Homemade Liver Sausage in a Bag

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather all your ingredients. Which liver to use — pork, beef, or chicken — is up to you. Since liver has a very short shelf life, be sure to check the date on the package. The salo should be fresh, with the skin removed. You can use salo with a streak of meat in it. Use all-purpose flour and large eggs. You'll also need 2 plastic bags (but have a few extra on hand), plastic wrap, and kitchen twine.

2. Step 2:

   

   Cut the salo into pieces and run it through a meat grinder fitted with a medium-hole plate. This way the finished sausage will have little bits of salo in it.

3. Step 3:

   

   Peel and rinse the garlic. Peel and rinse the onion, then cut it into 4 pieces so it's easy to feed into the grinder. Rinse the liver well under running water. If you're using beef or pork, cut it into small pieces that will fit into the grinder. Without changing the plate, grind the liver first, then the onion and garlic. The onion and garlic will help push the loose, ground liver through the grinder.

4. Step 4:

   

   Wash the raw eggs with soap and pat them dry with a towel. Take a large, deep bowl. Add the ground salo and the liver with onion and garlic, then add the salt and pepper and crack in the eggs. Sift the flour so no lumps or bits get into the sausage. Add half the flour for now.

5. Step 5:

   

   Mix the sausage batter thoroughly. Because flour of the same type but from different brands can behave differently, it affects how thick the batter turns out. So add the rest of the flour a little at a time until you reach the right consistency. The batter should be fairly loose, about the texture of buttermilk.

6. Step 6:

   

   Now shape the sausage. Take a plastic bag and tie a knot at the bottom corner. Carefully spoon the batter into the bag — I used a small ladle. Press the air out and tie a knot at the other end.

7. Step 7:

   

   Wrap the resulting "candy" shape in plastic wrap or a second bag to reinforce it. Take kitchen twine or thick thread — it needs to be a material that won't dissolve in boiling water. Tie a knot at one end, run the twine the length of the sausage, and tie it off at the other end. Wrap it a few more times lengthwise and crosswise to shape the sausage.

8. Step 8:

   

   Choose a large pot, big enough for the sausage to sit comfortably. Lower the sausage in, cover with cold water, and put the lid on. Turn the heat to high to bring the water to a boil quickly. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1 hour.

9. Step 9:

   

   Take the pot off the heat and drain the water. Carefully, so you don't burn yourself, transfer the sausage to a plate and let it cool somewhere cold for at least 2 hours. Cut and peel the bags off the cooled sausage.