SHEEP CASING RECIPES

Steps:

• Prepare the casings (see instructions below).
• In a blender or food processor, make a puree of the onion, garlic, coriander, marjoram, mace, mustard seed, and paprika.
• Add the pepper, egg white, sugar, salt, and milk and mix thoroughly.
• Grind the pork, beef, and fat cubes through the fine blade separately.
• Mix together and grind again.
• Mix the seasonings into the meat mixture with your hands.
• This tends to be a sticky procedure, so wet your hands with cold water first.
• Chill the mixture for half an hour then put the mixture thorough the fine blade of the grinder once more.
• Stuff the casings and twist them off into six-inch links.
• Parboil the links (without separating them) in gently simmering water for 20 minutes.
• Place the franks in a bowl of ice water and chill thoroughly.
• Remove, pat dry, and refrigerate.
• Because they are precooked, they can be refrigerated for up to a week or they can be frozen.
• Preparing the Casing.
• Snip off about four feet of casing.
• (Better too much than too little because any extra can be repacked in salt and used later.) Rinse the casing under cool running water to remove any salt clinging to it.
• Place it in a bowl of cool water and let it soak for about half an hour.
• While you're waiting for the casing to soak, you can begin preparing the meat as detailed above.
• After soaking, rinse the casing under cool running water.
• Slip one end of the casing over the faucet nozzle.
• Hold the casing firmly on the nozzle, and then turn on the cold water, gently at first, and then more forcefully.
• This procedure will flush out any salt in the casing and pinpoint any breaks.
• Should you find a break, simply snip out a small section of the casing.
• Place the casing in a bowl of water and add a splash of white vinegar.
• A tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water is sufficient.
• The vinegar softens the casing a bit more and makes it more transparent, which in turn makes your sausage more pleasing to the eye.
• Leave the casing in the water/vinegar solution until you are ready to use it.
• Rinse it well and drain before stuffing.

Steps:

• Before grinding, ensure the meat and fat are very cold. Send the meat through the grinder using a large plate, and then a second time using a fine die. Pause in between grinding to chill the meat if needed to avoid smearing. After the second round of grinding, cool the meat in the freezer.
• Transfer the meat to a food processor or mixer and add the spices and ice. Pulse or mix until thoroughly emulsified. The mixture should turn into a ball of tacky paste.
• If the casings are dried, soak them in freshwater to soften for about 30 minutes before stuffing. While the intestines soak, set up your sausage stuffer. Try lubricating the feeding tube and inner cannister by sprinkling it with cold water so the meat won’t stick. Thread the casing onto the stuffing tube and tie a knot at the end.
• Evenly stuff the sausage into the casing. As you go, use a needle to prick a small hole in any air bubbles. Once all the sausage is inside the casing, begin to pinch off links in roughly 6-inch increments: starting with the first one, twisting, and then moving 6 inches down the line. Continue pinching and twisting off every other link so as not to undo the previous link.
• To cook, you can gently poach the links in simmering water, grill over high heat, or smoke the hot dogs at 225 degrees until they’re cooked through to an internal temperature of 155 degrees. If you plan to grill or smoke, the texture will improve if allowed to rest for a day or two in the refrigerator.
• Before serving, steam the buns with water, baste the top sides with butter or oil and sprinkle with poppyseeds to coat. Wrap the bread inside parchment paper and bake for a few minutes until soft, or set inside of a microwave for 30-60 seconds.
• Serve the hot dogs inside of the poppyseed buns layered with all of the suggested toppings.