Ketoprak Betawi

Bahan:
2 buah tahu kuning, goreng
100 gr bihun, seduh air panas sebentar, tiriskan
100 gr tauge, buang akarnya, seduh air panas
2 buah ketupat
3 sdm kecap manis
1 sdm bawang merah goreng
Kerupuk udang secukupnya
minyak goreng secukupnya
Bumbu dihaluskan:
170 gr kacang tanah yang sudah digiling
3 buah cabai rawit, rebus
2 siung bawang putih
1 sdm gula merah
150 cc air hangat
2 sdt garam

Cara Membuat:
Haluskan bumbu di atas piring saji, letakkan di atasnya ketupat yang telah dipotong dadu, tauge, tahu, dan bihun. Taburkan bawang goreng dan kecap manis. Lengkapi dengan kerupuk udang. Siap dihidangkan
Untuk ± 6 porsi.

Gethuk Ngadirojo Rasa Bolu Gulung

BICARA gethuk, orang pasti ingat pada popularitas gethuk goreng Sokaraja atau gethuk Magelang. Tapi sebenarnya jangan lupa pula dengan gethuk Ngadirojo Kabupaten Wonogiri, yang cita rasanya enak seperti roti bolu gulung.
Menurut Camat Ngadirojo, Sumarno SH MM, perajin gethuk Ngadirojo yang terkenal adalah Ny Lasimin, tinggal di Dusun Kenteng Desa Ngadirojo Kidul. Letak rumahnya strategis, berada di tepian jalan raya Wonogiri-Ponorogo, tepatnya berdampingan dengan masjid Kenteng Ngadirojo. Untuk mempermudah pelanggannya gethuk dapat dipesan melalui telepon 0273-323139 yang setiap saat dapat menerima order gethuk dari siapa pun.
''Ada dua jenis gethuk yang kami produksi. Terdiri atas gethuk basah dan gethuk goreng,'' kata Ny Lasimin. Gethuk basah dapat dibuat seperti roti bolu gulung dengan aneka rasa, warna dan aroma. Ada yang bercita rasa strawberi, susu, cokelat dan frambos.
''Kami sengaja tak memakai bahan pengawet dan zat pewarna. Warna gethuk yang muncul, datang dari adonan cokelat, merah frambos, hijau sari buah melon atau kuning buah nangka.
Dengan mengandalkan adonan yang baik dan campuran gula tepat takar, hal itu akan menjadikan gethuk yang diproses secara alami dapat bertahan tanpa harus mencampurkan zat pengawet. Untuk gethuk goreng dapat bertahan satu minggu, dan gethuk basah tahan selama dua hari.
Ny Lasimin mengatakan, pengetahuan membuat gethuk diperoleh dari mengikuti pelatihan yang digelar oleh pihak Balai Latihan Kerja (BLK) Dinas Tenaga Kerja Wonogiri di Ngadirojo.
''Waktu itu bersama perwakilan dari empat desa, saya mengikuti pelatihan selama seminggu,'' kata Ny Lasimin. Di BLK, mendapatkan bimbingan pelatihan keterampilan membuat gethuk, roti, es krim dan telor asin.
Melimpah
''Dengan pertimbangan ingin memanfaatkan potensi singkong yang di Kabupaten Wonogiri cukup melimpah, Ny Lasimin kemudian menetapkan pilihannya mengambil spesialisasi pembuatan gethuk,'' kata Anwar Priyadi STP, instruktur latihan kerja Kabupaten Wonogiri.
Untuk pembuatan gethuk yang bermutu dan enak rasanya, Ny Lasimin memilih bahan singkong pilihan dari jenis Mento dan Mayoka. Mula-mula, singkong dikupas dan dicuci bersih serta dipotong-potong untuk dibuang sontrot (urat)-nya. Kemudian dikukus layaknya menanak nasi cara tradisional dengan lama waktu sekitar satu jam.
Ketika dirasa sudah matang, kemudian dideplok bersama dengan gula merah dan tambahan adonan yang diperlukan, seperti sari melon, nangka, strawberi, cokelat atau susu. Kemudian dilumatkan lagi memakai alat pelumat dengan tetap memperhatikan higienitas.
Gethuk basah, cukup digulung seperti roti bolu gulung. Tapi kalau gethuk goreng, dirajang kecil-kecil dan kemudian dimasukkan ke wajan penggorengan. ''Kami pakai minyak goreng berkualitas, agar cita rasanya tetap enak,'' kata Ny Lasimin yang biasa dibantu tiga tenaga.(Bambang Pur - Suara Merdeka)

Gudeg Yogyes

Bahan:
1½ kg nangka muda
1 sdm asam jawa
2 sdm gula jawa
6 lembar daun salam
4 gelas santan
Garam secukupnya
minyak goreng secukupnya
Bumbu yang dihaluskan:
8 butir bawang merah
4 siung bawang putih
½ sdt ketumbar, disangrai
½ sdt jintan, disangrai
10 butir kemiri

Cara Membuat:
Nangka muda diiris ukuran 4 cm lalu direbus dengan air secukupnya sampai matang, angkat dan tiriskan.
Larutkan asam jawa dan gula merah dengan sedikit air.
Panaskan minyak goreng, tumis bumbu yang sudah dihaluskan bersama daun salam, air gula merah dan air asam jawa.
Stelah harum, masukkan nangkanya, aduk rata, tambahkan garam secukupnya.
Terakhir, tuang santannya kemudian masak sampai mendidih dan santan agak mengental dan berminyak.

Untuk 5-6 orang.

Coto Makasar 'Mantafz' ala Rudy Choiruddin

Bahan :
500 gram Jerohan sapi (usus, hati, jantung, babat, paru, limpa)
250 gram Daging sapi
1 batang Kayu manis
1/2 sdm Garam
2500 ml Air cucian beras yang terakhir
3 batang Serai
8 buah Bawang merah rajang
2 sdm Tauco
4 sdm Minyak goreng untuk menumis

Racikan :
4 sdm Bawang goreng
3 batang Daun bawang dirajang
3 buah Jeruk nipis
Ketupat dan buras secukupnya
Bumbu yang dihaluskan :
4 buah Bawang merah
4 siung Bawang putih
3 cm Jahe
5 cm Lengkuas
1/2 sdt Jinten
2 sdt Ketumbar
1 sdt Merica
4 butir Merica digoreng
75 gram Kacang tanah tanpa kulit disangan

Sambal :
5 sdm minyak goreng
4 buah Cabe merah
10 buah Cabe rawit
3 butir Kemiri
4 sdm Tauco
1 sdt Garam
4 buah Bawang merah

Cara membuat :
Rebus jerohan, daging, kayu manis, garam dan air cucian beras dengan api kecil hingga 1/2 matang.
Tumis bawang merah dengan minyak goreng hingga kekuningan tambahkan tauco dan serai masak kembali hingga harum, kemudian masukkan dalam jerohan. Rebus hingga empuk. Angkat jerohan dan daging kemudian potong serasi.
Hidangkan.

