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Russian Roasted Pork Sausage

Posted on June 3, 2019 by nina in the kitchen

This is the sausage my Russian grandparents would make several times a year. It was served at every family gathering. They were from a small village outside of Minsk in Belarus. Preparing this phenomenal sausage today for our family and friends is a wonderful way to carry on traditions through the generations.

This sausage is not made with ground pork. Hand cut 1 inch pieces of pork butt or pork shoulder are used. The leaner cuts do not work. We tried. It needs to be fatty.

The meat is mixed with a special combination of spices and garlic. Then it is marinated a day. Fresh crushed spices and fresh minced garlic are more flavorful than ground spices or jarred garlic.

The meat mix is stuffed into casings and then simmered in lots of water. The final step is roasting and browning the sausage in the oven

Make sure not to boil or roast too long. This is a moist fatty sausage.

My family always made double this recipe which is for 20 pounds of meat. Our family today is smaller so 10 pounds is enough for us.

Ingredients

10 pounds boneless pork butt or shoulder

Hog casings, soaked in water and then rinsed inside and out

Spice and seasoning mixture:

1 tablespoon sugar

10 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

5 large cloves garlic, or more, minced

1 tablespoon dill seed, crushed

1 teaspoon ground allspice or 20 seeds, crushed

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or 2 whole cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon ground coriander or 20 seeds, crushed

1/2 bay leaf, crumbled fine

1 teaspoon ground mustard powder or 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or 1 dried hot red cayenne pepper, crushed

3/4 cup water

Steps

The spices that need to be crushed can be combined and broken into tiny pieces with a mortar and pestle or use a small bowl and the bottom of a small glass. Grinding these whole fresh spices give you better flavor than the ground spices.

Combine the dry seasonings in a small bowl, reserving 1 teaspoon salt.
Mince the garlic and add 1 teaspoon of the salt to it and mash it with the knife side
Cut the pork shoulder or butt into 1 inches pieces. Place in a very large ceramic or glass bowl
Add the water, garlic and seasonings to pork and mix well with your hands
Cover and refrigerate 1 day
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Make sure the hog casings are rinsed thoroughly under running cold water. Allow the water to run through the interior of the casings and look for holes. Cut out the sections with holes.
Tie a knot in the end of the casing.
Using an automatic sausage stuffer, slip the casing over the stuffing tube. I have an attachment to my Kitchen Aid stand mixer
Twist the links every 8-12 inches. You can keep the links connected or you can break off and separate each link from the stuffing tube. Twist the ends. Set the sausage links aside. Continue until all the meat is in the casings

Bring 1 or 2 large pots of water to a boil. Leave room for the sausage
Add the sausage to the water. Poke a few holes in each length. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 15-20 minutes. Skim any scum that rises to the surface.
Drain most of the water from the cooking pots but reserve some.
Remove sausage from the pot and place on shallow baking sheets. Maintain about 1/2 to 1 cup of water from the cooking pot in the bottom of the roasting pan. Cover with foil and roast about 15 minutes
Remove foil and roast till browned on each side, turning once, about 15 minutes on each side. Add and maintain the 1/2-1 cup cooking water to the roasting pans too. Sausage should be cooked till browned and tender. Do not overcook or it will be dry!
Serve the sausage links on a large platter. You can cut into pieces about 3 inches long if you like.

Here are some photos of the process

Gather your seasoning ingredients