Sri Lankan Sausages
Ingredients
sausage casings from butcher
750 g/1 1/2 lb lean pork
250 g/8 oz fat pork
3 teaspoons coriander seeds,
toasted and ground
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
half a nutmeg, finely grated
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons vinegar or sufficient to moisten
Directions
Run cold water through the sausage casings, checking for any holes. Trim the lean pork and chop it finely or mince coarsely. Cut the fat pork into small pieces and mix with the lean pork. Add ground spices, nutmeg and salt. Knead well together and moisten with a little vinegar. Fill prepared skins and twist at intervals of 10-12.5 cm (4-5 in) to form small sausages. Smoke the sausages for a few hours.
To smoke sausages: Have the temperature of the smoker or covered barbecue no more than 85 degrees F (30 degrees C). If using a covered barbecue, place two or three barbecue briquettes to one side and let them reach the proper temperature. Add mesquite or hickory chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes. Place sausages as far away from the heat as possible, cover and smoke for 3 hours. Do not open lid more than necessary. Each time you do, add 15 minutes extra smoking time.
To cook sausages: Put sausages into a frying pan with enough water to cover base of pan and just a dash of vinegar. Let them cook slowly for 10 minutes or until the vinegar and water evaporate. Prick the sausages with a fine poultry skewer to prevent them from bursting, and fry them in a little oil. Keep turning them so they brown on all sides.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)