Loukanka Sausage

Loukanka is a very well known Bulgarian dry sausage. It is formed into a traditional flat shape and it has great keeping qualities.

Meats Metric US
lean pork 800 g 1.76 lb.
pork back fat or fat trimmings 200 g 0.44 lb.

Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat

salt 28 g 5 tsp.
Cure #2 2.5 g ½ tsp.
dextrose(glucose) 2.0 g 1 tsp.
cumin 2.0 g 1 tsp.
garlic powder 3.0 g 1 tsp.
OR fresh garlic 10.0 g 3 cloves
T-SPX culture 0.12 g use scale

Instructions

  1. Grind lean pork and fat through 3/16” plate (5 mm).
  2. Mix all ingredients with meat.
  3. Stuff firmly into 28-30 mm hog casings.
  4. Ferment at 20º C (68º F) for 72 hours, 90-85% humidity. At the beginning of the fermentation process place weight on sausages to flatten them out.
  5. Dry at 16-12º C (60-54º F), 85-80% humidity for about 1-2 months.
  6. Store sausages at 10-15º C (50-59º F), 75% humidity.

Notes

Loukanka has very little tang due to the small amount of sugar introduced into the mix. For this reason fermentation temperature is low and 0.2% dextrose will create a small pH drop, just enough to provide a safety hurdle during the beginning of the process.