this week in tanzania: a sister’s visit

From time to time I get requests to see more of our family’s everyday life in Tanzania.  But, not unlike all of you, I don’t carry a camera during everyday life.  Visitors do, however, carry cameras.  And I’m taking advantage of that camera’s presence.  [This post isn't really everyday life -- it's more a family visit.]  This is what we’ve been up to this week:

we went out for breakfast one morning. this is "the grand slam breakfast" from our local denny's. except that it's not called "the grand slam." and it's not denny's. rather, the restaurant is the mary cafe. our breakfast consisted of sambusas (ground beef with onions and other veggies wrapped and fried in flour), maandazi (kind of a fried doughnut), and one egg chop (a really big sambusa with a boiled egg in the middle). we drank chai maziwa (hot tea with milk).

we went out for lunch one afternoon. this is wali samaki (rice and fish) from OPS restaurant (i have no idea what OPS means or stands for). the fried fish here is probably some of the best you can get anywhere in the world. and the avocado juice isn't bad either. the rice is kind of plain; i mean it is just rice. (the fish was good enough that brittney and mitchell asked to eat it again today.)

we killed a pig. (i realize i've documented a pig slaughter* in the past, but this is what my guests have spent much of their time doing this week.)

we quartered the pig. at this point (insides removed) our pig was still over 175 pounds -- the biggest pig we've slaughtered in tanzania to this point.

...but with great pig poundage comes great responsibility. this is mitchell getting started on the processing bit. i'm not curing hams yet, so we took the tenderloins and ribs and set the rest aside for...

sausage.** here we are cutting and grinding. we spent a lot of hours doing just this yesterday.

much of the rest of the day was spent mixing ground meat and fat, and adding spices. we made over 90 pounds of sausage yesterday -- all of it breakfast, italian, and mexican chorizo. i doubt we'll have to slaughter another pig before we come back from furlough later this year.

brittney and mitchell brought us some much needed freezer paper in their luggage; we've been without it up until this point (using ziploc bags sent in the mail). we used at least a roll and a half.

today i made ribs (while our guests played cards and took care of baylor).

then we ate ribs. these were the best i've made so far. the ribs from this week's pig were meaty and really good. the ribs that were from the pig before last, though, didn't have enough meat for the amount of dry rub i used. they were really salty and didn't become nearly as tender as the other.

christie taught her regular english class this week, but with special english-speaking guest, brittney harrison (not pictured, she was the photographer).

and, of course, baylor cried some this week -- here because her aunt brittney is going to see the eiffel tower next week without her (she made this model in protest).

but she smiled some, too.

* slaughter of a pig

** how to make link sausage

 

sausage recipes

Last week we slaughtered a pig, and I made 14 pounds of sausage.  I explained the other day how to make link sausage, and now I’m posting my recipes.  I should warn you, though, I don’t use exact measurements when cooking — so all these amounts are relative guesses.  Go light on the spices until you’ve cooked a little to taste.  Then add.

Also, because it’s easier for us to do so here in Tanzania, I’ve used all dry spice powders… nothing fresh.  You might want to use fresh ingredients when making your sausage, though I don’t know how much difference it makes.  I couldn’t get any parsley here, so my italian sausage has none — I’d add it if you can.  And breakfast sausage usually calls for red pepper flakes, of which I had none.  I used cayenne pepper instead — but then again, I think I actually prefer it.

After grinding the pork meat and fat, and mixing in the spices, these sausages are ready to be fried or put into links.  I don’t put italian or maple sausages in link form.  If you’re planning to put the breakfast sausage in biscuits, you might add a little extra salt to the recipe.

Breakfast Sausage

2 lb pork meat
1/2 lb pork fat
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage

Maple Sausage

2 lb pork meat
1/2 lb pork fat
4 tbs maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sage

Italian Sausage

2 lb pork meat1/2 lb pork fat
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp paprika
small amount of red wine (I roasted my fennel seeds in it as well)

Andouille Sausage

2 lb pork meat
1/4 lb pork fat
1 tbs salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp thyme

Enjoy your sausage.  Let me know how it goes.  And I welcome advice on how to improve my recipes.

how to make link sausage

You’ve seen the slaughter.  And still you crave the pork.  Here’s my attempt at teaching how to make link sausage.