Racikkan :
Letakkan campuran jerohan dan siram dengan kuah Coto, taburi dengan bawang goreng dan bawang daun sajikan bersama ketupat atau buras, jeruk nipis dan sambal tauco
Sambal :
Haluskan semua bahan kemudian tumis dengan minyak goreng hingga harum dan matang.

Sambal 'Hot' Petis Tahu Blora -

Bahan dihaluskan :
8 buah cabai rawit
3 siung bawang putih
2 sdm kacang goreng
1 sdt air jeruk nipis
2 sdm kecap manis
2 sdm petis
3 buah tahu. potong dadu ±2x2 cm, goreng

Cara Membuat:
Campur semua bumbu yang dihaluskan, beri air jeruk nipis, kecap manis, dan petis. Aduk hingga rata
Letakkan gorengan tahu dalam cobek. Hidangkan

Facts About Peppers

Ever wonder if peppers are fruits or vegetables? Actually, peppers are fruits but eaten as vegetables most of the time.
Peppers can be very flexible in any food combinations, be it barbecues, baking, steaming, stir-frying with any vegetables, nuts, seeds or legumes. They can even be eaten raw as snacks or in salads. It’s no wonder they are the favourites of the vegetarians and vegans.
They come from the colorful Capsicum family which can be split into two main categories - sweet bell peppers and the spicy chillies, such as jalapenos. The difference arises from the presence of capsaicin in chillies (which is explained later) but not in sweet bell peppers.
Sweet bell peppers are also known as capsicums, sweet peppers or green/red peppers.
All sweet bell peppers start out green and change color as they ripen. Depending on the stage of ripeness and their variety, their colors range from orange, yellow, red, purple, brown, black, ivory or green and so do their sweetness.
But green bell peppers remain green throughout the ripening process. Thus, it can be challenging to differentiate the other bell peppers from the green variety before they ripen. All peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C. Green bell peppers contain as much as two times of vitamin C as oranges while red or yellow pepper pack three or four times the daily value of vitamin C.
Besides power-packed with vitamin C, bell peppers also provide vitamin B6, phytochemicals such as lycopene and beta-carotene (the precursor for vitamin A), folate, potassium and plenty of fiber. The only difference between sweet peppers and chilli peppers is the presence of capsaicin in chilli peppers. Capsaicin itself holds numerous health benefits:
· Effective treatment and natural pain relief for inflammation such as arthritis, psoriasis, diabetic neuropathy.
· Reduce risk of heart attack and stroke as it helps to reduce cholesterol levels and formation of blood clots.
· Clear blocked nose and congested lungs.
· Prevent prostate cancer by inhibiting growth of cancerous cells · Prevent stomach ulcers by killing bacteria in the stomach and stimulate more protective stomach juices.
· Help to lose weight as it speeds up the body’s metabolism rate, suppresses appetite and cravings for sweet foods.
· Lower risk of Type 2 diabetes by controlling the blood sugar.
Capsaicin is what makes the chillies hot as it produces a strong burning sensation in the mouth. The seeds are not the main culprits for causing the hotness. Actually, capsaicin is most concentrated in the white membrane where the seed is attached. Thus, you should be careful when handling the chilli peppers so as not to let them come in contact with your skin or eyes such as rubbing your eyes with your hands after touching the chillies. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling the chillies. Should you eat a really hot chilli which causes an unbearable burning sensation in your mouth, drink milk or eat yogurt, rice or bread instead of water to ease the pain.
I often use these few ways to handle the chillies:
· Wear gloves.
· To remove the seeds without touching them, hold the chilli stem and cut open with a paring knife. Cut away the membranes and seeds with the knife. Another handy tool is the melon baller. Place the chillies in water for 15 minutes before cutting them. Note that this will only reduce but will not fully remove the “hotness” of the chillies.
· If you do not need to remove the seeds, just hold the chili by the stem and cut the chillies into rings. Asians like to eat the raw chillies as a dip in this manner, with the chillies soaked in lime juice or soy sauce.

Chilli peppers come in different sizes, shapes and degrees of heat or spiciness. The more mature the pepper, the hotter it will be. The commonly used method to measure how hot the chillies are is Scoville Scale. The Scoville Scale converts the amount of capsaicin in parts per million into Scoville heat units. So the greater the number of Scoville Scale, the hotter the pepper. A sweet bell pepper measures 0 Scoville unit and a habaneros or scotch bonnet, the hottest known chilli peppers, records at around 300,000 units.
Peppers are not seasonal fruits, meaning you can find them in supermarkets any day during the year. Choose well-shaped, firm and glossy peppers which feel heavy for their size. Look out for unhealthy peppers with soft or wrinkled areas, cracks, slashes or black spots. Except for jalapeñ which you will see some tiny cracks at the end of their stems, fresh chilli peppers should not have any cracks at all.
It’s best to wrap the peppers in paper bags or paper towels and store in the refrigerator to keep their freshness, up to 5 days for bell peppers and up to 3 weeks for chilli peppers. Remember to wash the peppers before cooking so as to remove the wax on their surfaces.


