One of the many misconceptions foreign visitors often have about Thailand is that the best foods it has to offer are found primarily on the sidewalks, that the shoddier a food stall the more ‘authentic’ its food, and that anything that comes via street carts is always made in a more ‘artisanal’ manner than what one would find at a supermarket or a sit-down eatery. Exceptions exist, of course, but, in my opinion, such a notion is misguided. Take for example this Northeastern Thai sour sausage (Sai Krok Isan). It is a good example of food products that are often slaughtered by street vendors yet mastered by nationally-recognized manufacturers and restaurants whose expertise is in Northeastern cuisine.
Though not all sour sausages found on the streets are unacceptable, many make you heave a sigh of disappointment after a first bite. Inside the glistening, perfectly-charred casing is very little meat and lots of garlicky rice, still in whole kernels. Some rather disturbing versions contain abundant cooked rice that tastes strangely of artificial limeade – a telltale sign that the vendor has added citric acid, or something similar, to the paste to create instant sourness without having to ferment the sausage naturally. Getting this type of sausage when you expect a well-made one is akin to being handed a cup of milk which has been curdled with bottled lemon juice when you expect natural yogurt.
Great sour sausages as made by premium brand names and respectable vendors have one thing in common: the emphasis is on the meat as opposed to the rice. It makes a lot of sense as cooked rice – a basic household ingredient in Southeast Asia – is traditionally used to promote the growth of lactic bacteria; its primary function is to act as the catalyst for fermentation. In other words, we’re souring the meat with the rice in order to get the taste of soured meat; we’re not aiming for a rice-filled sausage that tastes of rice wine.
Most Sai Krok Isan recipes follow the traditional method, i.e. they don’t call for any additives. However, in consulting with Bob, I have learned that it is best to use a pure bacterial culture as the curing agent. This method can get the pH of the paste to drop through fermentation to the generally-accepted ideal range of 4.5-5.0 in roughly 48 hours as opposed to 4-5 days in a warm climate as directed by the recipe. The whole process would be just as natural. Tinted Curing Mixture #1 (Pink Salt
/ TCM #/DC#1) is also added for safety reasons.
For ease of sourcing and use, Bob has recommended Bactoferm LHP (Pediococcus acidilactici & Pediococcus pentosaceus) as the bacterial culture for this particular application. This freeze-dried culture only needs to be diluted with water before being added to the paste and spurred into action by regular table sugar (in addition to the catabolism of carbohydrates via cooked rice in the recipe).
Great sour sausages as made by premium brand names and respectable vendors have one thing in common: the emphasis is on the meat as opposed to the rice. It makes a lot of sense as cooked rice – a basic household ingredient in Southeast Asia – is traditionally used to promote the growth of lactic bacteria; its primary function is to act as the catalyst for fermentation. In other words, we’re souring the meat with the rice in order to get the taste of soured meat; we’re not aiming for a rice-filled sausage that tastes of rice wine.
Most Sai Krok Isan recipes follow the traditional method, i.e. they don’t call for any additives. However, in consulting with Bob, I have learned that it is best to use a pure bacterial culture as the curing agent. This method can get the pH of the paste to drop through fermentation to the generally-accepted ideal range of 4.5-5.0 in roughly 48 hours as opposed to 4-5 days in a warm climate as directed by the recipe. The whole process would be just as natural. Tinted Curing Mixture #1 (Pink Salt
/ TCM #/DC#1) is also added for safety reasons.For ease of sourcing and use, Bob has recommended Bactoferm LHP (Pediococcus acidilactici & Pediococcus pentosaceus) as the bacterial culture for this particular application. This freeze-dried culture only needs to be diluted with water before being added to the paste and spurred into action by regular table sugar (in addition to the catabolism of carbohydrates via cooked rice in the recipe).
We then played around with different formulae until the Goldilocks of Sai Krok Isan was achieved. After precisely 48 hours of fermentation at approximately 65°-70°F, we have a traditional Northeastern Thai sausage that is not too salty, perfectly soured; it has just the right texture and level of moisture retention. In other words, it is perfect.
