"Corned Beef" Sausage

[TexLaw]

This isn’t sausage made from corned beef. Rather, it was the result of the scramble when it hit me that St. Patrick’s Day was right around the corner and that I had forgotten to start curing a corned beef. I couldn’t get a corned beef done in just a few days, but (maybe, just maybe) I could simulate one a bit by working up a cured sausage with corned beef spices. It worked out very well, and a little tweaking got me right where I wanted it.

The single, coarse grind is a bit unusual, but I also find it key. Again, I wanted something to make me think of corned beef, and that goes beyond mere flavor. But, hey, you do it as you like.

This makes great bulk sausage, but I prefer it stuffed in large hog casings. That said, it also works very well as a stuffing, mixed with potatoes for a hash, or even just as a patty sausage. The next thing I want to play with is making a Reuben burger with this patty sausage.

“Corned Beef” Sausage

Ingredients:
 5 lbs (2.25 kg) Beef chuck roast (weigh after grinding)
 1 tbsp salt
 1 tsp Sure Cure (Instacure #1; Prague Powder #1)
 4 tsp ground black pepper
 2 tsp onion powder
 2 tsp garlic powder
 1.5 tsp mustard seed (whole)
 ½ tsp cayenne pepper
 ½ tsp paprika
 ¾ tsp dried thyme
 ½ tsp ground allspice
 ½ tsp ground ginger
 34g Sure Gel
 ¼ tsp ground clove
 ½ tsp ground celery seed
 1 tbsp sugar
 ¼ tsp ascorbic acid (or appropriate amount of other cure accelerator) (optional)
 ½ tsp ground coriander
 ½ tsp ground dill seed
 ½ cup ice water
 4 tsp light corn syrup

Steps:

1. Grind the meat as you like (I like only 1 grand with an 8 mm (5/16”) plate because I want some chew to this).
2. Mix in all remaining ingredients.
3. If stuffing, stuff into casings of your choice (I like large (38-42mm) hog casings, again for the chew). In any case, refrigerate for 8-48 hours to cure (or you can go right to cooking if you use an accelerator).
4. Stuffed sausages can be poached, cooked by sous vide, grilled, smoked, or cooked by any combination. My current favorite if stuffed into casings is to give the sausages a very light smoking and then finish by sous vide to 155F. A heavier smoking is just fine, but that’s more “pastrami” sausage (mighty, mighty good but not corned beef).