by: Laura Ng

Olive Oil - Its Benefits And Uses

Why do we use olive oil ?
Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fatty acids (mainly oleic acid), which, unlike saturated fats, do not adversely affect blood cholestrol levels and may even help to lower them slightly. For those suffering from constipation, take more olive oil often as it helps to lubricate the intestines and eliminate waste from our bodies, thereby curing your constipation.
Olive oil also provides natural antioxidants (called polyphenols) which help to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
Why is olive oil catergorises into different types ?
The flavor of olive oil varies, depending on the source, the variety of olive, the soil conditions, weather, etc. Some of the primary sources come from Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey Portugal, Tunisia, Morocco, and California. Some olive oils are from a single variety of oils, but others, like most Italian oils, are blends of oils from different types of olives and from different countries.
What is the difference among "Virgin", "Extra virgin", "Fine" and "refined" olive oil?
The oil produced from the first pressing of ripe olives is often the purest form, thus is called virgin. Extra virgin simply means an oil from the first pressing that is particularly low in acid - less than 1%. Virgin olive oil may have as much as 4% acid. Fino or fine olive oil is a blend of extra virgin and virgin olive oils, with an acid content not above 3%.
To squeeze more oil from the ripe olives, modern extraction methods of pressure, heat and chemical solvents are applied. These refined oils may be blended with virgin oil to replace some of the flavor lost in the processing, and are sold as pure olive oil or just olive oil.
In some countries, you may also stumble upon light olive oil, which is not lower in calories, but which has been so finely filtered as to remove most of its color and fragrance (and flavor). It has a higher smoke point than the other types of olive oil, though, so it is well suited to high-temperature frying.
For the best qualities, we should go for the "Virgin" or "Extra virgin" olive oil because they have a fruity and rich flavour, wouldn't turn rancid so fast and are more easily digestible than refined oil.
For nutritional values, they are the same. But, extra virgin oil which is low in acidity level contains more antioxidants.
Where is olive oil used?
Compared with other vegetable oils, only olive oil has enough flavour to replace butter and margarine for a healthier choice. Because of its pure state, extra virgin oil is often used as a dressing in salads or as a dip for breads.
Refined or light olive oil is suitable for deep frying. It may seem pricey to use it to fry food but the fact that such oil is four to five times more heat resistant than vegetable oil would mean you can reuse it to fry foods many more times before the oil begins to break down. Will olive oil loses its nutritional value when heated ?
Olive oil, when heated at high temperature, will cause its alcohols and esters to evaporate. The esters are what make up the olive oil delicate taste and fragrance. So heat will only change the flavor of olive oil but not its nutritional contents. We recommend you use a cheaper olive oil like refined/light oil for frying and then add a more flavorful olive oil after cooking.
Will the food be any lesser in nutritions if cooked in olive oil ?
Heating food will break down its nutritional value. High heat such as frying is worse than moderate heat such as steaming, which is worse than eating vegetables raw. It is not the cooking oil per se, but the high heat of frying.
Most nutritionists recommend lightly steaming vegetables or eating them raw. A touch of a flavorsome olive oil added at the table will add taste and healthful anti-oxidants. This is what "Mediterranean diet" is about, which has been shown to help prevent coronary disease and have other health benefits.
How to store Olive oil ?
Keep away from heat, ie the stove, to prevent ageing of the oil. Better to keep a large container in a dark, cool cupboard and pour a small amount into a dispenser for everyday use. The container can be made of plastic, stainless or tinted glass.
Alternatively, you can store oil in the refrigerator or freezer, which will greatly extend its shelf life. Do not worry about the crystallized waxes in the oil when chilled. All you have to do is to warm the oil back to room temperature to melt it.

by: Laura Ng

The Best Way To Store Coffee Is To Go "Green"!

The best way to store coffee is a question that is always on coffee aficinados' mind, but one that is seldom "tackle". Think about it, in most coffee maker reviews, you have the best brewer, best grinder, best roaster and so on, but have you ever heard of a best container?
Folks all over the world are looking for the freshest brew, but not a lot of people are concerned about storing the coffee, which is actually a key element in the coffee experience. Unless, you have access to a coffee store near your house, and would never buy more than that day consumption. If not, you would definitely have to store the coffee.
So, what is the best way to store coffee? Remember the coffee freshness rule and you would know how long you can store that "coffee". Raw green coffee beans can be fresh for years, so they are the easiest to store. Roasted beans, which are what you can easily find in Supermarket, would lose their flavour after a week.
And if you were to ground the coffee, the flavour would be lost within hours. And you probably can forget about keeping brewed coffee as it begins to lose its flavour after minutes.
Based on the above, the easiest to store would be green coffee beans and personally, I think they are the best way to store coffee. All you need to do is to store in a cool location, in a tightly sealed container and you can keep it for more than a year!
Sure, you need to purchase a roaster and a grinder in addition to your coffee maker but you would not have to throw away any unused coffee and you would have the freshest coffee.
For roasted beans, it is similar to green beans, store in an airtight container and try to use ceramic as plastic or metal would contaminate the taste of the beans. Keep away from sunlight and try to store in dark places. This allows you to keep the beans fresh for at least 2 weeks.
And if you really want it to keep a longer time, keeping in the freezer can probably last for another 2 more weeks. To use it, just take it out and grind. Do take note that it is to keep in the freezer and not the fridge, never keep coffee beans in the fridge as it would simply absorb the odour of the other food and spoilt your coffee...
If you really want to store the roast and ground which cannot be store past a few days. Keep it with a good airtight container and away from the sun. This would allow the freshness to stay for a week. For the ground, freezer cannot help much as the surface area is too wide and it would still go stale.
If it is not green beans, the coffee beans would not last more than a month. To me, the best to store coffee is to go "green", however, let me go through the savings and convince you on this as well!
1 kg of Green beans can last you probably for a year and cost about $25.00. Assuming you have a fully automatic espresso machine which comes with a grinder, you would be buying roasted beans. You would have to buy them every month and it cost about $15.00 per 100g.
In one year, your roasted beans would cost you $150.00. So, between the roasted and the green coffee beans, that is a savings of $125.00. Sure, you have to get a roaster, let say you get a "Fresh Roast" roaster for $70.00, you still have a savings of $55.00.
Now, would you not agreed with me that the best way to store coffee is to go "green". Storing the Green coffee beans allows you to buy coffee in bulk (get discount from bulk purchase), roast your own coffee and have the freshest cup possible and not forgetting, it saves you some money in the process...


by: Ebenezer Heng

Thai Recipe by thairecipe-sushirecipe

The country of Thailand boasts some of the most beautiful physical features of any country on the planet. Those who travel to Thailand and experience Thailand's culture are in for an adventure of a lifetime and a cultural experience that they will not soon forget. Due to the millions of western tourists flocking to its shores every year, Thailand has been able to make an impact on our western culture. Many aspects of Thailand's culture are showing up in the USA and in Europe. Thai boxing and Martial are as well as artworks, crafts and food are some of the most popular parts of Thai culture and have managed to make their way across to gyms, galleries and kitchens of the west.
Among the many valuable cultural contributions Thailand has made around the world, one of the most important and widespread is Thai food and Thai recipes. Thai restaurants with their delicious Thai recipes are all the rage and you don't have to travel very far to experience the culinary extravaganza of Thailand. Thai cooking and Thai recipes are also growing in popularity. Many local colleges and night schools are offering more and more courses in Thai cooking teaching us how to prepare for ourselves some of the best Thai recipes. In this article, we will bring the Thai cooking to you with 2 very healthy and simple Thai recipes that are simple and easy to prepare. All you need are very basic ingredients and equipment to prepare these 2 Thai recipes.
Contrary to popular belief, not all Thai recipes are hot and spicy. Thai cooking and Thai recipes offer a wide range of dishes ranging from very mild to very hot. It all depends on what you own individual tastes are. This first Thai recipe is a very mild and simple noodle dish that is both tasty and healthy. Pad Thai noodles are a staple Thai Recipe. They are an excellent well balanced meal containing noodles, chicken, prawns and egg, all fried in a wok. For 2 servings you will need the following list of ingredients. 100g of wild rice noodles
100g of chicken breast, finely chopped
3 sliced shallots
2crushed garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon crushed dried challis
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon of granulated sweetener
Juice of 1 lime
150g of bean sprouts, rinsed
60g of small prawns
1 beaten egg
2 spring onions chopped
2 inches of finely chopped cucumber
½ red chili sliced and de seeded
2 tablespoons of fresh coriander
15g of salted peanuts

