In China, sausages date back to the Wei and Jin dynasties (300–500 AD). Lap Cheong (臘腸) is a dried, hard sausage made from pork and pork fat. It is sweetened by candying the fat, which keeps the fat white and makes it translucent when cooked. Lap cheong has no starch, but has alcohol added and is sometimes smoked. Thomas and I made lap cheong using this recipe from 2 Guys & A Cooler. The result is so good!
Lap Cheong should ideally be made over a couple of days. First, finely chop 1.4kg (3lbs) of lean pork into pea-sized pieces. To the meat add 50g (1¾ oz) of salt, ¾ of a teaspoon of Insta cure #1, ¼ of a teaspoon of MSG, ⅛ of a teaspoon of ground ginger, 60ml (2 fl oz) of soy sauce and 30ml (1 fl oz) of Bourbon style whiskey. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight. Next, cut 600g (1⅓ lbs) of pork back fat into the same sized pieces as the meat. Blanch the fat in boiling water for 2 minutes then drain and rinse with cold water. To candy the fat, put some sugar in the bottom of a bowl and add a layer of fat. Continue to layer sugar and fat and cover the top layer with more sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight. On the next day, rinse the sugar from the fat and let it drain. Add the fat to the meat mixture along with ½ a cup of cold water. Mix well to combine. Next, you will need to stuff this meat mixture into narrow sheep casings for fresh sausages. This task is made much easier if you have a sausage stuffer. When the sausages are made, prick them and dip them into some more whiskey. At this stage, you can either smoke the sausages, hang them to dry or use a dehydrator for 24 hours. We chose a dehydrator.
The next day, we transferred them to our curing cabinet. Alternately, they can be hung in a breezy place. After 3 days, they’re ready to eat. Pan-fry slices lightly and add to fried rice, omelettes, stir fries, anything! If you intend to store the lap cheong, it’s best to vacuum seal them.
michelle picker cooks 