CHINESE SICHUAN RESTAURANT RECIPES

Steps:

• No matter what flavor you prefer, cut the pork into thin and large pieces (around 6 cm long and 4 cm wide with a thickness of 0.4cm to 0.5cm). We usually use the pork leg meat. The best ratio for Mala sausages is 7 portions of lean meat and 3 portions of fat. And the recommended ratio for sweet sausage is 2:8 (fat vs lean meat). You can slightly adjust based on your own preferences.
• Then add white spirit (Chinese Baijiu) and mix well. If you cannot find Chinese baijiu, use other hard liquid to replace.
• Mix all the other seasonings. For Mala sausage, mix sugar, salt, chili pepper powder and Sichuan pepper powder in. For sweet sausage, mix salt, sugar and white pepper. Massage with hands and make sure all the ingredients are well combined. Then set aside for 30 minutes.
• Soak the skin in warm water.
• Then set up the equipment and wrap the skin over the funnel tube. Or you can use a funnel and a chopstick as plunger. Tie one end and then cut off the remaining skin.
• The machine we use is sometime like a automatic plunger. The pork meat is pushed ahead when shaking the hand shank. If you do not have this equipment, use chopstick or wood stick to push the pork into the skin.
• Once finished, use a cotton line (around 10cm to 12 cm long) to tie and divide the sausage into small sections around 20cm long, so we can continue hanging and drying process.
• In a large pot, add enough warm water and clean the surface (the purpose is cleaning). Be gentle and don’t break the sausages. You can further sterilize the sausages by brushing hard liquid (In China, we use Chinese Baijiu).
• Dry with a clean cloth, then hang and dry. Use a small needle to prick the sausages to release trapped air. Left them dry outdoor during the day and hang in the kitchen at night.