To begin this Thai recipe, soak the rice noodles in boiling water for approximately 5 minutes unless otherwise indicated on the package. You need to stir, separately the strands and when finished drain and rinse in cold water.
Heat either your cooking spray or oil in your wok until it starts to smoke. Then add the chicken, shallots, garlic and crushed chilis. Fry and stir for 3 minutes.
The next part of this Thai recipe is to mix the fish sauce, sweetener and lime juice together and pour it into the pan. Soon after, add the bean sprouts and well drained noodles. Cook everything together for 1 minute and then add the prawns. Cook the prawns with everything else for a further 1 minute.
Next drizzle the egg over the noodles and leave it to set for about 1 minute. The garnish ingredients need then to be mixed. Once mixed, add half to the pan. Mix everything together one last time and then serve in warmed bowls. You may choose to top the remainder of dish with the remainder of the garnish.
This Thai recipe is both tasty and healthy. This Thai recipe serves 2 people with less than 450 calories per serving. This Thai recipe also allows for a vegetarian option. You can use Tofu in place of the chicken as well as substituting a light soy sauce for the Thai fish sauce.
The second Thai recipe that we will discuss is usually served in Thai restaurants as an appetizer. These are Thai fish cakes. This Thai recipe only takes about 20 minutes to make and have a mild 118 calories per serving. For the dipping sauce you will need the following:
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of granulated sweetener
1 ½ inches of diced cucumber

For the main Thai recipe, you will need:
Grated Zest and juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons of fresh coriander
1 red chili deseeded and finely diced
1 inch of ginger root, peeled and sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass, chopped roughly
1 tablespoon of Thai fish sauce
400g of skinless Haddock fillet and diced
1 egg white
60g of green beans, trimmed and sliced
Cooking oil

First mix the sweetener, soy sauce and cucumber with 1 tablespoon of lime juice and 1 tablespoon of coriander and half the diced chili. Mix the lime zest and juice in a food processor with the remaining coriander and chill, lemongrass and fish sauce.
Blend all of these together until finely chopped. Then add the fish and pulse together until well blended. Place the mixture in a bowl and stir in the egg white, corn flour and beans. Stir all of this tougher until finely combined. Dampen your hands and shape into fishcakes. This Thai recipe should make about 12 fishcakes. Heat your frying pan and oil of your choice.
Cook the fishcakes in 2 separate batches for about 2 ½ minutes on each side. When finished serve with the cucumber dipping sauce from the first part of the Thai recipe.
This Thai recipe makes a delicious and healthy snack or meal. Thai recipes are all the rage in the art of cooking these days. Thai recipes are tasty, flavorful and healthy. Thai recipes are also easy to vary for lovers of other meats or for vegetarians. Try a Thai recipe today, you won't be sorry.

by: Eugene Yeng Aik Ngin

All About Sausage

Sausage History
The word sausage originally comes from the Latin word salsus, which means salted or preserved. In the days of old people did not have refrigeration to preserve their meat and so making sausage was a way of overcoming this problem.
Dry sausage was born as a result of the discovery of new spices, which helped to enhance, flavor and preserve the meat. Different countries and different cities within those countries started producing their own distinctive types of sausage, both fresh and dry. These different types of sausage were mostly influenced by the availability of ingredients as well as the climate.
Some parts of the world with periods of cold climate, such as northern Europe were able to keep their fresh sausage without refrigeration, during the cold months. They also developed a process of smoking the sausage to help preserve the meat during the warmer months. The hotter climates in the south of Europe developed dry sausage, which did not need refrigeration at all.
Basically people living in particular areas developed their own types of sausage and that sausage became associated with the area. For example Bologna originated in the town of Bologna in Northern Italy, Lyons sausage from Lyons in France and Berliner sausage from Berlin in Germany.

Types of Sausage
Cooked Sausage
Made with fresh meats and then fully cooked. The sausage is either eaten immediately after cooking or must be refrigerated and is usually reheated before eating. Examples include Braunschweiger, Veal sausage and Liver sausage.
Cooked Smoked Sausage
Much the same as cooked sausage, but it is cooked and then smoked, or smoke-cooked. It can be eaten hot or cold, but is stored in the refrigerator. Examples include Wieners, Kielbasa and Bologna.
Fresh Sausage
Made from meats that have not been previously cured. This sausage must be refrigerated and thoroughly cooked before eating. Examples include Boerewors, Italian Pork sausage and Fresh Beef sausage.
Fresh Smoked Sausage
This is fresh sausage that is smoked. After smoking, the sausage can then be refrigerated and cooked thoroughly before eating. Examples include Mettwurst and Roumanian sausage.
Dry Sausage
Made from a selection of meats. These are the most complicated of all sausages to make, as the drying process has to be carefully controlled. Once produced this type of sausage can be readily eaten, and will keep for very long periods under refrigeration. Examples include Salami’s and Summer sausage.
Grinders and Stuffers
This is obviously a very important part of sausage making. There are a multitude of different types of grinders and stuffers out there and you pretty much get what you pay for.
For those of you who know your butcher very well, he or she might grind your meat for you. This is obviously the cheapest option, but for those of you who are serious about sausage making, you might want to invest in a good grinder. Of course size matters ! We have learnt over the years that bigger is better … you will grow into it.
You will want a grinder that has different cutting plates to be able to grind your meat to the correct consistency. Cutting plates mostly come in four sizes:
3/4 inch Coarse grind
3/8 inch Medium-course grind
3/16 inch Medium grind
1/8 inch Fine grind
You can get a manually operated or an electric grinder. Make sure your grinder comes with a sausage stuffing attachment and different sized stuffing horns. This will enable you to stuff different size sausage casings. If you are going to be making a lot of sausage you might want to consider buying an electric grinder and a separate sausage stuffing device that allows you to stuff a lot of product more efficiently. We use an electric meat grinder, which is powered by a 220V motor, and then have a separate sausage stuffer, the combination of which works extremely well for us.
If any of you have a Kitchen Aid Mixer at home you can buy a Kitchen Aid grinder and stuffing attachment which works well.
Mail order sources for equipment, which we use, are:
Stuffers Supply Company (Located in Canada but will ship to USA)
Eldon's Jerky and Sausage Supply
Allied Kenco Sales
The Sausage Maker

Cuts of Meat for Sausage
We have only made sausage using pork and beef, and so these two are discussed below. No, we do not use lips, noses and eyeballs. Some people do, which is why we make our own sausage !
Pork
We have found that if a sausage recipe calls for ground pork, to use Boston butt or shoulder. This meat has the good balance of fat-to-lean ratio, and yields a wonderful product. Some recipes will call for a mixture of lean pork to be mixed with pork fat. Why bother with all this when you can buy a Boston butt. Remember this, sausage making fans, Pork fat rules !!
Beef
Much like the pork recommendation above, we like to use a cut of beef that has the correct amount of fat content. Chuck, blade and shoulder cuts of beef work well.

