This is a beguiling sausage inspired by a similar recipe in Sheng Yang’s Cooking from the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America
, which is the first-ever English-language Hmong cookbook; if you’re not familiar with the Hmong, they are a Southeast Asian group of people who fought for us during the Vietnam War.
Now many have settled here in California, as well as places like Minnesota and Wisconsin.
This sausage is country style, like the Hmong, who are farmers by nature. You want a coarse grind — not the superfine grind you need to make a good Vietnamese sausage.
As for ingredients, the dominant flavor besides the pork is ginger. Sheng Yang’s recipe calls for a full cup of minced ginger. I chose to cut that down, but you could go with more.
I also added chopped fresh cilantro, because I really like fresh herbs in my fresh sausages. I am guessing Sheng would not mind.
How to serve these links? On their own, with rice, in a stir fry, in a bowl of pho (one of the world’s greatest soups) or in a bahn mi sandwich (one of the world’s greatest sandwiches).
NOTE: If you are unfamiliar with making sausages at home, here is my detailed tutorial.
Hmong Style Sausages
Ingredients
- 5 pounds fatty pork shoulder or belly
- 36 grams (about 2 tablespoons plus a teaspoon) Kosher salt
- 1 head garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
- 4 chopped green onions
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 5-10 chopped fresh thai green chiles
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup ice water
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- hog casings
Instructions
- Chop the meat and fat into chunks of about 1-inch across, mix with the salt and set in the fridge overnight; this helps the sausage bind better.
- Mix all the herbs and spices together and mix with the meat and fat. Put the meat, the blade, die and auger from the meat grinder into the freezer for 1 hour.
- Take out some hog casings and set in a bowl of very warm water.
- Grind the meat through a coarse (6mm or 6.5mm) die. If the meat is any warmer that about 35 degrees Fahrenheit, put it back in the freezer until it cools below this point.
- Pour all three liquids over the meat and mix well with your (very clean) hands for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. You want the meat to bind to itself and form one sticky, cohesive mass.
- Stuff the sausage into the casings. Do this in large coils first, and be sure not to stuff the casings too tight at the outset. When all the meat is in casings, twist off links by pinching the sausage down and twisting it away from you. Go down the coil and pinch off another link. Twist off this link toward you. Keep doing this for the whole batch. (This video shows how I do it.) Or, you could tie them off with butcher’s string.
- Hang the sausages in a cool place for a few hours (the colder it is, the longer you can hang them). If it is warm out, hang for one hour. Once they have dried a bit, put in the fridge until needed. They will keep for at least a week in the fridge.
- If you are freezing the sausages, wait a day before doing so. This will tighten up the sausages and help them keep their shape in the deep-freeze.
An excellent recipe that I’ve tweaked a couple of times. I basically double the recipe and use a whole pork butt. This time I also added two bunches of Thai basil, dropped the ginger to 1/4 C. for the whole batch and it turned out excellent – best run yet.
Did this using half lamb and half pork. Flavors are very unique. Very solid recipe….will make more. You have the best sausage recipes Hank…keep them coming!
This was fantastic. Flavors combinations that I have never tried.
Grilled and served with pickled radish , carrot and red onion.
Will make again!!
BOOM!!! The flavor is amazing in this recipe. I have made a few dozen kinds of sausage and this one has moved way up the list as one of my family’s favorites. Garlicy and delicious!!! Don’t scroll past this recipe.
Since you are not using any meat cure .. what is the best shelf life in fridge or in freezer. If I need to have a shelf life over 2 months is there any curing process I need to have for fresh sausages.
Praveen: If you need a 2 month shelf life, you will need to freeze it. This sausage freezes well.
Hank, I LOVE your recipes! I just got a grinder and am about to embark on my first grinding/sausage-making adventure. Do all of the recipes for cased sausage translate to loose sausage? Specifically, can I make this Hmong sausage recipe with wild pig as loose sausage? Thank you!
Lisa: Yes, you can keep these sausages loose and uncased.
Hmong sausage in pho? You’re an animal Mr Shaw.
A BIG thank you from Ft Lauderdale!!! I have been looking so long for this recipe to take to the butcher…
And to reiterate the comment / recipe shared about the stuffed wings… they are stellar. These are two of my favorite foods that I could only get back home in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Thanks Hank!
(and chicken-wing Mark)
Hank if you have never tried these they are a big thing in central Wisconsin and they are amazing… I assume you could probably do it with turkey wings or something but you might want to try a run with chicken wings wants to see if it’s something you’d like to pursue… I can’t imagine it would not be
https://food52.com/recipes/81268-hmong-style-stuffed-chicken-wings-with-fish-sauce-caramel
I can not eat Pork (due to Gout), can I use Chicken, Turkey or Beef?
Dee: Go with beef.
Howdy Sir, sorry no recipe, just a personal observation from one who knew several Hmong during the Vietnam (conflict/ war).I was a U.S.ARMY Ranger tasked with hunting and assassination of high ranking North Vietnamese officers and collaborators meeting in Laos and Cambodia. Yhe administration at that time, ( Johnson and Nixon ) promised the Hmongs that if they would guide and shelter snipers within their villages they would be given US citizenship at the end of the war whether we won or lost. When the government realized we could not win we were ordered to destroy all evidence of America’s presence there including the slaughter of every living being who knew we were there. Naturally we refused as these people had become our friends and family. After we were transported back to our respective bases the air force was ordered to firebomb all known villages with napalm and white phosphorus. This was done so the administration at that time would not be embarrassed by their actions.
I can only feel grateful the Hmong who survived were able to escape both our Gov’t. and Pol Pot.
One of my best sellers is a Thai Soi Ua. Would be more than happy to share the recipe with you.
Richard: That would be great, I’d like to see it.
Such a wonderful treat to find an authentic SE Asian recipe. The patis choice makes all the differnce (“ fish sauce “). My personal variation does include Asian Basil, a bit of Mirin or rice wine cold (no water), tiny hot red peppers (fresh), lemongrass and whats on hand, (additional add ins like small root vegies or creative icebox left overs) I marinate meat over night as cold as poss, the recipe is da best!
This is a must try for anyone that hasnt had SEAsian sausages.
I also use pre tubed hog casings but thats again variable according to availability.
If adding other ingredients decide if it needs pre cooking and cut into approx corn kernel size so not to plug up the auger)
Thanks!
I
@Karen I’ve been to that restaurant too and the Lao sausage there is my favorite!
My Vietnamese neighbor shared some Thai/Lao sausage with me today. He said a friend made it and it was a secret family recipe. This sure looks like the same stuff. Looking forward to trying to make it myself.
I was just wondering whether these would taste good barbecued or perhaps the flavours are too delicate? Any suggestions for a sausage recipe suitable for barbecuing?
Hi Hank,
It’s me again – we like the Lao sausage we eat at Vientian Restaurant in Oakland (that’s how they spell it. I might be imagining it but I think it has lemon grass and/or kaffir lime leaf in it – what do you think?
Delighted to find a recipe for Hmong sausage – one of our absolute faves! Thanks….