saucisse de Toulouse

26 ounces	lean pork
9 ounces	pork fatback
18 grams	fine salt
2 grams	ground white pepper
1 gram	ground nutmeg
about 5 feet	medium hog casing

1.	Cut the meat and fat into pieces small enough to pass through grinder. Partially freeze.
2.	Grind the pork using a disk with 3/8" (10 mm) diameter holes. Grind the fat using a disk with 3/16" (5 mm) diameter holes.
3.	Combine the meat and fat with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Chill thoroughly.
4.	Soak the casings in cold water until soft. Thoroughly rinse the casing inside and out.
5.	Set up a sausage stuffer. Fill the bowl of the stuffer with the forcemeat. Be careful not to leave any air pockets in the mixture.
6.	Slide the casing on the fill tube. Tie a knot at the end of the casing after it is fully on the fill tube.
7.	Fill the casing with the forcemeat. Do not overfill the casings. Guide the casing along the work surface as it fills.
8.	Tie a knot at the other end of the filled casing that comes off the stuffing tube. “Massage” the sausage to ensure that it is filled evenly. Twist the filled casing to make 5" long sausages.
9.	Place the sausages on a rack and dry for a couple of hours in a refrigerator. Using a fine skewer or needle, puncture the skin over any visible air bubbles and puncture evenly along the length of the sausages.
10.	Use within a couple of days or wrap tightly and freeze.

Note: To cook the sausage, poach in 180 °F (82 °C) water until the interior temperature reaches 160 °F (71 °C). Drain and fry briefly in a hot pan to crisp the skin.

Note: 3 grams of crushed garlic can be added to the forcemeat long with the spices to make le petit cru à l’ail.

Note: Instead of using casings, the forcemeat can be wrapped in caul fat to make crépinettes, shown raw above left with a slice of truffle placed under the caul fat. To cook, fry briefly in a hot pan to brown the fat and finish in a hot oven. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: about seven 5-inch sausages.
Ref: Marcel Cottenceau, Jean-François Deport, and Jean-Pierre Odeau (translated by Anne Sterling), The Professional Charcuterie Series, vol. 1, page 130 and 152.