Homemade Chinese Sausages (Cantonese Lap Cheong)

1. Use kitchen scissors to cut some cotton twine, about 6" in length. Set aside.

If grinding your own meat:

1. Cut the pork shoulder meat into 1 cm cubes.
2. Chop the pork fat into finer pieces.
3. Add to both pork shoulder meat and pork fat into a meat grinder to grind. Continue with the recipe.

Using already ground pork:

1. Add ground pork to a large bowl.
2. Using clean food-safe gloves or sterile utensils, mix all the seasoning ingredients: sugar, salt, fish sauce, Mei Kuei Lu (rose wine), sand ginger powder (if using), black pepper, red yeast rice powder into the pork meat very well.
3. Cover meat with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour to overnight.

Prepare the casing:

1. Wash the sheep casing and soak in warm water for 30 minutes (or in cold water for 4 hours+).
2. Then rinse the casing well under tap water, inside and outside the casing.
3. Blot the casing dry with paper towel.
4. Pour 1 tablespoon Mei Kuei Lu (or alcohol) in a small bowl.
5. Sterilize a thick needle in the alcohol, and also soak the sheep casing in the alcohol for 10 minutes.

Make the sausages:

1. Fill the seasoned meat into a manual sausage filler.
2. Grease the tube of the filler with a little oil.
3. Slip the casing onto the tube of the filler and tie a knot at one end of the casing.
4. Screw on the plunger to fill up the casing, making sure it is not too full or too loose.
5. Pierce any air pockets with a needle if pressure builds up, to prevent bursting.
6. Divide the sausages into even pieces about 5-6"in length.
7. Tie the sausage links with a piece of cotton twine.
8. Gently brush the surface of the sausages with the leftover Mei Kuei Lu (alcohol).

Dry the sausages:

1. Place the sausage links onto baking pan or tray.
2. Poke holes over the sausages with the thick sterilized needle.
3. Weigh the sausages and place them onto a wire rack in the refrigerator uncovered to dry for 10-15 days, or until the sausages lose at least 35% of their initial weight (about a final weight of 620-640g).
4. When you lightly squeeze the sausages, they should feel dry and firm, not soft.
5. Turn over the sausages once a while during the drying process.
6. Once dry enough, cut off the cotton strings and cut the sausage links.