Quest Greek Islands

Homemade Smoked Sausage

Greeks have a number of homemade smoked sausages recipes to try, but we have opted for a Cretan recipe because their cuisine is thought to be the best in Greece.

This homemade smoked sausage recipe does take a while to prepare, but nevertheless will definitely be worth it when you come to taste it. The recipe involves marinating the coarse minced pork (ask your butcher to mince or use a food processor) for a week in vinegar and seasoning, so be prepared. The sausage is stuffed into the casings and then for that extra special flavour it is smoked over hot coals. It is a good idea to use a large amount to make it worth you while making you can always freeze for later use.

Ingredients

4 kg coarsely ground pork mince, with a fair amount of fat
2 kg red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Pork sausage casing (or pig intestines)

Method

Ensure your mince is coarsely ground, then place in a large bowl and cover (use enamel, glass, plastic or stainless steel so that there is no reaction with the vinegar). Add the vinegar and salt and leave for a week, mixing occasionally.

If you are using pig's intestines for the sausage casing then turn inside out and clean with salt, and do this daily for the week.

When the time is up add cumin and pepper and cook a small amount to check preferred taste.
Carefully fill the casings with the homemade sausage and making sure the meat is pressed down to the end.

The sausages need to be long and thin 3 cm long, and tie at the end with twine.

Using a pin pierce the sausage at several points prior to stringing them over the hot coals. You can flavour the coal with twigs from the Cypress tree or sage bush for extra flavour. The sausages should be quite dry and a dark brown in colour when cooked.

Serve these delicious homemade smoked sausages either fired or baked with a beer or Ouzo, for a mouth watering snack.