Grown-Up Sausage Bites
Smackdown III
- Course: Appetizer, Snack
- Features: Make-Ahead Recipes
Summary:
Molasses, cocoa powder and Guinness add depth to the dough of these -- for lack of a better description -- pigs in a blanket. When you wrap the dough around fresh kielbasa or other sausage, the dough and meat finish cooking at the same time. They smell wonderful as they bake.
Good kielbasa (made with pork shoulder, water and spices) is available at the Kielbasa Factory in Rockville (240-453-9090), either made by chef Jamie Stachowski or shipped in from Chicago. Other fresh sausage can be substituted.
Serve with a grainy mustard and/or horseradish cream.
MAKE AHEAD: The dough needs about 2 hours total to rise. It can be formed and left to rise in a covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight.
Makes 40 to 48 pieces (10 to 12 servings)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
- 1 3/4 cups rye flour, such as Arrowhead Mills or Bob's Red Mill brand
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry instant yeast (from two 1/4-ounce packages)
- 1/2 cup warm water (about 100 degrees)
- 1 tablespoon warm melted unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup dark beer or stout, such as Guinness
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 2 1/2 pounds fresh kielbasa links, at room temperature (may substitute other fresh sausage)
- Kosher pickles, for garnish
Directions:
For the dough: Combine the bread flour and rye flour, cocoa powder, caraway seeds, salt and flavored powders on a sheet of wax paper.
Combine the yeast and water in the bowl of a stand mixer; let sit for 5 minutes, then add the butter, beer or stout and molasses; stir to mix well.
Add 1/4 cup of the flour mixture to the bowl. Seat the bowl in the stand mixer and attach a dough hook; beat on low speed for 30 seconds to combine, then stop the motor to add the remaining flour mixture. Beat on low speed until a soft brown dough forms; stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and beat for several minutes, adding flour as needed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm area of the kitchen for 2 hours or until almost doubled in bulk.
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly flour a work surface (with bread flour).
Gently punch down the dough, which will be quite soft. Transfer to the work surface and lightly dust with the flour, kneading gently to divide it into 2 portions.
Working with one portion at a time, roll it out to a thickness of 1/4 inch, flouring the surface of the dough as needed to keep it from getting sticky. Cut 1 piece of dough for each link. If you are using large, 8-ounce sausages, cut the dough into sections roughly 9 by 11 inches. If you are using 4- to 6-ounce sausages, cut slightly smaller portions of dough.
Center 1 sausage link on each rolled-out portion of dough; roll to enclose tightly and completely, ending with the seam on the bottom (overlap is preferred). If needed, trim the ends so the sausage can be seen at either end. Place them on the baking sheet, spaced 1 inch apart. Repeat as needed to cover all the sausages; you may have some dough and/or scraps left over. (The dough can be wrapped well and frozen for future use for up to 3 months.)
Brush the tops of the dough-wrapped sausages with a little water, then lightly sprinkle salt on the tops. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the center of the sausage registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting crosswise into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces.
Cut a few pickles crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then quarter each slice. Place on top of each sausage bite and secure with a toothpick. Serve warm.
VARIATION: For a lighter-rye dough, omit the cocoa powder. Substitute honey for the molasses.
Recipe Source:
From Washington chef Jamie Stachowski.
E-mail the Food Section with recipe questions.
(Dayna Smith for The Washington Post)
