Mexican Tamale Sausage

Prepare the casings

• Rinse off the salt and flush the casings with some cool water. Place the cleaned casings in some fresh water with some baking soda in it (I use 1 tsp per quart of water) and place in the refrigerator. If you let your casings soak for at least 12 hours, they will be nice and tender by the time you use them.

Prepare the Masa

• follow my Mexican Tamale Recipe. You can find it at the bottom of this post (under this recipe)
• Once you make the masa spread a thin later on a piece of parchment paper or a silpat mat and set it in a baking tray on a rack. Add a little water to the rack and cover with foil. Place this in your oven that's been preheated to 350f (176c). Let the masa steam in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Once done remove from the oven and let cool.
• Place the cooled sheet of masa into the freezer to firm up. Once semi frozen, cut the masa in to small pieces. I like to keep the size of the masa, the roasted poblano peppers and the cheese roughly about the same size. Place the cut up tamale masa in a bowl and keep in the freezer till you are ready to use it.

Roast the Poblano peppers

• Take your Poblano peppers and place them directly over a natural gas kitchen burner. You are looking to char the outer skin and turn it completely black. Once that happens place the peppers into a small bowl and cover with cling film. Let them rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the peppers and clean off the burnt outer skin and remove the stems and seeds. Chop the roasted peppers into small pieces.
• If you don't have a natural gas stove then coat the peppers in a little oil and place them in the oven (preheat 450f or 232c) and roast. Every few minutes be sure to turn the peppers so that they can evenly roast on all sides. Once the entire pepper looks well roasted (skin is blistered) remove from the oven and place into a bowl and cover with cling film. Let them rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the peppers and clean off the burnt outer skin and remove the stems and seeds. Chop the roasted peppers into small pieces.
• The amount of peppers that the recipe calls for is the roasted finished weight

Prepare the Meat

• Clean meat from any silver skin and arteries. Chill the meat and the fat so that the temperature is below 34f (1.1c)
• Grind chilled meat and fat on a medium course plate (6mm). Rechill. Keep the temp under 34f (1.1c)
• Mix together the chilled meat, pork stock, all the spices, and the masa binder till the meat turns into a sticky batter. The meat mixture will stick to your hand when you grab a small handful of it and turn your hand upside down. Next add the roasted poblano, Oaxaca cheese, and the frozen tamale masa pieces. Mix to incorporate.
• Stuff mixture in your sausage casings and link them to your desired size. If you notice any air pockets, be sure to prick them out
• Place the sausage in your refrigerator overnight so that the cure can do its job
• The next day, smoke the sausage using incremental adjustments in temperature to slowly bring the sausage up to a core temperature of 145f (62.7c) – 150F (65.5c).

If you have a digital convection smoker:

• 1 hour at 100f (37.7c) with the fan on at 50%. This dries out the sausage.
• 1 hour at 125f (51.6c) start adding smoke. Fan still on at 50%
• 1.5 hours at 150f (65.5c). Fan at 50%
• The finally increase the temp to 170f (76.6c) till the internal temperature of your sausage reaches 145f (62.7c). Once you hit your target internal, let the sausage remain there for 3-5 minutes for proper pasteurization. I like to add an additional warming stage to my smoker where I'll back the temperature down to 145f to complete pasteurization.

If you have a non convection digital smoker this is a great cooking schedule:

• 1.5 hours at 100f (37.7c) – this dries out the sausage (leave the dampers wide open and leave the door slightly ajar)
• 1 hour at 125f (51.6c) – this is when I start applying smoke
• 1 hour at 155f (68.3c)
• 1 hour at 175f (79.4c)
• then I bump up to 200f (93.3c) until I reach an internal of 145f (62.7c). Make sure you let the sausage cook for at least 3-5 minutes once you hit the 145f (62.7c) temperature to achieve proper pasteurization.

If you are cooking on a pit or offset:

• on indirect heat start smoking sausages while the pit is at 150f (65.5c) and smoke for 3 hours.
• Increase the temperature to 250f (121.1c) and cook till you get to an internal of 150f (65.5c)

Once finished

• After your sausage has finished cooking, place them in a cold-water bath till the internal temp gets below 100f (37.7c). Then place the sausage on a rack or hang them at room temp for 3-4 hours to bloom. After they bloom, refrigerate and enjoy

Storage Instructions

• For long term storage, place the smoked sausages in a vacuum sealed bag and freeze. They will last up to a year in the freezer.

• Start by rehydrating your masa flour. Slowly add the water that's called for in this recipe till your masa ball comes together without being crumbly. You don't want it too wet so as soon as you can form a clean ball and when you tear it in half and it gives you a clean break without being crumbly you are done.
• Next, whip the lard. In a stand mixer (kitchen beaters work as well) whip the lard on high for 3-4 minutes till it triples in size and looks like whipped cream. Once this happens refrigerate your whipped lard
• Rehydrate your corn husks in hot water for 30 minutes. After they have been rehydrated, place them on a drying rack so they can drain. I like to drain them for at least 15-20 minutes. One thing I also like to do is place all of the corn husks smooth side facing up. This makes it easier when it comes to the assembly

Making the Tamale Mixture

• In a stand mixer with the whisk attachement, begin by placing your bowl of whipped lard. On a medium speed slowly start to whip the mixture adding a little bit of the masa ball at a time. Once half of the masa ball has been added, add half of your stock, the baking powder, and the salt (and any other ingredients you plan on adding). Increase the speed to high and whip for 30 seconds. Reduce the speed to medium and add the rest of your masa ball in small increments. Finally add the rest of your stock a little at a time. You are looking for a consistency of a thick hummus.

  To test your mixture, place a small spoonful of your tamale batter into a glass of water and if it floats it's ready. If it sinks to the bottom you will want to add a little whipped lard to the batter.

  Refrigerate till you are ready to use.
• This batter can be made several days in advance. If you choose to make it ahead, simply give it a quick whip in your mixer prior to using. You might have to add a little stock to get it to the desired consistency.

Making Tamales

• To form your tamales spread a ⅛ inch layer of masa on the smooth side of the corn husk leaving the top ⅓ empty. Add your filling in the center of the masa.
• Fold the two edged of the corn husk together where the opposite ends of the masa are now touching. It's like folding the corn husk in half. Once you make that inital fold, fold the corn husk in half again, then pinch the top ⅓ of the husk and fold it down to seal one end.

Cooking Tamales

• Steam for 60 – 90 minutes then let rest for 10 minutes. Enjoy

Storing Tamales

• Tamales freeze great. Place cooked tamales in a vacuum sealed bag and freeze. These will stay good for up to a year.