Amsterdamse Ossenworst

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Meat grinder with fine plate
• •Sausage stuffer or firm parchment wrap
• •Digital scale accurate to 0.1g for curing salt
• •Cold smoker capable of staying below 25C
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the beef

   Trim away sinew and any soft surface fat, then cut the beef into small cubes. Spread them on a tray and chill in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes, until firm at the edges but not frozen solid. Raw sausage rewards cold hands and cold metal; warmth smears the meat and invites trouble.

2. 2

   Grind it cold

   Grind the chilled beef through a fine plate into a cold bowl. If your kitchen is warm, set the bowl over ice. Keep the meat below 4C as much as you can. This is not fussiness, it's the bargain you make when serving beef raw.

3. 3

   Season and cure

   Mix the salt, curing salt, white pepper, mace, nutmeg, clove, and crushed mustard seed, then scatter the mixture over the ground beef. Add the ice-cold water and knead briefly with clean cold hands until the meat turns slightly tacky and holds together. The spices should smell warm but not sweet; ossenworst is beef first, spice chest second.

   Measure curing salt by weight, not by guesswork. Too little is unsafe, too much is not food. If you do not use curing salt, do not cold-smoke this sausage and eat it the same day from properly handled beef.
4. 4

   Stuff the sausage

   Stuff the seasoned beef into the casing firmly but without bursting it, then tie into one or two short sausages. Prick any trapped air with a clean needle. If you have no stuffer, shape the mixture into a tight log in parchment and wrap it very firmly; it won't be quite the butcher's version, but the table will forgive you.

5. 5

   Rest overnight

   Refrigerate the sausage on a rack, uncovered or loosely covered, for 12 to 18 hours. The cure distributes, the surface dries slightly, and the spices settle into the beef instead of shouting from the doorway.

6. 6

   Cold-smoke lightly

   Cold-smoke the sausage for 1 to 2 hours, keeping the chamber below 25C at all times, then return it to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before slicing. If you cannot hold a true cold-smoke temperature, skip this step. A badly controlled smoke box is not tradition, it's a warm cupboard with ambition.

7. 7

   Slice and serve

   Slice the ossenworst thinly with a sharp knife and serve cold with finely diced onion, dark rye bread, butter, and a little mustard if you like. Eat it the Amsterdam way, quietly and without ceremony, because ceremony would only get between you and the next slice.

Chef Tips

• •Use only whole-muscle beef from a butcher you trust, and grind it yourself. Pre-ground beef has too much surface exposure for a raw sausage like this.
• •Mace matters. Nutmeg alone gives warmth, but mace gives the old Amsterdam note, floral, peppery, and unmistakably tied to the spice trade.
• •Keep everything cold: meat, grinder parts, bowl, and hands. If the mixture turns soft or sticky-warm, stop and chill it before continuing.
• •Serve with sharp raw onion. It cuts the richness and gives the sausage its proper Amsterdam edge.
• •This is not a recipe for pregnant guests, immunocompromised guests, very young children, or anyone who should avoid raw meat. Accommodation is the tradition; serve them good smoked beef or aged cheese on the same board.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the sausage one day before serving so the cure and spices have time to settle.
• •After cold-smoking, keep refrigerated and eat within two days.
• •Dice the onion just before serving; old onion turns harsh and watery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)