Char Siu Pork Sausage

Recipe: Char Siu Pork Sausage

A Chinese BBQ-inspired fresh sausage with authentic char siu flavours.

Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare the Cure

1. Dissolve the salt, Prague Powder #1, STPP, and MSG into the ice cold water. Stir until fully dissolved.
2. Mash the red bean curd to a smooth paste and add to the cure mixture.
3. Add light soy, dark soy, Shaoxing wine, hoisin, oyster sauce, mix honey, five spice, white pepper and minced garlic.
4. Whisk everything into a combined slurry.

Prepare the Meat

1. Place your mincing and stuffing equipment in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
2. Cut pork shoulder into rough 3-4cm cubes. Keep very cold (below 4°C - partially frozen is ideal).
3. Grind once through a medium plate (6-8mm).
4. Spread the ground meat on a tray and return to the fridge for 15 minutes.
5. Optionally mince the meat a second time.

Mix and Rest

1. Pour the combined cure and flavour slurry over the cold ground pork.
2. Mix by hand or in a stand mixer for 4-5 minutes until the mixture becomes very tacky.
3. Keep below 10°C throughout. Chill briefly if the mix starts to warm.
4. Fry a small patty and taste. Adjust salt if needed.

Stuff and Prepare for Smoking

1. Thread soaked casings onto your stuffing tube.
2. Stuff firmly at consistent pressure, avoiding air pockets.
3. Twist or tie into 10-12cm links. Prick any air bubbles with a fine needle. Air bubbles cause pockets where fat collects and prevents the casing from adhering to the meat correctly. This results in an unpleasant casing texture.
4. Hang the sausages uncovered in the fridge for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight) to dry the casing surface.

Hot Smoke

1. Set up your smoker with apple or cherry wood chips and bring to 110-120°C.
2. Smoke until internal temperature reaches 68-70°C. Use a probe thermometer.

Glaze and Finish

1. Once sausages hit 68-70°C internally, brush generously with honey.
2. Cook until glaze caramelises and internal temperature reaches 72°C.

Notes

• STPP at 1.5g/kg improves moisture retention.
• Drying the casing before smoking is critical as it lets the smoke adhere properly and develops better colour.