Stan Marianski's new book - Home Production Of Quality Meats

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Chuckwagon
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Stan Marianski's new book - Home Production Of Quality Meats

Post by Chuckwagon » Wed Aug 25, 2010 07:34

Hi Sausage makers...
I just finished slowly reading Stan & Adam Marianski's new book "Home Production Of Quality Meats And Sausages".
In my opinion, it is the most complete and finest resource in our sausage-making world today! What a job they've done. This is the Bible of sausagemaking friends. Very well written, it is two inches thick with 29 chapters and two appendix additions with valuable resource information & tables. It is also jam packed with great recipes!
If you only own one sausage-making book, this is THE one to purchase! Congratulations Stan & Adam. Your clearly written instructions will probably introduce many new people to sausagemaking who otherwise might be frustrated. What a valuable addition to anyone's library! Check it out at www.bookmagic.com
Best Wishes, Chuckwagon :smile:
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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Dave Zac
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Post by Dave Zac » Thu Aug 26, 2010 01:36

Looks interesting CW. What I need to learn, is how to create my own recipes. I've gotten pretty good at understanding why we do what we do, and make a good sausage when following a recipe, I can't yet put together the right spices to make my own recipe.

I also noticed on the site a book titled Polish Government Secret Sausage Recipes. Anyone here use this book?

Dave
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Stan's new book...

Post by Chuckwagon » Thu Aug 26, 2010 04:39

Hi Dave, I've noticed that beginners, almost without exception, introduce too many varieties and excessive quantities of spices into their sausage. Attempting to improve grandpa`s old time "secret" recipe, most soon discover their own mixture just doesn`t taste anything at all as expected. Nor is there a constant flow of neighbors knocking at the door, hoping to get their mitts on the stuff. The sad truth is, most beginners usually toss out ten or more pounds of otherwise great pork, not to mention losing time and labor spent grinding and stuffing the meat. I did too in the beginning... but it was much more than just ten pounds thrown out. I was just too hard-headed to realize that for thousands of years, the best sausage recipes have been the most simple and often contain merely a sprinkling of spices. Do you know who threw out more sausage than you and I could load on a truck?... Ol' Rytek Kutas! No kidding. He tossed a ton!
A vast number of sausage makers use only salt and pepper as seasoning. Others add a "signature spice" as fennel in Italian sausage, or marjoram in Polish kielbasa. Beginners quickly learn that even the slightest departure from an accepted and "tried" recipe may cause immense dissimilarity in a finished product. Experience usually teaches beginners that making good sausage depends more upon "how the sausage is made, rather that what it is made of". With experience, most come to realize that, if used at all, the spices and herbs best suited for sausage fit into a pretty tight group including:

Allspice
Anise
Bay leaf
Caraway
Cardamom
Celery Seed
Chili Powder
Cloves
Corainder
Cumin
Curry Powder
Fennel
Garlic
Ginger
Juniper
Mace
Marjoram
Mustard
Nutmeg
Onion
Paprika
Pepper (black)
Pepper (Cayenne)
Pepper (Red)
Pepper (White)
Peppercorns (green)
Peppercorns (pink)
Sage
Salt
Tarragon
Thyme

Stan's new book has a chapter on making your own recipes - and another on how to calculate nitrate and nitrite. Concentrate on "how" you make it and not so much on spices, and you'll be just fine. Keep the meat cold, cold, cold, and be sure to make your primary bind "sticky" - a meat "paste" as the protein myocin develops. And for goodness sake, if you smoke it, be sure to raise the smokehouse temp only a couple of degrees every half hour or so. Don't be in a hurry to cook the stuff! Keep in touch my friend. And always remember... a boiled egg is hard to beat! :razz:
P.S. As far as "secrets" of the Polish Gov't Sausages, Stan's book even covers that too! Be sure to pick up a copy.
Best wishes, Chuckwagon
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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tacklebox
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Post by tacklebox » Thu Feb 24, 2011 06:13

I recently bought this book, along with their fermented sausage book, and I am very glad I did. Most sausage books I have read are for the most part nothing more than recipe books. They do not give the background on what it takes to make good sausage. I learned that it is not what you put into the sausage mixture, but about how you go about making it. Less is more when it comes to ingredients. Like I said in my initial post, I am a sausage rookie. This book is definitely the go to book on making quality cured meats and sausages. Thank you Stan and Adam :grin:
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Post by Chuckwagon » Thu Feb 24, 2011 08:38

Tacklebox ol' pard,
Did you know that Stan is "Seminole" on this site. (Click on the "membership" box at the top of the page). Also, there are some specific forum topics here regarding his publications. Why not drop him a PM, introduce yourself, and let him know what you think of his book! He's a great guy! He's busier than a bear in a beehive, but always takes time to say hi!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
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 Chuckwagon » Wed May 04, 2011 06:27

I recently ran across a post by Stan Marianski that is worth reposting on our site. Stan originally posted it on March 11th, 2006 on the English sausagemaking.org forum

On March 11th, 2006, Stan Marianski wrote:

The aim of our web site is to make meat products and sausages the traditional way without any binders, fillers, fat replacers, soy protein concentrates, phosphates etc. All our Polish sausage recipes come from 1958 Government archives and at that time we used only meat, salt, pepper, spices and nitrate for curing. The era of those great meats and sausages is gone in Poland and elsewhere in Europe, Germany included. We try to preserve the traditional art of making meats and we try to stay away from any kind of chemicals. If we were a meat processing plant we will have to use them to stay alive in the market, but we do it for ourselves so we try to make products of the highest possible quality.

Gosh Stan, That just about sums it all up.
Thank you from a multitude of sausage-loving folks everywhere!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
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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Smoked turkey by the book

Post by ssorllih » Thu May 05, 2011 02:11

I had one whole turkey leg left from a bird I had cut-up a while back and frozen. On Friday I consulted Mr. Stan Marianski's fine book for smoked turkey and mixed up one quart of brine according to his formula for a gallon simply dividing everything by four. Brine and leg into a one gallon zipper weight freezer bag and into the fridge. Turned morning and night until Tuesday night when I removed it from the brine and gave it the fresh water treatment for a couple of hours. I then dried it and put it back into the fridge uncovered for the time being. Today I brought it out and put two 3 inch oak limb sections on my gas grill with a piece of cement tile backer on top of them to control the flames if any. Made lots of smoke. After an hour the temperature started to rise above 100 F. so I shut of the gas, the logs continued to smolder. after another hour and a alf the temperature was back up to 225 so I checked the internal temoerature of the meat and it was 163 F so I stopped the process. I am pleased with the result both looks and taste.
Let's see if the photos posted.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/83 ... erane.jpg/

http://s1112.photobucket.com/albums/k48 ... ew0002.jpg
Ross- tightwad home cook
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Post by ssorllih » Sun Jul 03, 2011 03:59

I think that I now have most of the Marianski books and I am thrilled with the treasure trove of knowledge that they have made available to us for only about 100 dollars. I told a friend today that my goal is to work my way through all of the recipes that I can get the ingredients for. Blood will be the most difficult to find or get But we do have a slaughter house nearby and I think that if I ask politely I will be able to get them to save some for me.
Ross- tightwad home cook
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