Casings
Casings come in a variety of sizes and are usually sold by the hank, bundle, cap or ounce. It is always difficult to estimate how much casing you will need to stuff your batch of sausage. A few rules of thumb:
1 pound of meat will stuff about 2 feet of medium-size hog casing (32-35 mm)
1 pound of meat will stuff about 4 feet of medium-size lamb casing (20-22 mm)
1 ounce of medium-size hog casing (32-35 mm) will stuff about 8 feet of sausage
1 pound of medium-size lamb casing (20-22 mm) will stuff about 16 feet of sausage
Types of Casings
Lamb and Sheep Casing
These casings are very tender, and used for sausages such as breakfast sausage, frankfurters, and fresh pork sausage.
Hog Casing
Undoubtedly the most popular casing which can actually be used for almost any sausage. As it is popular it is normally easier for the home sausage maker to find.
Beef Bungs, Rounds, and Casing
For sausages that require a very thick casing, such as bologna and salami.
Collagen Casing
This casing is made from the gelatinous substance found in the connective tissue, bones and cartilage of all mammals. The substance is harvested from the animals and reconstructed in the form of a casing. Most sausage is the USA is stuffed into this casing.
Fibrous Casing
This casing is used to make dry and semi-dry sausage. The fibrous casing is extremely strong and is used to stuff sausage that is very tightly packed, as it will not break. The inside of this casing is coated with protein that allows it to shrink with the meat as it dries out.
Muslin Casing
Strangely enough, this casing is made of muslin, and is used for sausages such as liverwurst, blood sausage, salami’s and bologna’s.
Cellulosic Casing
This is an artificial casing, made from solubilized cotton linters. It is very uniform, strong and not quite as susceptible to bacteria as other types of casings. Skinless hotdogs are made with cellulosic casings.
Synthetic Casing
This casing is made from alginates, and requires no refrigeration. It is used by mass producers and can be made in different colors. Red for bologna, clear for some salami’s and white for liverwurst. Much like the cellulosic casing it is uniform and strong.
We prefer to use natural casings for our sausage. A natural casing in our opinion gives the best flavour and appearance to the final product. A natural casing enhances and complements the natural juices and quality of the meat and spices. Natural cases permit deep smoke penetration if you are smoking your sausage.
Where to Get CasingsCasings are sometime difficult to get, especially in the quantities that the home sausage maker uses. We mostly use hog casings and these are somewhat easier to come by. If you know of a store that specializes in making different kinds of sausage, chances are they will have different types of casings. Often they have the casings, but again are in large quantities. The stores often do not know how to break up the large quantity and price the smaller amounts.
Casings are normally bought soaking in brine or packed in salt. Remember that if you buy too much casing you can take the leftover casings, rinse, pack in salt and refrigerate for next time.
Mail order sources, which we use for casings, are:
Stuffers Supply Company (Located in Canada but will ship to USA)
Eldon's Jerky and Sausage Supply
Syracuse Casing Co. INC.
The Sausage Maker
Note that if you call Stuffers Supply Company ask to speak to Bill Leatham. He is an extremely helpful and knowledgeable individual on the subject of casings.
Preparing Casings for Stuffing
Casings are bought in varous forms:
Dry Salt Pack
Excess moisture is removed for a semi-dry state.
Slush or Preflushed Packed
Casings are very soft and flexible and do not require flushing prior to use.
Pretubed Casings
Each strand is shirred on a tube to allow one-step loading onto the stuffing horn, without flushing.
We use natural dry salt packed casings and there are five steps to preparing these for stuffing:
Rinse salt from the casings with fresh water.
Soften the casings by soaking in fresh water at room temperature of 70 F for 45 minutes to one hour. When you place the casings in the water, massage them somewhat with your hands to seperate the strands and prevent dry spots which may occur when stuffing.
Rinse the casings by putting one end over the faucet and running fresh water through the casing.
Take casings to stuffing table. Place in a bath of fresh water. This water should be warmer (110 F) to render a little of the natural fat in the casing. This will help the casing slide onto and off the stuffing horn.
Preflush casings by introducing water into the casings and allow to run through the casing. This will also facilitate getting the casing on the filling horn and moving the casing smoothly during the filling process.
Smoking Sausage
In the old days meat was smoked as a means of preservation. Today meat is smoked to add flavor more than anything else.
So how does smoke preserve meat ? Well smoke consists of tiny droplets of various natural chemicals such as aldehydes, phenols, ketones, and carbolic acid. These chemicals condense on the food that you are smoking. Some of these chemicals will make their way into the meat, whereas others will settle on the surface. This serves two purposes, firstly to give the meat a smoky flavor and secondly these natural chemicals also kill or stop the formation of bacteria, yeast, and mold microorganisms, which start decay. Phenols in the smoke prevent the oils and fats from turning rancid.
When smoking fresh sausage always hang-dry it first. If the sausage has surface moisture on the casing you will end up with a mottled surface on your finished product. We turn the central air conditioning up full until the house gets really cold. Cover a broom handle with aluminum foil and straddle between two chairs. Hang the fresh sausage over the broom handle until the casings are dry. Make sure that the sausage stays cool, or bacteria will develop. If the sausage has a lot of liquid it will drip from the casings as they dry, so you may want to put something down on the floor to catch the drippings.How much you smoke your meat is really a matter of taste. After hot smoking, remove the sausage and shower with cold water. We just remove the sausage from the smoker keeping it on the hanging rods. Position the hanging rods between two boxes and spray the sausage down with the garden hose). This keeps the meat from shriveling up. If the sausage becomes shriveled, cook in hot water until they plump up and then shower with cold water. Be sure to refrigerate it shortly after you have finished smoking
When smoking dry sausage you can either smoke the sausage for flavor and then hang in a cool place to dry slowly, or you can dry your sausage at the same time as smoking it. This kind of sausage is ready to eat when it is completely dry and does not need refrigeration.
Hot Smoking means the sausage is both flavored and cooked with hot smoke.
Cold Smoking means the sausage is flavored only.
When smoking sausage, you must take precautions to prevent botulism! (See next section for more information on botulism)

