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Homemade Doktorska Sausage

Name: Homemade Doktorska Sausage
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients: 600 g Pork shoulder; 400 g Beef chuck, cubed; 200 ml Whole milk; 2 large Eggs; 25 g Fine sea salt; 2 tsp Caster sugar; 1 tsp Nutmeg; 3 piece Green cardamom pods; 2 cloves Garlic cloves; 100 g Natural hog casings

A mild, tender, finely textured cooked sausage of pork and beef with milk, egg and a hint of nutmeg, poached gently and sliced for sandwiches.

Prep: 60 min
Cook: 45 min
Difficulty: Intermediate

About this dish

Doktorska kolbasa was created in the Soviet Union in 1936 as a dietary sausage for people who needed a gentle, low-fat, lightly spiced food, which is where the 'doctor's' name comes from. It was one of the first mass-market cooked sausages, and its fine, pink, uniform slice became the taste of the everyday sandwich across Ukraine. Milk and egg bind the meat into a smooth emulsion, and poaching instead of frying keeps it tender.

Gluten-free
Not vegetarian because of Pork shoulder, Beef chuck, cubed, Natural hog casings
Contains dairy because of Whole milk

Ingredients

10servings

600gPork shoulder
400gBeef chuck, cubed
200mlWhole milk
2largeEggs
25gFine sea salt
2tspCaster sugar
1tspNutmeg
3piecesGreen cardamom pods
2clovesGarlic cloves
100gNatural hog casings

Instructions

Cut the pork and beef into cubes, chill them for 30 minutes until very cold, then grind twice through the fine plate.
20 min
Tip: Cold meat grinds cleanly instead of smearing. If it warms up, put it back in the freezer for a few minutes.
Mix the ground meat with the salt, sugar, nutmeg, crushed cardamom seeds and grated garlic, then gradually beat in the cold milk and eggs until the mixture is sticky and smooth, 5 to 7 minutes.
15 min
Tip: Beating until sticky is what binds the sausage. Keep the mixture cold, or the fat separates and the slice turns crumbly.
Rinse the casings, fill them with the mixture using a stuffer or funnel, prick out air pockets and tie into 25 cm lengths with kitchen string.
25 min
Tip: Do not stuff too tightly because the meat expands as it heats. Air pockets leave gaps in the slice, so prick them out.
Lower the sausages into water held at 78°C and poach for 40 to 45 minutes, until the centre reaches 72°C.
45 min
Tip: Never let the water boil; it splits the casing and toughens the meat. A thermometer is far more reliable than the clock.
Plunge the sausages into ice water for 10 minutes, dry them and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before slicing.
90 min
Tip: Chilling quickly sets the texture and keeps the skin from wrinkling. Without curing salt the sausage is grey-beige rather than pink, and should be eaten within 3 days.