Nham is a fermented semi dry Thai sausage made with pork

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Nham is a fermented semi dry Thai sausage made with pork, pork skins, cooked rice, fresh garlic and eye bird chillies. The sausage is wrapped in banana leaves or synthetic casings and fermented for 3-5 days. Then it is served as a dish or eaten raw.

meat selection		Lean pork (70%), 3.50 kg (7.7 lb) Pork skins (30%), 1.50 kg (3.3 lb) Meat total: 5 kg (11 lb) Note: Different ratios of lean pork to skins can be used - 80/20, 70/30, 60/40/ 50/50 or 40/60.	salt (2.3%) garlic (5%), raw/minced) Bird Eye Chilies (2%) sugar (0.5%) Cure # 1 cooked rice (3%)	115g 250 g 100 g 25 g 12.48 g 150 g	6 Tbs. 4 tsp 2 tsp
ingredients
1	grinding meat	Trim meat of all connective tissue and fat. Grind through a small grinder plate (1/8" - 3/16", 3 mm). Keep it cold.
2	cooking/cutting skins	Trim pork skins of any visible fat and cook in water for about 1 1/2 hours. Cut de-fatted skin (rind) into 2-3 mm (1/8") thick and 20 mm (3/4") long strips.
3	mixing	Cut Bird Eye Chillies 3-5 mm thick. Mix meat, skins, rice and all of the ingredients well together.
4	stuffing	Stuff tightly into synthetic casing, about 30 mm and 6-8" long.
5	fermenting	3-5 days (72 - 120 hrs) at about 30º C (86º F) and 50 % humidity
6	storing	Keep refrigerated
Notes: Bird's Eye Chili Peppers are tiny very hot chillies that can be found in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines and in Thailand. Although small in size compared to other types of chili, they are very hot at 50,000 to 100,000 on the Scoville pungency scale. Tabasco and cayenne peppers are rated slightly lower at 30,000-50,000 Scoville units.
Cooked rice is commonly used between 2.5 and 4 %. Sausage contains a lot of garlic (5 %). Pepper may be added to the recipe (0.1 %) Sausage contains 2.5 % salt (salt in Cure #1 accounted for). Sugar is needed for lactic bacteria to produce lactic acid and increase acidity. Don't decrease the amount of salt. Salt, nitrite and low bacteria count (fresh meat) are the only defense against bacteria spoilage in the first 24 hours of fermentation. As the pH drops lower (acidity increases) the sausage becomes more stable. Don't replace pork skins with fat. The texture and flavor of this sausage depends largely on pork skins. Keep in mind that raw pork or venison meat may be infected with trichinosis so please read the following link to be safe: trichinae

Page added on April 28, 2008