Smoking Tips
Keep a logbook and record what you do each time.
Make sure that your sausages do not touch when they are in the smoker.
Experiment while you are smoking. Cut off a piece of sausage, cook and taste it to see if it has been smoked enough.
Do not oversmoke your sausage. Undersmoked sausage is edible, oversmoked is not.
Do not raise the temperature too fast during smoking. This will cause the sausage to sweat and cause uneven smoking and mottling. When hot smoking start your temperature at about 120 F, and move up from there in steps.
Always hang-dry your sausage before smoking. Make sure that it is in a cool place when you do this, you do not want bacteria to start developing.
Remember that if you have a lot of leftover casings, rinse, drain and pack them in salt, then store in the refrigerator for next time.
Botulism
Botulism is a serious form of food poisoning caused by eating food contaminated with the deadly toxin botulin. Foodborne botulism was first identified in Europe during the 1800s as a problem in - sausage. Then name botulin even comes from the Latin word for sausage, botulus. Botulin is particularly insidious because it can exist without a foul odor or other sign of contamination. This is probably going to be more than you care to read about botulism but it is very serious form of poisoning and precautions must be taken to prevent it.
Symptoms of botulism poisoning usually appear suddenly within 18 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food. These symptoms include blurred or double vision, droopy eyelids, dry mouth, slurred speech, swallowing difficulty, vomiting, diarrhea and muscle weakness. Botulism can lead to death without the proper medical treatment.
The toxin is usually found in contaminated or improperly prepared canned foods. If you ever see a bulging can of food, do not open it – throw it away. It may very well be contaminated. Botulin can also exist in sausage and that is what we are discussing here.
The conditions that are necessary to produce foods contaminated with botulin include lack of oxygen, low acidity, the presence of moisture, and temperatures between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. All of these conditions can be present when smoking sausage: lack of oxygen from the smoking, low acidity and moisture in the meat and smoking temperatures in the above range.
Cures containing sodium nitrite must be used to prevent the occurrence of botulin contamination in smoked sausage. Suppliers of sausage making equipment and supplies, and some butcher shops sell cures. Some names these cures are sold under include Prague Powder No. 1, Insta Cure and Heller’s Complete Cure. Morton Salt also sells these products and they publish an excellent booklet that discusses the use of cures titled 'Home Meat Curing Guide'.
Mail order sources, which we use for cures, are:
Stuffers Supply Company (Located in Canada but will ship to USA)
Eldon's Jerky and Sausage Supply
The Sausage Maker
Allied Kenco
Handle cures carefully and follow the directions on the package. Be sure to measure or weigh cures accurately. The cure should be mixed well with the water or other liquid that you will mix with the meat. Be sure to distribute the liquid containing the cure over the meat evenly.
This is clearly not intended to be a complete discussion of botulism, it’s causes or when, where or in what it can exist. Use your favorite search engine to search "botulism" for more information. This writing is meant to alert you to the danger of botulism when smoking sausage and the need to take precautions to prevent it.
If you are not using a cure in your sausage, don’t smoke it!

Sausage

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A sausage is a prepared food product usually made from ground meat, animal fat, salt, and spices, and sometimes other ingredients such as herbs, and generally packed in a casing. Sausage making is a traditional food preservation technique, originating in the European cuisine.
Traditionally, casings have been made of animal intestines, though they are now often synthetic. Some sausages are cooked during processing, and the casing may be removed at that time. Sausages may be preserved by curing, drying in cool air, or smoking. The distinct flavor of some sausages is due to fermentation by Lactobacillus during curing.
There is no consensus as to whether similar products not packed in casings, such as pâté, meatloaf, scrapple and head cheese could be considered sausage.
Sausage is a logical outcome of efficient butchery. Sausage-makers put to use meat and animal parts that are edible and nutritious, but not particularly appealing, such as scraps, organ meats, blood, and fat, and that allow the preservation of meat that can not be consumed immediately. These were typically salted and stuffed into a tubular casing made from the cleaned intestine of the animal producing the characteristic cylindrical shape. Hence, sausages, puddings and salami are amongst the oldest of prepared foods, whether cooked and eaten immediately or dried to varying degrees.
It is often assumed that sausages were invented by Sumerians in what is Iraq today, around 3000 BC. Chinese sausage làcháng (臘腸/腊肠), which consisted of goat and lamb meat, was first mentioned in 589 BC. Homer, the poet of Ancient Greece, mentioned a kind of blood sausage in the Odyssey (book 20, verse 25), and Epicharmus (ca. 550 BC – ca. 460 BC) wrote a comedy titled The Sausage. Evidence suggests that sausages were already popular both among the ancient Greeks and Romans, and most likely with the non-literate tribes occupying the larger part of Europe.
During the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, sausages were associated with the Lupercalia festival. The early Catholic Church outlawed the Lupercalia Festival and made eating sausage a sin. For this reason, the Roman emperor Constantine banned the eating of sausages. Early in the 10th century in the Byzantine Empire, Leo VI the Wise outlawed the production of blood sausages following cases of food poisoning.
Traditionally, sausage casings were made of the cleaned intestines (or stomachs in the case of haggis and other traditional puddings) of animals. Today, however, natural casings are often replaced by collagen, cellulose or even plastic casings, especially in the case of industrially manufactured sausages. Additionally, luncheon meat (such as Spam) and sausage meat are now available without casings in tins and jars.
The most basic sausage consists of meat cut into pieces or ground and filled into a casing such as an animal intestine. The meat may be from any animal, but traditionally is pork, beef or veal. The meat/fat ratio is dependent upon the style and producer, but in the United States, fat content is legally limited to a maximum of 30%, 35% or 50%, by weight, depending on the style. The USDA defines the content for various sausages and generally prohibits fillers and extenders.[1] Most traditional styles of sausage from Europe and Asia use no bread-based filler and are 100% meat and fat (excluding salt and other flavorings, such as herbs).[2] In the UK and other countries with English cooking traditions, bread and starch-based fillers account for up to 25% of ingredients. The filler used in many sausages helps them to keep their shape as they are cooked. As the meat contracts in the heat so the filler expands.
The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.
Classification of sausages

