pickled smoked sausages

Yesterday we woke up to an eerie red glow and looked out the window to see Sydney blanketed in an impenetrable mist.

It turned out to be a huge dust storm that dumped 1000 tonnes of iron-rich dust on Sydney from the drought-stricken outback. As the sun tried to penetrate the fog, the light glinted off the tiny iron particles in the soil and created the most beautiful red glow.

Unfortunately the entire city is now filthy and anyone with any kind of breathing issue is not a happy camper.

But onto the recipe . . . during a visit to the Czech Republic in 2003 I tried my first pickled sausage "utopenci". I loved it.

Next taste was 2005 in the USA, when I found snack-pack pickled sausages as well as huge jars at Walmart. My grandfather, father and I spent a summer afternoon sitting in the shade of the garage drinking ice tea and eating pickled sausages from a giant jar (in the Florida humidity)!

These memories were the inspiration behind this 2009 Food Challenge and I made my very own batch of pickled sausages to munch on at home.

Note, these are not "Marco Polo" brand, that's just the jar I used!

I highly recommend you make yourself some pickled sausages. They sound gross, but they are truly delicious.

Also, make sure you add beetroot juice or your sausages will turn an unappetising grey hue.

Pickled Smoked Sausages

Recipe by Glenn Shapely.

Ingredients:
1kg pre-cooked, smoked sausages
500ml cider vinegar
125ml boiling water
40g sugar
15g pickling spices
5g onion flakes
A few drops of beetroot juice

Method:

1. Cut sausage to fit container and place inside.

2. In a saucepan add the vinegar, water, sugar, spices and onion flakes to the boil.

3. Pour the pickling liquid into the jar, add beetroot juice and put on lid. Turn upside and allow to sit for a few minutes to sterilise and seal the lid.

4. Refrigerate for 2 weeks before eating.


Pickling Spice
Anna's very own recipe. Makes 1 batch.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 allspice berries
2 bay leaves
1 clove

Method:
1. Combine and add to vinegar when preparing pickling liquids.