Saucisson Sec (finally)

Some time ago, I was muddling through my attempt at preparing one of the simplest dry cured sausage in Ruhlman's Charcuterie, saucisson sec. It's not fermented, just a simple mix of ground pork, garlic, salt and pepper and some curing salt.

I have a way of turning simple things into a 3 body problem. But, when I finish, I usually have a robust solution in which I know more about the process variables than if I nailed it on the first try. It's a frustrating way to learn, but learning is rarely uneventful.

The key environmental variables are 60°F, at least 60-70% relative humidity and some air movement. I won't rehash all the past attempts buried in my archives spent trying to find that environment. I will simply cut to the chase: I stuffed the sausage in beef casings and lay the links on a cooling rack suspended over some water in a plastic cooler in my basement. The open top of the high-walled container permitted air movement. The sides of the container coupled with the puddle of water in the bottom created a naturally bounded localized cloud of moisture that registered ca. 70% according to an accurate humidity probe and the temperature in my basement is about 60°F +/- 8°F almost all year 'round.

4 weeks of aging and voila. The sausage looks a little squat because it was on its side. So what. After I tasted it, didn't die, I fed it to others who enjoyed it immensely. The only changes? I didn't like the appearance of the wide beef middle casings - the biological reality of the appearance of these things is not pretty, I'm going back to simple small hog casings. And, I'll be using a finer grind. I like coarse for fresh sausage, it keeps them moist on cooking, but the dry cured, I believe, needs a finer grind.

A peek at the newest run (smaller casings, finer grind) about a week in:

Turkey Meatballs (a rewritten post from 2004)

Ever since Frankie was a teeny, tiny baby, she liked turkey meatballs. We make them often but I've learned a lot since I first started making them and they're better than ever. I decided to rewrite the post.

The significant observations that have guided my new, almost finished, master recipe for Turkey Meatballs are ...

• Grind (size) is crucial. Andrew has guided me in the craft of Charcuterie and recommends a coarse grind in most sausage preparations (kielbasa, sausage, etc.); his guess is the more coarse the grind, the less likely it is to dry out during cooking. I think he's spot-on; the few sausage preps I've done have come out exceptional. Just as significant, the coarseness of the grind contributes greatly to mouthfeel. There's an Ohio brand of ground turkey sold frozen that is ground really fine. It tastes mealy when cooked. When I bought some coarsely ground 93/7 turkey the other day it was infinitely better when cooked in this recipe. A coarse grind definitely wins. Thanks for the tip Andrew.

• When I was buying that super fine grind stuff, not knowing any better, I changed the mouthfeel by adding cracked wheat or bulgur. Far from a new method, cracked wheat has been added to ground lamb in kibbe forever, but it's not commonly used in combination with ground turkey. The cracked wheat made that turkey taste good. Don't worry, the hard nuggets of grain hydrate and soften in the mixture and upon cooking. There is no discernible taste or texture of the wheat. And, it's whole grain causing the meatball to be a pretty darn complete meal with protein, complex carbs and some fat all in one tasty little nugget of goodness.

• Like any meatball (traditionally sirloin), don't handle the thing much. Compress these things together as gingerly as a biscuit. Too much man-handling and it's gonna be tough.

• Future directions. Soon, I'd like to grind my own turkey thighs. It should be outstanding - another post.

That's it. Here's the recipe. I make them, freeze them on a cookie sheet and the next morning put them in a ziploc bag for cooking in tomato sauce (I don't fry meatballs, I cook them slowly in tomato sauce - any other method is just wrong).

Turkey Meatballs
Put the following in a bowl
Coarse ground turkey, 1 lb, highest fat content you can find
cracked wheat or bulgur, 1/2 C
bread crumbs, fine, 1/4 C
milk, 1/4 C
finely minced onion, 1/4 C
a few fine slivers of garlic
reggiano, 1/4 C (optional)
eggs, 2
oregano, dried, 2 T
salt, 1 t (I almost always salt 1% by weight, here, 5 g / 500 grams ingredients)
pepper, to taste

Put everything in a bowl, using your hands, gently fold everything together without working it too much. Form into whatever size meatball you like (we like golf ball sized). That's it.

I may modify quantities of cracked wheat and bread crumbs as I remake them. Toss a few frozen ones in tomato sauce and let simmer gently an hour or so. You'll eat the leftovers for breakfast.

Related articles

• Turkey Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Sauce (savoringeverybite.wordpress.com)
• Meatballs: Let's go round again (independent.co.uk)