Sausage Making (23 page)

Authors: Ryan Farr

CHAPTER 6
COMBINATION SAUSAGE

If the previous chapters haven't convinced you of the glorious possibilities of sausage, this chapter ought to seal the deal. Once you've mastered basic sausage making; the next step is to move on to some of these more involved recipes for pastry-wrapped terrines and sausage-stuffed suckling pig.

These recipes are rooted in classical French technique, but they've unfortunately fallen out of fashion; it's difficult to find well-made ballotines and galantines, though they were once a butcher-shop staple. Most of the recipes in this chapter use at least one of the sausage recipes from earlier in the book; instead of casing the farce (or cooking it loose), these are some other suggestions for what you can do with sausage.

Admittedly, these aren't the simplest recipes, so plan to attempt them when you have both time and patience; I consider them to be special-occasion preparations, suited to festive gatherings when you've got some guests with hearty appetites.

CHICKEN AND EGG GALANTINE

YIELD: ONE 8-LB/17.6-KG GALANTINE

Boneless, skin-on chicken thighs, cut into 1-in/2.5-cm cubes

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 1.10 lb
GRAMS: 519
% OF TOTAL (100%): 14.28

Boneless, skin-on chicken breast meat, cut into 1-in/2.5-cm cubes

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 0.80 lb
GRAMS: 361
% OF TOTAL (100%): 9.93

Pork back fat, cut into 1-in/2.5-cm cubes

U.S. MEASUREMENT:
¹/
₃cup
GRAMS: 84
% OF TOTAL (100%): 2.31

Ice water

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 2 tbsp
GRAMS: 33
% OF TOTAL (100%): 0.90

White wine

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 2 tbsp
GRAMS: 25
% OF TOTAL (100%): 0.69

Minced chervil

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 2 tbsp
GRAMS: 6
% OF TOTAL (100%): 0.17

Fine sea salt

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 1
¹/
₂tsp
GRAMS: 14
% OF TOTAL (100%): 0.39

Finely ground black pepper

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 1 tsp
GRAMS: 2
% OF TOTAL (100%): 0.07

Fava beans, shelled and peeled

U.S. MEASUREMENT:
¹/
₂cup
GRAMS: 63
% OF TOTAL (100%): 1.72

Olive oil

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 1 tbsp
GRAMS: 13
% OF TOTAL (100%): 0.40

Finely diced porcini mushrooms

U.S. MEASUREMENT:
¹/
₂cup
GRAMS: 63
% OF TOTAL (100%): 1.72

Whole chicken

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 5.00 lb
GRAMS: 857
% OF TOTAL (100%): 62.25

Eggs, hardboiled

U.S. MEASUREMENT: 4
GRAMS: 145
% OF TOTAL (100%): 5.17

When you slice into this galantineâa whole, deboned chicken stuffed with a chicken sausageâyou see a beautiful mosaic: the chicken sausage, studded with brilliant green fava beans, flecked with porcini mushrooms, and a golden-yolked hard-cooked egg in the center. This would make an elegant first course.

Â Â
1.
Place the chicken thigh and breast meat and pork fat on a rimmed baking sheet, transfer to the freezer, and chill until crunchy on the exterior but not frozen solid
(see page 23)
.
Â Â
2.
In a small bowl, add the water, wine, chervil, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine.
Â Â
3.
Nest a large mixing bowl in a bowl filled with ice. Grind the meat, skin, and pork fat through the small die of the grinder into the bowl set in ice
(see page 24)
.
Â Â
4.
Add the water and herb mixture to the meat and stir with your hands until well incorporated; the mixture will look homogenous and will begin sticking to the bowl
(see page 25)
.
Â Â
5.
Spoon 2 tbsp of the meat mixture into a nonstick frying pan and spread into a thin patty. Cook the test patty over low heat until cooked through but not browned. Taste the sausage for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
Â Â
6.
Fill a medium bowl with ice and water. Bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil, then add the fava beans and cook just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the fava beans and transfer to the ice bath. When cool, remove favas from the ice bath and drain on paper towels. Set aside.
Â Â
7.
In a small sautÃ© pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until golden brown and soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Â Â
8.
When the mushrooms have cooled, gently fold them and the fava beans into the farce.
Â Â
9.
Press a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap directly on the surface of the meat to prevent oxidation, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Alternatively, you can vacuum-seal the farce.
10.
Place the whole chicken on a work surface, breast-side down, and remove the wishbone
(A)
. Cut through the skin along the backbone, from neck to tail. Working to the left and right along the backbone
(B)
, separate the meat from the carcass and fold open, running your knife between the breastbone and skin
(C)
. Continue cutting downward on either side of the backbone until you have freed the backbone, rib cage, and breastbone, taking care not to puncture the skin.
11.
Carefully lift out the carcass (discard or save for stock); the leg and wing bones remain on the chicken. Position the chicken flat on your work surface and remove the thigh bones
(D)
. Begin to thread kitchen string through the skin and thigh meat
(E)
. Season with salt
(F)
.
12.
Remove the sausage farce from the refrigerator and spoon inside the deboned chicken, spreading it into an even layer down the center. Arrange the whole hardboiled eggs in a straight line down the center
(G)
.
13.
Pull the skin of the chicken together from each side
(H)
. With a trussing needle, sew up the chicken skin from tail to neck
(I)
. With your hands, re-form the chicken as closely as possible to its original shape, then firmly truss the bird so that the legs and wings are tightly secured to the body
(J, K)
. Weigh the galantine and make note of the number (to determine the cooking time in step 15).
14.
Tightly wrap the chicken with cheesecloth, securing the ends
(L)
, or vacuum-seal the entire galantine. Bring a large pot of water or chicken stock to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat so that the liquid is simmering. When the liquid registers 176Â°F/80Â°C on an instant-read thermometer, gently lower the chicken into the pot
(M)
.
15.
Cook the galantine, uncovered, maintaining the temperature of the liquid at 176Â°F/80Â°C, for 20 minutes per 1 lb/455 g, until a thermometer inserted into the center of the galantine registers 152Â°F/67Â°C. Carefully remove the galantine
(N)
. Transfer to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. When completely cool, cut away the cheesecloth
(O)
. Refrigerate overnight. The following day, slice; serve cool or at room temperature.