Home-Made Smoked Franks

[noxskuses]

Having a bash at home-made cold smoked frankfurters this weekend, as I do love a good hot dog with all the trimmings

Anyone made these and have any tips?

Pete

[Toby]

minimum meat maximum sawdust I believe is the preferred recipe! To be honest I wouldnt have a clue where to start but if you come up with something that works please share as I would love to give it a go!

[noxskuses]

I've got a good recipe Toby (Just meat, fat and spices!).

I'll take some pics and share the results (And the recipe).

Pete

[Toby]

brilliant, thanks

[aris]

How do you emusify your meat and fat to the right consistency for franks?

[noxskuses]

The recipe I have uses the paddle attachment on a food mixer.

I'll let you know how I get on.

[keith157]

How do you emusify your meat and fat to the right consistency for franks?

I watched them being made when I was in Germany I think you're being overly polite aris old chap using the word emulsify......reduce to a slurry more like ........but golly gosh they were loverly. Especially the little nurembergers Granted not franks but thought I'd throw that in as well

[noxskuses]

Oh boy! You have got to make these guys. They tasted amazing!

Here's the recipe as promised and a few pics of each stage for those that are interested.

Home-Made Franks

750g pork shoulder (Boneless and de-rinded)
500g hard back fat (I just asked my butcher and he knew what it was. Had to wait a few days for delivery as he doesn't usually get a huge demand for pig fat! Mine came attached to the rind. A 2kg piece yielded about 700g of back fat, so worth noting. He didn't charge me anything for it, but I did buy my pork shoulder from him for this recipe and my pulled pork).
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground mace (Sainsburys sell it)
250g ice cold water
Sausage skins (You can get these on Amazon or ask your friendly local butcher. They come packed in salt, so you need to soak these in water for an hour or so before using, changing the water a few times.)



1. Mince the pork and fat twice through your finest mincer. Ask your butcher to do this if you don't have a mincer. Add all the dry ingredients and mix well.



2. Place the mince into your food mixer bowl and using the paddle attachment, beat the cold water into the mixture until light and fluffy (I started slow, and then speeded up to get the right consistency).



3. Ideally using a sausage machine or food mixer attachment, fill the sausage skins (You can use a funnel and the handle of a wooden spoon, but the former is a lot easier). Just be careful not to overfill the casings or make them too saggy. Remember to tie a knot in the end of the sausage skin first.



4. Once you have used up all your filling, tie a knot in the other end, gently pinch and twist the sausage to your desired length to make links. Place in the fridge overnight to firm up.



5. Load them into your smoker and cold smoke for 4-6 hours. I guess you could also hot-smoke them if you wanted. I will try this next time. Just remember to prick them all over with a pin to stop bursting if you cook them in the smoker. I lightly cold smoked mine with apple chips for six hours. This is what they looked like when they came out.



6. To cook the hotdog, heat a pan of water to a gentle simmer. Place the sausages in the water and poach gently for 15 minutes. Keep stabbing each sausage with a pin whilst they cook to stop them from bursting. Use immediately or place in fridge for later. I lightly fried mine to make the skin a little crisp. Pop it into a good hoagie roll (I personally like the part-baked baquettes fresh out of the oven) with lots of fried onions and condiments of your choice for a true taste sensation.

They were like no shop bought frankfurter I've ever tasted! They were truly delicious.



Here's a picture of my first attempt pulled pork from my smoker I also made this weekend, which I was very pleased with. There were a lot of 'Oh My God' mouthed around the table this weekend

[keith157]

It's the Saltpetre or Pink Salt as our transatlantic cousins call it that give franks their "natural" pinkish tinge. Also it acts kids like a preservative

[hifigary]

Now that looks like something I need to try. Just about to order the mincer/sausage kit for my
Kenwood Chef, have my Pro Q Cold Smoker. Smoked Franks - here we come!