Northeastern Thai Sour Sausage (Sai Krok Isan)
3.5 pounds/1590 grams pork shoulder, ground
1 pound/460 grams skinless pork belly, ground
1 pound/460 grams cooked long grain rice, ground to a coarse paste
4 ounces/112 grams peeled garlic, puréed to a paste (Note: the original recipe calls for half the amount of garlic. This is because the garlic cultivar that is commonly used in Thailand is much stronger than that commonly used in the US. If you use Thai garlic, reduce the amount by half.)
1 ounce/30 grams kosher salt
0.8 ounce/20 grams granulated sugar
1 pound/460 grams skinless pork belly, ground
1 pound/460 grams cooked long grain rice, ground to a coarse paste
4 ounces/112 grams peeled garlic, puréed to a paste (Note: the original recipe calls for half the amount of garlic. This is because the garlic cultivar that is commonly used in Thailand is much stronger than that commonly used in the US. If you use Thai garlic, reduce the amount by half.)
1 ounce/30 grams kosher salt
0.8 ounce/20 grams granulated sugar
0.8 ounce/20 grams Bactoferm LHP, dissolved in 4 ounces/112 grams water
0.12 ounce/5 grams ground white peppercorns
0.12 ounce/5 grams Curing Salt #1
0.12 ounce/5 grams Curing Salt #1
1. Mix all ground pork shoulder, ground pork belly, rice paste, and garlic paste together.
2. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients all over the surface of the meat paste; mix very well.
3. Fill the paste into the hog casings; follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your sausage stuffer.
4. The filled sausage should be approximately 1.5 inches in diameter. Twist the filled sausage at 6-inch intervals or 2.5-inch intervals.
5. Hang the sausage links to dry and ferment in a well-ventilated area for 48 hours. Alternatively, the sausage links can be arranged in a single layer on a cooling rack with a tight grid; make sure you allow at least 2 inches of space between the countertop and the bottom of the rack.
6. The sausage is ready to be cooked after 48 hours of fermentation. The most ideal cooking method is to grill it over low coals. The 6-inch links can be separated into individual pieces and grilled on a stick; the 2.5-inch links can be grilled in a large coil and cut into individual balls when served.
Yield: Approximately 5.5 pounds/2.5 kilograms of cooked sausage.
9 comments:
Great post! These are my favorite sausages of all time. We used to get them from an auntie who owned a Thai-Lao restaurant.
I make a version of these sausages with lemongrass, and sometimes kaffir lime leaves and galangal, in addition to copious amounts of garlic. I've only recently begun experimenting with fermenting them though. I didn't use a starter culture but I did use pink salt, and found that 6 days at 60F produced a nice flavor, although, it could have been more sour.
Starting tomorrow! I likey this. Good timing to - Thai tonight for dinner.
Does this really need 20 g of Bactoferm LHP? That seems like a lot.
JA No and yes. The manufacturer specifies a rate of 10g per batch if the weight of the meat is less than 100 pounds. I suppose this is to assure adequate dispersal but really I don't know. In any case, 20g is not a typo. I'm sure that if you are used to using the stuff you can reduce the amount by 3/4 and be ok.
Wow these sausages look amazing, this is something I have wanted to learn how to do this for a while. Thanks for the awesome post.
What is the TCM# and DC# in the curing salt #1
David, Please restate the question, I'm not sure of your meaning.
BDG, I think the poster may be confusing alternate names for Pink Salt #1 as ingredients in PS#1. Don't forget Instacure #1. I am a homer.
I am surprised that this recipe (and several other I have found like it) has so little in it that we would consider "Thai" - other than the sticky rice (which is ground to pulp) its just a pork and garlic sausage. This leaves me longing to add the usual suspects - galangal, lemon grass and lime leaf. Any reason not to?
Oh, anyone know anything about the rumor that you can use cultured buttermilk as a started instead of the Bactotherm?
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