons, etc. roaming around, out where we live.

I'm wondering- - should we include some Fermento in the recipe, to try to make up for the lack of ferment?
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Post by el Ducko » Thu Oct 17, 2013 02:02

First impression: if you take it to 160°F, the beef tallow melts out and the loaf becomes smaller and dryer than it probably should be. I cut a little bit of a sample. ...not bad, but the fat would have helped. We'll see. I suspect that soujouk is a whole lot better as a fermented, semi-dry (uncooked) sausage. (Fat retention.)

What serving suggestions do you have?
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Post by el Ducko » Thu Oct 17, 2013 18:15

WooHoo! Jackpot! :!:

In Austin, there's an Egyptian grocery store that we often go to for Middle Eastern "delicacies." (Their pastries are so wonderful that they are "to die for." Some of the stranger canned goods, however, are "to die from.") :roll:

Anyway, they carry authentic Armenian soujouk! They're out at the moment, but he hopes to get another shipment "Real Soon Now." I'll report back when I've tried the real thing. Meanwhile, I'll gnaw on what I made and hope it's good.
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Post by el Ducko » Sun Oct 20, 2013 02:49

Following the suggestions on the internet, I sliced up some of my soujouk loaf, fried it up in a pan, put the slices on a heated flour tortilla (didn't have any pita, but these are pretty close), slathered on some mayonnaise, sliced up some tomato, and ate them.

First impression- - not at all spicy, and the fat that melted out would have been welcomed. It reminds me of the gyros that we have here in the USA, or a lamb/beef version of the dönerkabap that you find all over Europe. Markjass, I have never been to New Zealand, so I don't know if this describes the taste at all. ...hope it does.

I'll try again, "Real Soon Now." (...maybe after Project B2 is done.) I love lamb, so will increase the amount of lamb and reduce the beef. The spicing didn't come through much. I suspect its flavors were all fat-soluble and went out with the tallow. Next time, I'll get a leg of lamb and prepare the mince myself, rather than relying on the butcher (who was aiming for lean). Lamb fat should help, I guess. (What can you tell me about comparative melting points, pork/lamb/beef ?)

In the Middle Eastern places that we eat, tzatziki (yogurt sauce ) is served with gyros instead of mayonnaise. There's nothing better than sliced gyros, tzatziki, and tomato. (...also lettuce and Lebanese pepper sauce, at the Lebanese place that we frequent.) The meat is done on a vertical roaster spit by radiant heat. The little bit of charring really adds to the flavor.

I'm getting hungry again, just describing it. CW's advice about not substituting is correct, and when we're forced to, it's a shame. I hope to get some of the real thing via the "Phoenicia Grocery Store" in Austin, soon. This could turn into a real project! Meanwhile, there was a hint of sumac, and I liked the taste. Next time I'll do better.
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Post by Chuckwagon » Tue Oct 22, 2013 02:41

Duck for president! :wink:
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by el Ducko » Tue Oct 22, 2013 16:15

Naah! ...got a better offer.
>>>>>>>>>> DUCK COMMANDO ! <<<<<<<<<<
...with additional duties as Chief of Staph, Navel Research, reporting directly to President Dave Zack.

When we elect Dave, I'll be right there in line with the rest, waiting for a handout, looking like I haven't had a good sausage in weeks. Yup, that's me... the one whose years of attempting to grow facial hair makes it look like I haven't washed in a week.
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Post by markjass » Thu Oct 24, 2013 12:58

Sorry it has taken me a while to respond. Have just been so full on. To me this should be a game clincher. Lamb (my fav meat), beef and spices/herbs and yet. I do not know. I do know what you mean about dönerkabap flavour.

I have been playing about with lamb sausages for a while. I have got the fresh version cracked, but have failed many a time with cured and smoked. Some how the lamb flavour goes. I wonder if mutton is the way to go. However, people at work throw fits about the thought of mutton in sausages. The say that they grew up on fatty gummy mutton sausages and quite frankly they had rather have a hole in the head than re-visit mutton sausages.

A while back my sister said to me can you name one fermented/cooked cured lamb sausage. During my pause she said, if not, think about why and then invent one. I have the week before Christmas off during this week I will crack this if no one else does.

Ps. I will vote for you. If you solve this sausage I will vote for you twice or three times.

Mark
Do no harm. Margerine is the biggest food crime
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Post by markjass » Thu Oct 24, 2013 13:03

Here is my fresh Lamb sausage mix

Lamb, Rosemary and Garlic g
Lamb 1000
Rosemary 2
Garlic 7.5
Salt 16
Sage 1
Sugar 5
Pepper 3

I am also working on a beef, mustard and horseradish sausage
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Post by el Ducko » Fri Oct 25, 2013 04:45

I was in a Lebanese grocery this morning and they had three different brands of soujouk! There was a hot version and two different brands (of "regular," I suppose). At any rate, all three were made of beef, and all three were fermented and halal. I was out of cash and in a hurry and... (excuses, excuses).

On your sister's question about fermented/cooked cured lamb sausage, seems to me that they ferment soujouk, then fry it up. ...will stop by there again, as soon as we get back from a vacation trip, buy some, fry it up, and report. Maybe the Egyptian guy down the street from them can get the lamb version.

This is secret agent Detective Duck, signing off for now.
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Post by redzed » Fri Oct 25, 2013 05:09

markjass wrote:A while back my sister said to me can you name one fermented/cooked cured lamb sausage.
Not exactly sure what you mean here, but on the Polish site there are two dry-cured recipes that you might be interested in. One is a"Mountain Salami", using 70% mutton, 15% lean beef and 15% pork fat. The other a version of the Podhalanska Sausage, made from 85% lamb and 15% pork fat. Both are cold smoked and then dried. The recipes are traditional and do not call for starter cultures, but I would use them. If you are interested, I can translate the recipes for you.
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Post by markjass » Fri Oct 25, 2013 05:49

Have tried the podhalanska, but it was not quite right for me. The sausage lost its lamb taste. I woud love a copy of the mountain sausage translated to English. I am not in a rush

I have found a copy online of a masters thesis. The researcher was trying to develop a nz lamb fermented sausage for the export market.

It is called:

The development of a cured, fermented sheepmeat sausage
designed to minimise species and pastoral-diet flavours

http://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/bitstr ... sequence=3

Mark
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Post by redzed » Fri Oct 25, 2013 06:09

You tried the podhalanska dry cured sausage? Where?
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