Once cured (around 12 hours, since the tenderloins are quite thin), I dried them out in the fridge for 2 hours, and then smoked them. Since I hot-smoked the tenderloins, they’re basically cooked (much the same as bacon).

I added sodium nitrate to the brine (mainly, in this case, so I can watch cure penetration, due to the way sodium nitrate binds myoglobin).
Note the faint ring on the cross-section; this indicates how far the cure had penetrated in 12 hours.
Based on this, I’ll be curing the next lot for around 36 hours (4 days, if it’s an entire loin).

So, how does it taste? It’s a slightly cider-like taste, balanced beautifully by the rosemary and chilli. The ground mustard seems to have disappeared in there, but I’m ok with that.

All in all, a qualified success.

The flavour is definitely…intriguing. But the following flaws prevent this batch of sausages from being all they could be:

• A little too much cumin (I suspect this may mellow a bit with age but, still, it kind of overwhelms the other flavours).
• Not enough tequila (I’d say 30% more) for the flavour to really come through (although it may simply be swamped by the cumin).
• I’m not happy with the ratio of Ancho to Chipotle to Paprika. I think I’d prefer less paprika, and more Ancho (and a little more Chipotle, too). Next time, I’ll try deriving the heat less from paprika and more from some fresh chilli.

Pictures to follow.

While the test-patty is a good indicator of rough flavour, be aware that the flavour will definitely  mature in the day or two after the sausages were made.

They weren’t perfect (too much chilli and, due to smear, the texture left a lot to be desired), but they were pretty damn delicious.

Here’s how it looked from start to finish:

[Show as slideshow]

I have since discovered that, rather than cubing the meat, I can get a much better result but cutting it into strips. I believe this is due to the way the back end of each strip holds the front steady while it’s being sliced by the grinder.