CALABRIAN SPIEDINI

Calabrian Spiedini image

Provided by Michael Chiarello : Food Network

Time 9h35m

Yield about 12 skewers

Number Of Ingredients 8

Ingredients

2 pounds ground pork
2 tablespoons grey salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup California chili powder
1/2 tablespoon chili flakes
1/2 cup beer
1/4 cup fennel seed

Steps:

Season the pork well with a good amount of black pepper and grey salt. Mince the garlic and then, sprinkle with salt to help the mashing process. Using the side of a knife, mash it into a paste (this process is helped along if you sprinkle the garlic with a little salt to help break it up). The mashed garlic flavor will spread throughout the sausage more easily than minced garlic. Add the garlic to the sausage, then add the California chili powder (this is a sweet chili that will give the sausage a strong red color). Add the chili flakes, beer, and fennel seeds and mix well. Cover sausage in a bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Chef's note: if you'd like to test pork sausage for seasoning, fry a little in a small pan with some olive oil before tasting. Remember, you can always add more seasoning, but you can never take it away!
To form spiedini:
Preheat a grill.
Just before your cookout, soak 12-inch wooden skewers in water for 1 hour so they won't catch on fire when you place them on the grill. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Form the sausage into baseball sized meatballs and place on the cookie sheet. To form the spiedini, flatten the balls into patties, place 2 skewers in the middle of a sausage patty, then wrap the patty firmly around the skewer. Wrap the spiedini in foil that you will use to bring them to the grill.
To Grill spiedini:
Place spiedini on the cooler part of the coals or on a medium grill. Drizzle with olive oil. Grill for about 10 minutes on each side, until well cooked.