Basterma/Breakfast Sausage

Makes about (7) 16 inch casings

This sausage is delicious and aromatic because of the baharat and garlic. They are usually eaten with fried eggs. These are traditionally hung out to dry in the cold but we skip this step to not risk contaminating the sausage.






​Ingredients

• 10 lbs ground beef 85% or 88% lean
• *5 – 10 casings or about 90 inches

-*make sure to order/buy the wide ones, not the ones that are used for cooking bombarra
-*If you use the plastic wrap method below you do not need this ingredient

• 30 Cloves of garlic minced
• 4 tablespoons Baharat (middle eastern spice blend)
• 4 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper (add more if you prefer spicy)

Instructions

• Rinse the casings inside and out. Add the casings to a bowl and cover with water. Add 1 cup of flour and gently rub them to clean. Try to turn the casings inside out and clean the inside part with the flour/water mixture. Rinse the casings and the bowl you used. Add the casings to the bowl again and cover with new water. Add lemon or lime slices and soak for about ½ hour to hour.
• Add all other ingredients in a large bowl. Knead by hand by squeezing the mixture in your fists until mixed very well and it is smooth. At this point, you can take a sample of the meat and cook it to see if you want to add more spices or salt (or if you are a risk taker just place some raw meat on your tongue to taste).
• Start stuffing your casing leaving about 1 inch at the end. Stuff and push down on meat. Try to pack meat in tightly. Fill until you have about 1 inch left at the other end. Try to push air out. Using rolling pin to flatten and remove air. You want it to be about 2 inches high and 3 inches wide. Tie one end. Pack more meat in if the meat isn’t packed tight. Tie the other end. Use a small needle to poke holes all over both sides of casing, especially where you see air pockets. Use a rolling pin again to remove any air left. Place the basterma you just made on a tray that will fit in your freezer. Repeat process until meat runs out.
• When you are all done stuffing, cover the tray with a plastic bag or plastic wrap. After 2 days in the freezer, remove basterma from tray and place in an XL Ziploc freezer bag. Leave the bag in freezer until you are ready to eat. To prepare, pull one out of the freezer and let it sit out for about 20 minutes to make it easier to slice. Slice and cook on pan over medium heat (if you used the plastic wrap method below, make sure to remove plastic before you slice). Add oil to pan if necessary.

Plastic Wrap Method

• Another option, instead of using casing is to make them into a sausage shape by wrapping them in plastic wrap like a piece of candy and roll (see video). Take a small piece of plastic wrap and set on counter. Set meat shaped like a sausage on the plastic wrap. Roll the wrap tightly over the meat and shape the sausage . Roll the ends to close.

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