#HomemadeSausage #ChickenSausage #BasqueChicken
#HomemadeCharcuterie #HomemadeRecipe

Today, I'm sharing a Basque-style chicken sausage recipe, inspired by traditional Basque chicken.

Using 3 whole, fully deboned chickens, I make a flavorful sausage with bell peppers, garlic, aromatic herbs, smoked paprika, and a touch of homemade Espelette pepper.

Nothing goes to waste: even the carcass is used to make a homemade chicken stock that will flavor the sausage.

In this video, you'll discover:

The complete deboning of a whole chicken.

The preparation of the chicken stock.
The chopping and cooking of the vegetables.

The mincing, seasoning, and kneading of the mixture.

Stuffing the sausage into sheep casings.

The drying and storage.

👉 The complete deboning of the chicken is shown at the end of the video, if you'd like to see it in detail.

📖 As explained in the video, this description contains additional information about equipment, casings, hygiene, and food safety precautions.

Seasoning (for 1 kg of meat mixture)
Salt: 17 g
Pepper: 2 g
Smoked paprika: 3 g
Espelette pepper: 1 g
Chicken stock: 100 g
Cooked vegetables: approximately 150 g

🎥 My video on homemade Espelette pepper:
Piment d’Espelette en poudre 🌶️ du jardin ...

📌 Read this before you begin

The recipes I share are for guidance only, using equipment intended for home use. Feel free to adapt these recipes according to your equipment, tastes, and the ingredients you use.

🌡️ Hygiene and Food Safety

Homemade charcuterie requires impeccable hygiene. I wash my hands regularly, and I clean and disinfect my equipment and work surface before, during, and after each preparation.

I always work in the coolest room possible. Ideally, this type of preparation should be done in winter or in a room kept at a low temperature. Personally, I work with air conditioning year-round to maintain a suitable ambient temperature.

The meat must remain cold from start to finish. Between the different stages, I always put it back in the refrigerator. Before grinding, I place it in the freezer for about twenty minutes so that it is very cold. This limits its heating during grinding and allows for a better quality grind.

Even though I don't always show all these steps on screen to avoid making the videos too long, they are an integral part of each of my preparations.

🌭 Casings

The casings I use are cured and preserved in salt. Before each use, I only take the necessary amount, then rinse them to remove excess salt and rehydrate them before threading them onto a nozzle that fits my sausage stuffer.

The casing diameter varies depending on the recipe. It is always specified in the video or recipe. Small sheep casings in 22/24 mm and 24/26 mm can be found in supermarkets.

The 26/28 mm diameter casings, which I often use, I order from specialized websites.

🥩 Grinding and Equipment

The choice of grinding plate depends on the desired texture. Depending on the recipe, I use different plates to achieve the desired result.

I always prefer to use very cold meat to maintain a good texture and make the meat grinder easier to work with.

❄️ Drying and Storage

After stuffing the casings, I generally let my sausages dry for 24 to 48 hours in the refrigerator, either hanging or, if necessary, on a rack.

This step allows the casing to dry slightly, adhere better to the meat, and improves the sausages' texture during cooking.

I don't use any preservatives. Once the drying is complete, I quickly package the sausages I don't plan to eat immediately and then freeze them.

💬 Any questions?

If you're a beginner or have any questions about a step, feel free to leave a comment. I always take the time to reply when I can.