In December 2023, John and I visited the Costa's factory at Margao, Goa. We noticed that they were selling beef sausages made with a combination of beef meat and pork fat. For tender, juicy sausages with texture, you need fat. It acts as a binder, lubricating the meat and adding flavour. Depending on the cut of beef used, sausages can be made with 25 percent to 50 percent fat with commercially made ones containing 50 percent fat. Pork fat is ideal since it has a neutral flavour and white in colour. It also has a high melting point with the fat breaking down slowly as the sausage cooks with the casing on, keeping it moist and flavoursome. On the other hand, beef fat is yellow with a mild beefy taste.
It is easy to make good quality sausages at home with a higher percentage of meat without any added preservatives or binders. The sausages can be tailored to suit your own personal taste preference. When making sausages, butchers prefer a combination of at least 70 percent meat with 30 percent fat. Beef chuck that comes from the front shoulder and lower neck muscles of the cow has relatively a high fat content and is economical. Eye of round and sirloin tip are a bit more lean and expensive. These cuts are from the hip and upper portion of the cow's rear leg. Brisket and flank from the belly section are inexpensive, lean and fibrous, but in demand hence, sold at a premium price. Whatever cut of meat you choose, use a proportionate amount of fat to compliment the sausage.
It is easy to make good quality sausages at home with a higher percentage of meat without any added preservatives or binders. The sausages can be tailored to suit your own personal taste preference. When making sausages, butchers prefer a combination of at least 70 percent meat with 30 percent fat. Beef chuck that comes from the front shoulder and lower neck muscles of the cow has relatively a high fat content and is economical. Eye of round and sirloin tip are a bit more lean and expensive. These cuts are from the hip and upper portion of the cow's rear leg. Brisket and flank from the belly section are inexpensive, lean and fibrous, but in demand hence, sold at a premium price. Whatever cut of meat you choose, use a proportionate amount of fat to compliment the sausage.
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Goan Beef Sausages
(Yields 1.5 kgs)
Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 kgs boneless beef
750 grams pork belly
1/4 cup kosher coarse salt
1/2 cup feni
2 metres casings
Grind to a slightly coarse paste (with either 2 cups Goa toddy vinegar, apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar)
30 red dried Kashmiri chillies
30 bedgi chillies
30 whole black peppercorns
20 cloves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
8 grams - 4 cinnamon sticks (1.5” each)
70 grams garlic (small pods with ends cut off, grind with skin)
50 grams ginger (peeled)
1 gram nutmeg
Method:
Cut beef and pork into tiny cubes, wash, drain well using a colander. Transfer into a salad spinner and spin to remove any water. Discard the water and salt the meat. Keep some weight on top of the meat and refrigerate. Turn every four hours, simultaneously spin and drain off any liquid.
(I refrigerated the meat in the salad spinner. Use a plastic plate to cover the meat and weigh down with a mortar pestle. Do not use metal utensils.)
Next day, grind the spices in vinegar to a slightly coarse paste. Spin meat for the last time in the salad spinner and drain off any liquid. Transfer meat in a glass bowl and mix in the ground paste. Add the feni in the blender jar to loosen any paste and add to the meat.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours to allow the meat to marinate.
Before stuffing the meat into the casing, cook some with a dash of water in a frying pan. Cover with a lid, cook until done and all the liquid is absorbed. Taste for spiciness, sourness and seasoning. If desired, adjust accordingly and include what’s required to the raw meat mixture.
A manual sausage stuffer (picture above) was used to fill the casing. It was easy and fast to use.
Rinse the salted casing with fresh water and soak them to rehydrate. Open the casing at one end and place it under the faucet in the sink. Allow water to enter into the opening, flushing it out from the other end. This will facilitate smooth movement of the casing onto the funnel of the sausage stuffer.
Fill the casing with the sausage meat and tie the sausage at 1-inch, 1 and 1/2-inches or desired intervals with twine to make links.
Dry sausages in a dehydrator moving racks up and down, turning sausages after every 1/2 hour. It took four hours to dry. Alternatively, they can be dried for a longer time in the dehydrator depending on the level of dryness preferred, even in the sun if you don’t have a dehydrator or smoker.
Place dried sausages in food safe plastic bags and freeze.
Without casings, the sausage meat mixture are preserved using the following two methods though I have never tried it:
Note:
To read click here: Copyright & Privacy Policy
Goan Beef Sausages
(Yields 1.5 kgs)
Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 kgs boneless beef
750 grams pork belly
1/4 cup kosher coarse salt
1/2 cup feni
2 metres casings
Grind to a slightly coarse paste (with either 2 cups Goa toddy vinegar, apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar)
30 red dried Kashmiri chillies
30 bedgi chillies
30 whole black peppercorns
20 cloves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
8 grams - 4 cinnamon sticks (1.5” each)
70 grams garlic (small pods with ends cut off, grind with skin)
50 grams ginger (peeled)
1 gram nutmeg
Method:
Cut beef and pork into tiny cubes, wash, drain well using a colander. Transfer into a salad spinner and spin to remove any water. Discard the water and salt the meat. Keep some weight on top of the meat and refrigerate. Turn every four hours, simultaneously spin and drain off any liquid.
(I refrigerated the meat in the salad spinner. Use a plastic plate to cover the meat and weigh down with a mortar pestle. Do not use metal utensils.)
Next day, grind the spices in vinegar to a slightly coarse paste. Spin meat for the last time in the salad spinner and drain off any liquid. Transfer meat in a glass bowl and mix in the ground paste. Add the feni in the blender jar to loosen any paste and add to the meat.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours to allow the meat to marinate.
Before stuffing the meat into the casing, cook some with a dash of water in a frying pan. Cover with a lid, cook until done and all the liquid is absorbed. Taste for spiciness, sourness and seasoning. If desired, adjust accordingly and include what’s required to the raw meat mixture.
A manual sausage stuffer (picture above) was used to fill the casing. It was easy and fast to use.
Rinse the salted casing with fresh water and soak them to rehydrate. Open the casing at one end and place it under the faucet in the sink. Allow water to enter into the opening, flushing it out from the other end. This will facilitate smooth movement of the casing onto the funnel of the sausage stuffer.
Fill the casing with the sausage meat and tie the sausage at 1-inch, 1 and 1/2-inches or desired intervals with twine to make links.
Dry sausages in a dehydrator moving racks up and down, turning sausages after every 1/2 hour. It took four hours to dry. Alternatively, they can be dried for a longer time in the dehydrator depending on the level of dryness preferred, even in the sun if you don’t have a dehydrator or smoker.
Place dried sausages in food safe plastic bags and freeze.
Without casings, the sausage meat mixture are preserved using the following two methods though I have never tried it:
- The marinated meat mixture can also be stored in a sterilized glass bottle, refrigerated and stirred before use. As the meat is raw, I would not keep the mixture refrigerated for too long.
- Placed directly in food safe plastic bags and frozen.
Note:
- Recipe for Goa Pork Sausages click here.
Goan Beef Chouriço Chilli Fry
In a pan, add a few sausages, four potatoes (quartered) and some water. Cover and cook till sausages are cooked through and potatoes tender. When almost done, include some onion slices and soften them slightly. No chillies, tomatoes, vinegar or salt was used as the sausages were perfectly balanced.
In a pan, add a few sausages, four potatoes (quartered) and some water. Cover and cook till sausages are cooked through and potatoes tender. When almost done, include some onion slices and soften them slightly. No chillies, tomatoes, vinegar or salt was used as the sausages were perfectly balanced.