Sausages may be classified in any number of ways, for instance by the type of meat and other ingredients they contain, or by their consistency. The most popular classification is probably by type of preparation, but even this is subject to regional differences of opinion. In the English-speaking world, the following distinction between fresh sausages, cooked sausages and dry sausages seems to be more or less accepted:
Cooked sausages are made with fresh meats and then fully cooked. They are either eaten immediately after cooking or must be refrigerated. Examples include hot dogs, Braunschweiger and liver sausages.
Cooked smoked sausages are cooked and then smoked or smoke-cooked. They are eaten hot or cold, but need to be refrigerated. Examples include kielbasa and Mortadella.
Fresh sausages are made from meats that have not been previously cured. They must be refrigerated and thoroughly cooked before eating. Examples include Boerewors, Italian pork sausage, breakfast sausage and Yarraque.
Fresh smoked sausages are fresh sausages that are smoked. They should be refrigerated and cooked thoroughly before eating. Examples include Mettwurst and Romanian sausage.
Dry sausages are fresh sausages that are dried. They are generally eaten cold and will keep for a long time. Examples include salami, Droë wors, Sucuk, Landjäger, and summer sausage.
Other countries, however, use different systems of classification. Germany, for instance, which boasts more than 1200 types of sausage, distinguishes raw, cooked and pre-cooked sausages.
Raw sausages are made with raw meat and are not cooked. They are preserved by lactic acid fermentation, and may be dried, brined or smoked. Most raw sausages will keep for a long time. Examples include cervelat, mettwurst and salami.
Cooked sausages may include water and emulsifiers and are always cooked. They will not keep long. Examples include Jagdwurst and Weißwurst.
Pre-cooked sausages are made with cooked meat, and may include raw organ meat. They may be heated after casing, and will keep only for a few days. Examples include Saumagen and Blutwurst.
In Italy, the basic distinction is:
Raw sausage (salsiccia)
Cured or cooked sausage (salume)
The US has a particular type called pickled sausages, commonly found in gas stations and small roadside delicatessens. These are usually smoked and/or boiled sausages of a highly processed frankfurter (hot dog) or kielbasa style plunged into a boiling brine of vinegar, salt, spices (red pepper, paprika...) and often a pink coloring, then jarred. They are available in single blister packs, e.g., Slim Jim meat snacks, or in jars atop the deli cooler. They are shelf stable, and are a frequently offered alternative to beef jerky, beef stick, and kippered beef snacks.
Certain countries classify sausage types according to the region in which the sausage was traditionally produced:
France: Montbéliard, Morteau, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Merguez...
Germany: Frankfurt, Thuringia, Nuremberg, Pomerania, ...
Austria: Vienna, ...
Italy: Merano (Meran)
UK: Cumberland, Chiltern, Lincolnshire, Glamorgan ...
Slovenia: Kranjska (klobasa), after the Slovenian name for the province of Carniola
Spain: botifarra catalana, chorizo riojano, chorizo gallego, chorizo de Teror, longaniza de Aragón, morcilla de Burgos, morcilla de Ronda, morcilla extremeña, morcilla dulce canaria, llonganissa de Vic, fuet d'Olot, sobrassada mallorquina, botillo de León, llonganissa de Valencia, farinato de Salamanca, ...
Poland: kielbasa krakowska (Kraków-style), toruńska (Toruń), żywiecka (Żywiec), bydgoska (Bydgoszcz), krotoszyńska (Krotoszyn), podwawelska (literally: "from under Wawel"), zielonogórska (Zielona Góra), rzeszowska (Rzeszów), śląska (Silesia), swojska, wiejska, jałowcowa, zwyczajna, polska, krajańska, szynkowa, parówkowa ...
Hungary: kolbász gyulai (after the town of Gyula), csabai (after the city of Békéscsaba), Debrecener (after the city of Debrecen).

National varieties

Sausage making in Russia
Many nations and regions have their own characteristic sausages, using meats and other ingredients native to the region and employed in traditional dishes.
Argentina
In Argentina many sausages are consumed. Eaten as part of the traditional asado, Chorizo (Meat and/or Pork, flavored with spices) and Morcilla (Blood Sausage or Black pudding) are the most popular. Both of them share a Spanish origin. A local type is the salchicha Argentina, criolla (Argentinian sausage) or parrillera (literally BBQ-style), made of the same ingredients as the Chorizo but thinner.[3]
Vienna sausages are eaten as an appetizer or in hot dogs (called panchos) which are usually served with different sauces and salads.
The weisswurst is also a very common dish eaten usually with smashed potatoes or chucrut in some regions.[4][5]
China
Lap cheong (also lap chong, lap chung, lop chong). Dried pork sausages flavored with char siu that look and feel like pepperoni, but are much sweeter.
France
Saucisson is perhaps one of the most popularized forms of dried sausage in France, with many different variations from region to region. Usually saucisson contains pork, cured with a mixture of salt, wine and/or spirits. Regional varieties have been known to contain more unorthodox ingredients such as nuts and fruits.
Hungary
Hungarian baked sausages are called "Kolbász". Rice Liver Sausage ("Májas") and Rice Blood Sausage ("Véres"). In the first case the main ingredient is the liver and the stuffing consist of rice. In the other case the blood is mixed with rice, or peaces of roll of bread. Spices, pepper, salt and majoram are added.
Italy
Italian sausages are often a mix of pork and veal. In the USA, these are defined as having a minimum of 85% meat, and must contain salt, pepper, and either fennel or anise.
Germany
German sausages, or wurst, cover a wide range of cooked, uncooked and unfilled styles (no casing), such as frankfurters, bratwurst, rindswurst, blargenwurst, knackwurst, and bockwurst.
German regions of Brazil
German Brazilian regions have many variations of the traditional German sausages, such as the schmia sausage (similar to Bregenwurst) and the Blumenau sausage (lingüiça Blumenau).[6]
UK and Ireland
In the UK and Ireland sausages are very popular. These sausages are normally made from pork or beef mixed with a variety of herbs and spices, many recipes of which are traditionally associated with particular regions (for example Bucks bangers). They normally contain a certain amount of Rusk, or Bread-Rusk, and are traditionally cooked by frying, grilling or roasting prior to eating. Due to their habit of often exploding due to shrinkage of the tight skin during cooking, they are commonly referred to as bangers particularly when served with the most common accompaniment of mashed potatoes to form one the dishes called Bangers and Mash. (The designation banger is also said to have arisen during World War II, when scarcity of meat led many sausage makers to add water to the mixture, making it more likely to explode on heating.) They may also be baked in batter to create 'Toad in the Hole', often served with gravy and onions.
Famously, they are an essential component of both a Full English Breakfast, and are usually offered with an Irish breakfast.
In the UK alone there are believed to be over 470 different types of sausages[7]; some made to traditional regional recipes such as those from Cumberland or Lincolnshire, and increasingly to modern recipes which combine fruit such as apples or apricots with the meat, or are influenced by European styles such as the Toulouse or Chorizo.
In many areas "sausage meat" for frying and stuffing into poultry and meat, is sold as slices cut from an oblong block of pressed meat without casing: in Scotland this is known as Lorne Sausage or often sliced or square while the usual form is sometimes called [sausage links].
A popular and widespread snack is the sausage roll made from sausage-meat rolled in puff pastry; they are sold from most bakeries and often made in the home.
Battered sausage, consisting of a sausage dipped in batter, and fried, is sold throughout Britain from Fish and Chip shops. In England, Saveloy is a type of pre-cooked sausage, larger than a typical hot-dog which is served hot. A saveloy skin was traditionally colored with bismark-brown dye giving saveloy a distinctive bright red color.
A short variety of sausage, known as the chipolata or 'cocktail sausage' is often wrapped in bacon and served alongside roast turkey at Christmas time, or served cold at children's parties throughout the year.
Due to health concerns over the quality of the meat contained in many commercially produced sausages (heightened by the BSE crisis in the 1990s) there has been a marked improvement in the quality of meat content in commonly available British sausages with a marked return to the artisanal production of high quality traditional recipes, which had previously been in decline. There are currently organisations in a number of UK counties such as Lincolnshire who are seeking European Protected designation of origin(PDO) for their sausages so that they can be made only in the appropriate region and to an attested recipe and quality.[8]
Macedonia
Macedonian sausages (kabasa, lukanec) are made from fried pork, onions, and leeks, with herbs and spices.
Portugal, Spain and Brazil (in regions of Portuguese colonization)
Embutidos generally contains hashed meat, generally pork, seasoned with aromatic herbs or spices (pepper, red pepper, paprika, garlic, rosemary, thyme, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, etc.)
Scandinavia
Scandinavian sausages (Finnish: makkara, Danish and Norwegian: pølse, Icelandic: pylsa, Swedish: korv) are usually made of 60-75% very finely ground pork, very sparsely spiced with pepper, nutmeg, allspice or similar sweet spices (ground mustard seed, onion and sugar may also be added). Water, lard, rind, potato flour and soy or milk protein are often added for binding and filling.
Virtually all sausages will be industrially precooked and either fried or warmed in hot water by the consumer or at the hot dog stand. Since hot dog stands are ubiquitous in Denmark some people regard pølser one of the national dishes. The most noticeable aspect of Danish cooked sausages (never the fried ones) is that the cover often contains a traditional bright-red dye. They are also called wienerpølser and legend has it they originate from Vienna where it was once ordered that day-old sausages be dyed as a means of warning. The Swedish falukorv is a similarly red-dyed sausage, but about 5 cm thick, usually cut in slices and fried. Unlike ordinary sausages it is a typical home dish, not sold at hot dog stands. In Sweden sausages are often accompanied by potato mash rather than bread. In Iceland, lamb may be added to sausages, giving them a distinct taste. One local Finnish variety is mustamakkara, a "black sausage" prepared with blood, which is a specialty of Tampere.