1.  Harvest the intestines.  Find the small intestines, and cut out as much as you need.  There’s surely more than 40 feet of ‘em in there, so you ought to have plenty.  I personally cut off about 10 feet and squeeze all the mess out one end, after which I cut the intestines into sections about 1 1/2 – 2 feet long.  [I'm not sure on this, but it seems a 2 foot section of casing will hold about 2 1/2 pounds of sausage.]

harvesting small intestines

2.  Do an initial cleaning of the intestines.  If you have the luxury of a water hose and running water at the slaughter site, it’d probably be easier to remove bits of excrement by pumping water through the intestines.  I’d do that before cutting the intestines into smaller sections.  We don’t have those luxuries where we slaughter (welcome to rural Tanzania), so I clean the intestines by turning them inside-out and rinsing them good.

3.  Leave the intestines soaking overnight in salt water in the fridge.  [Right side-out -- there's really no need to turn them inside-out again... if you ever needed to in the first place.]

4.  Clean the intestines again at a kitchen sink, this time being careful to remove the fat and mucosa that is attached.  You can remove a pretty thick layer of this stuff on both the inside and outside of the submucosa, which is the thin, mostly collagen, portion you’ll actually use for the sausage casing.

cleaning intestines

To remove the fat and such, use a knife and cutting board to scrape the side of the intestines long ways.  I find it easiest to remove the outside portion first (once you get it started, you can mostly peel it off with your fingers).  Then, without turning them inside out, scrape the intestines again, and the inside layer will break up so that you can press it out one of the ends. The intestines are quite strong, and you can scrape them really good without worry of their breaking.  [If you want to make chitlins, I'm pretty sure you leave all that fat and stuff on -- though I've never tried.  Also, you can use the removed fat and mucosa to cook with if you so desire.]

scraping to remove fat and mucosa

When finished you should have a very thin intestine that resembles a balloon, though not quite as stretchy.

removed fat on left, finished casings on right

5.  Run water through the intestines to make sure they’re clean of all excess fat and such.  Also make sure they’re water-tight.  Some people hold one end while blowing through them to ensure air-tightness, but I thought that was kind of gross.

checking for holes or bulges -- and removing any last bits of fat

6.  Grind the pork.  Some people grind the belly along with other more meaty sections to ensure they’ve got enough fat in their sausage.  I, however, remove the back fat from the pig and grind it apart from my good meat.  That way I know exactly what proportion of fat to meat I am using in each type of sausage.

all the pork ingredients of our sausage: meat, fat, and casings

7.  Mix the ground meat and fat, and add spices.  Most sausages call for at least 1 part fat to 4-5 parts meat.  Some call for a 1:2 ratio.  I think I’ve even heard of sausages at 1:1.  I use different ratios for different types of sausage.  I’ll probably post some of “my” recipes soon.

work station with ingredients and recipes

8.  Fry up a little of the sausage in patty form in order to make sure you’ve got the taste right.  Add any spices you’re lacking, and taste again.  I would advise going light on flavor before the first tasting.  You can always add spices, but you can’t take them back once they’re mixed in.

taste test

Many recipes I found call for way too much salt.  Maybe when sausage is on a biscuit it needs more salt?  But I can’t enjoy my sausage the way these recipes suggested, biscuit or not.

9.  Tie a knot in one end of the casing, and slide it onto the end of a funnel (or there are attachments for meat grinders, mixers, and the like).  You’ll need to bunch up the end and hold it there while you fill the funnel with sausage.

casing on the funnel

10.  Use the handle-end of a wooden spoon (or anything else that fits) to push the sausage into the casing.  You can stuff the entire casing, twisting it into links — or you can make individual links as you go.  Try to push out any air pockets as you go, and tie the loose end when finished.

stuffing the casing with sausage

11.  Put the finished product in the freezer or straight into the skillet.  When you’re cooking the sausage, start with a cold pan and cook on low (at least in the beginning).  If you start at too high a temperature, the casing can burst.  Obviously, make sure you’ve cooked the pork well before eating.  And enjoy.

finished product

slaughter of a pig

Some folks told me they’d like to read more on the blog about everyday life in Tanzania.  This post is an attempt at showing such.  Saturday we slaughtered a pig.  Here are the pictures in chronological order:

the initial slaughtering

removal of innards

the pig is quartered

harvesting small intestines

Which brings us to our next post — how to make link sausage.

Do you like pork?  Do you still like pork?