Every Spanish and Portuguese speaking country has its own version of Linguiça. This particular smoke-cured Portuguese pork sausage is laden with garlic, paprika, has a zingy heat, and will really pep up the Caldo Verde you're going to make.
We all know that guy who carries around a jar of Tabasco sauce so he can spice up anything you serve him. This will be the one recipe that you can serve to that guy, where he'll taste it, look you in the eyes with a bewildered expression, then whisper to you, "This is fucking perfect."
Day 1: 3 hours
Day 2: 3 hours
10 pounds
• Meat Grinder
• Oak Wood Chips
• Sausage Stuffer
• Smoker
• 8 pounds pork shoulder
• 2 pounds pork belly
• 1 head garlic, chopped
• ¼ cup kosher salt
• 2 tsp. instacure no. 1 curing salt
• 2 tbsp. dextrose
• 2 tbsp. dried oregano
• 2 tbsp. black peppercorns
• 3 tbsp. Spanish sweet paprika
• 2 tsp. cayenne
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ cup powdered milk
• 1 cup Portuguese red wine
• ¼ cup sherry vinegar
For Stuffing:
• 4 cups water
• 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 20 ft. hog casing
For Smoking:
• 5 lbs. crushed ice
If you're buying the meat pre-ground from the butcher, ask them to coarsely grind the meat.
Place 3 large mixing bowls and the meat grinder attachment in the freezer around 15 minutes before use. Keeping the equipment cold will help the grinding move quickly.
Measure out all of the ingredients from your shopping list, so that they are ready to work with in the subsequent steps.
Prepare the sausage stuffer. Press meat through the stuffer until the ground meat just barely pokes through the end of the spout.
Push the open end of the hog casing over the end of the stuffer, and continue to push the casing onto the stuffer until you reach the end of the casing. Tie a knot at the end of the casing.
Stuff the sausage into the hog casings and wrap the sausage into a long coil. Once finished, tie off the other end of the sausage. Twist the sausage into links every 10 inches.
Now, we need to dry out the Linguiça's external casing to form a pellicle. This will provide a tacky surface to which the smoke will adhere during the smoking process, and will also serve as a way for the Linguiça to retain its internal moisture.
Place 2 cooling racks each over top a baking sheet to catch any drippings. Put the Linguiça on the cooling rack. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
Smoke the sausages at a temperature of 180°F / 82°C using oak wood until the sausages reach an internal temperature of 150°F / 65°C.
Once the sausages are near the appropriate temperature, prepare an ice bath. Transfer the sausages from the smoker directly to the ice bath and chill.
Place the sausages in butcher paper or sealable plastic freezer bags and use a Sharpie to label the package Linguiça: made May 6, 2015.
Place in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or the freezer for up to 2 months.
To serve, slice the sausage thinly and eat cold, or cook it up in Caldo Verde, a Portuguese bean stew, or feijoda, a Brazilian black bean stew.