Sixteen raw sausages in a wooden bowl.
Makkara is typically similar in appearance to Polish sausages or bratwursts, but have a very different taste and texture. Most makkara is very light on spices and is therefore frequently eaten with mustard, ketchup, or other table condiments without a bun. Makkara is usually grilled, roasted over coals, or cooked on sauna heating stones until the outer skin begins to darken and crack. A special kind of makkara is mustamakkara, a "Black sausage", which is a specialty of Tampere and its surroundings. It is very close to the Scottish black pudding.
When makkara is eaten inside a sliced, fried bun with cucumber salad, it becomes a porilainen after the town of Pori. Pickled makkara intended to consumed as slices is called kestomakkara. This class includes various mettwurst, salami and Balkanesque styles. The most popular kestomakkara in Finland is meetvursti, which contains finely ground full meat, ground fat and various spices. It is not unlike salami, but usually thicker and less salty.
South Africa
In South Africa, traditional sausages are known as boerewors or farmer's sausage. Ingredients include game and beef, usually mixed with pork or lamb and with a high percentage of fat. Coriander and vinegar are the two most common seasoning ingredients, although many variations exist. The coarsely-ground nature of the mincemeat as well as the long continuous spiral of sausage are two of its recognisable qualities. Boerewors is traditionally cooked on a braai (barbecue).
Boerewors can be dried out in a dry-curing process similar to biltong, in which case it's called droë wors.
Switzerland


Cervelat.
The cervelat, a cooked sausage, is often referred to as Switzerland's national sausage. A great number of regional sausage specialties exist as well.

The Philippines
In the Philippines, there are different kinds of sausages called "Longaniza" or "Longanisa" with mixes dependent on their size of origin: Vigan Longaniza, Lucban Longaniza are examples.
North America
North American breakfast or country sausage is made from uncooked ground pork mixed with pepper, sage, and other spices. It is usually sold in a large synthetic plastic casing, or in links which may have a protein casing. In some markets it is available sold by the pound without a casing. It is commonly sliced into small patties and pan-fried, or cooked and crumbled into scrambled eggs or gravy.
The frankfurter or hot dog is the most common sausage in the US and Canada.
Turkey
In Turkey sausage is known as sosis which is made of beef.
Sucuk (pronounced tsudjuck or soudjouk or sujuk with accent on the last syllable) is a type of sausage made in Turkey and neighboring Balkan countries.
There are many types of sucuk, but it is mostly made from beef. It is fermented, spiced (with garlic and pepper) and filled in an inedible casing that needs to be peeled off before consuming. Slightly smoked sucuk is considered superior. The taste is spicy, salty and a little raw, similar to pepperoni. Some varieties are extremely hot and/or greasy. Some are "adulterated" with turkey, water buffalo meat, sheep fat or chicken.
There are many dishes made with sucuk, but grilled sucuk remains the most popular. Smoke dried varieties are consumed "raw" in sandwiches. An intestinal loop is one sucuk. Smoked sucuk is usually straight.
Malta
Maltese sausage zalzett tal-Malti is typically made of pork, sea salt, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, garlic and parsley.
Other variations
Sausages may be served as hors d'oeuvre, in a sandwich, in a bread roll as a hot dog, wrapped in a tortilla, or as an ingredient in dishes such as stews and casseroles. It can be served on a stick (like the corn dog) or on a bone as well.[9] Sausage without casing is called sausage meat and can be fried or used as stuffing for poultry, or for wrapping foods like Scotch eggs. Similarly, sausage meat encased in puff pastry is called a sausage roll.
Sausages can also be modified to use indigenous ingredients. Mexican styles add oregano and the "guajillo" red pepper to the Spanish chorizo to give it an even hotter spicy touch.
Certain sausages also contain ingredients such as cheese and apple; or types of vegetable.
Vegetarian sausage

Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on Vegan Bratwurst
Vegetarian and vegan sausages are also available in some countries, or can be made from scratch. These may be made from tofu, seitan, nuts, pulses, soya protein, vegetables or any combination of similar ingredients that will hold together during cooking. These sausages, like most meat-replacement products, generally fall into two camps: some are shaped, colored, flavored, etc. to replicate the taste and texture of meat as accurately as possible; others rely on spices and vegetables to lend their natural flavor to the product and no attempt is made to imitate meat.