Sweet & savory links

Recipe| Hubei Chinese sausages

Ingredients (24 links):

2.5 kg meat from the top hock of the pig

150 g pork fat

75 g salt

100 g sugar

25 g chicken essence

100 g grated ginger

50 ml Chinese baijiu (white liquor)

5 meters sausage casing

Method:

1. Wash and rinse sausage casings. Dry and set aside.

2. Cut the hock meat into 2 cm thin strips, cutting along the grain.

3. Cut the pork fat into thin strips.

4. Place meat and seasoning into a large bowl and mix well.

5. Stuff the meat mixture into the casing, tying off the links to form 10 cm long sausages.

6. Set aside the links to dry overnight.

7. The next day, rinse the sausage links with warm water and hang them up in a cool place to dry. (Sausages dry faster on sunny days and may take a longer time if it is cloudy.)

8. After about eight to 15 days depending on the temperature and humidity, test the sausages. If they feel dry and have flattened slightly, they are ready.

Food note: Sausage casings are available from good grocers at the markets or you can buy them online.