Arabica Infused Sausages

UPDATE: Name changed. Daniel came up with the name & I like it.

So, I need to come up with a different name for these. Because Garlic Mocha Sausage isn't really going to sell well.

I've been thinking about incorporating in coffee into a sausage for a few weeks now. I once had some short ribs that had been marinated in coffee, and I thought they were excellent. So, this is my first go at trying to work that into sausages.

I went with:
2lb Ground Beef, 73/27 fat
1oz Kosher Salt
13grams Sugar
2g Black Pepper
22grams Garlic, minced
12grams Milk Powder
2/3 cup Strong Coffee, chilled
Hog Casings

Though I enjoy grinding my own meat, I like to get preground stuff when I am doing recipe development. So, I grabbed a couple of pounds of fatty ground beef.

Here is my mis en place:

The meat is partially frozen. Everything else is chilled.

I put my Kitchen Aid bowl and paddle attachment into the freezer for a few hours. Then I added all the ingredients at once.

Then I mixed on low for about a minute.

I knew it was ready when it became nice and sticky.

I had soaked my hog casings for about an hour in room temperature water. I rinsed them out and then put them on my stuffer. I filled the stuffer with the sausage and stuffed the casings.

I then tied the casings into links.

I like to poach my sausages after I link them. I filled a pot with water and then added some chicken stock and some extra milk powder. I heated it to poaching temperature, which is right under a simmer. It looks gross, but it actually smells like a nice chicken soup.

I poached them for about 12 minutes until they had cooked all the way through. Then I shocked them in an ice bath.

The advantage to poaching them before hand, is that they are now already cooked throughout. I can grill them or saute them, and not have to really worry about their internal temperature. I just can focus on caramelizing the skin and essentially just warming them back up.

I let them sit in the ice bath until they are completely cooled. It usually takes about 15 minutes. I then rinse them off with clean cold water.

I went ahead and sauteed off one to see how it tasted.

My dinner. A little high on the fat side, but basically close to a perfect meal.

I like the taste. The coffee is there but not overpowering. I don't think I would be able to identify it if I didn't know it was in there. It adds a richness to the sausage. I considered maybe using a reduction or including a couple of grams of instant coffee, but that might be too much.

I'll try it out on the guys at work and see if they would change anything.

UPDATE: I added some instant coffee to the next batch. I did 3 grams per pound. I think it made it even richer. I give it a 6 or a 7 right now on the taste scale. I am not thrilled with it. I am going to try the next batch with ancho chiles.