It's almost opening day for the grilling season. Memorial Day weekend for many means a trip to the market for a package of brats, Italians and dogs. You could, however, save the gas and make your own.
I doubt if any word brings dreams to more meat-lovers' eyes than the word "sausage." Sure, some of us adore rib-eyes, others, leg of lamb, and still others drool over venison or duck. Pork butt holds a special place in many hearts (and I'm not referring to arterial plaque). The meat-eating universe is big with many large and wide-ranging appetites. But whatever one's protein of choice, sausage holds a special place.
Making sausage is neither quick nor easy, but there's little more satisfying than having some friends and family over for a cookout and serving them your own homemade sausage, with grilled sweet onions and peppers.
The word sausage comes from the Latin salsicus meaning seasoned with salt. Salt was initially used as a preservative, as it was, until refrigeration became common. Removing moisture from the meat ? desiccating it ? made it less susceptible to bacteriological contamination.
Preserving a ham or a haunch of beef isn't that difficult. Salt it well, hang it in a cool place with good air circulation, smoke it, perhaps, to further dry it and kill surface contamination, and it will keep for quite a long time. The outermost layer of meat will dry out, but it can be trimmed off.
This technique works fine for big, solid cuts of meat, but what happens to the fiddly bits? Those bits of meat trimmed from the haunch, picked from the neck, wrapped around the tails ? they don't dry well. They get hard and tough after a month or so on a rack. It turns out, though, that if you grind these bits up with fat (to replace the water) and salt and spices (preservatives), then pack them in casings and dry them to make salami, sopressata, South African droe wors, pepperoni and other cured sausages, those fiddly bits also will last quite a while.
After working as editor of various computer magazines, Kevin D. Weeks is now a personal chef in Knoxville, Tenn. Weeks also teaches cooking classes, is the guide to Cooking for Two at About.com, and blogs at Seriously Good.
Despite the origin of its name, however, sausage isn't limited to the preserved varieties. Fresh sausage ? sausage meant to be eaten within a week ? also has its place. Fresh sausage also contains salt, herbs and spices and is also often packed in a casing. But although a casing is required to make a cured sausage (the mixture must be kept compact), it's just an option with fresh sausage. A casing on fresh sausage is more about presentation and convenience than anything else. And if you're ever bought Italian sausage at the store only to strip off the casing to use it in a dish, then you'll appreciate why I seldom make stuffed Italian sausage.
About 16 years ago I bought a stand mixer with the grinder and stuffer attachments so I could begin making sausage. I got some books on making sausage and began experimenting.
Those efforts weren't particularly successful. The results were dry and sawdust-like in texture. I quit trying until Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn published Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing. "Fat is fundamental to the quality of a sausage," the authors write. Sausage should contain 15 percent to 25 percent fat, they write. None of my other books had specified fat content, but it really is the difference between rich, juicy sausage and flavored sawdust. I specifically buy fat when I make sausage because even a fatty piece of meat like a shoulder is usually trimmed far too closely to provide enough lubrication. And remember, most of the fat will render out unless the sausage is in casings.
A kitchen scale also helps. Recipes specify ingredients by weight. If your recipe calls for 3 pounds of pork shoulder and the shoulder you bought weighs 3.75 pounds and you want a 20 percent fat content, then a quick calculation indicates you need to weigh out about a pound of fat.
Although I recommend a scale, you don't need a grinder or a stuffer. You can mince the meat and fat in a food processor (it affects the texture, but works) and a stuffer is only needed for stuffing sausage. If you want a grinder and stuffer, you can buy hand-operated devices for about $80 total ? and my grinder/stuffer attachments for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer cost about that. In fact, if you're really dedicated, you can use a knife to mince the meat and feed sausage into a casing with a spoon - which is the way it was done for thousands of years. Although stuffed sausages are more traditional for grilling, there's no reason you can't make hamburger-style patties to grill or fry in a skillet.
Perhaps the greatest thing about making sausage yourself is you get to determine the results. If you love the taste of fennel in Italian sausage, you can add more fennel. If mild breakfast sausage is too mild and hot too hot, then you decide how much heat to add. Like the idea of mixing some gruyere into your bratwurst? Go for it. Can't find fresh chorizo in your town? Make it yourself.
Making sausage is neither quick nor easy, but there's little more satisfying than having some friends and family over for a cookout and serving them your own homemade sausage, with grilled sweet onions and peppers.
General Guidelines For Making Sausage
- Buy extra fat. Most meat is too lean to make juicy sausage. For pork, fat back is best, but make sure it hasn't been cured (salted or smoked) in any way.
- Cut the meat into cubes, toss with dry seasonings, spread on a tray and freeze for 1 hour.
- Chill the mixing bowl, and grinder if you have one, in the freezer.
- Grind the meat and fat together or process together in a food processor.
- Don't force the meat and fat through the grinder; just drop in a cube at a time. You can feed the grinder steadily ? just don't pack it. For a food processor, pulse the meat and some fat in relatively small batches until about the size of small corn kernels and then scoop into the cold bowl.
- Chill the ground mixture for at least an hour after mixing. Mix in the other ingredients gently to avoid toughening the meat.
- For a finer texture, grind a second time after mixing, using a smaller grinding plate, and for a food processor briefly pulse in small batches a few more times.
- After chilling, fry a small patty, taste and adjust seasonings.
- At this point you can stuff the sausage into casings if you wish (or I often form it into 1/4-pound balls and wrap in plastic). Give it another 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator before using or freezing for best flavor.
- I find that if I'm not using casings, bumping up the fat content is a good idea because much of the fat renders out.
May 24, 2011
When I was growing up, a small ma-and-pa grocery store opened near us. "Pa" was a professional butcher, and he made sausages. My favorite was his Italian sausage, which my mother would fry in a skillet and serve in a hotdog bun. Loved those things ? still do. But these days I'm more likely to use Italian sausage in bulk form as an ingredient in other dishes. Adapted from Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn (W.W. Norton & Co., 2005).
Of course fresh Italian sausage can be stuffed into a casing, but another option is to portion it into patties, fry it and serve it on a bun.
Of course fresh Italian sausage can be stuffed into a casing, but another option is to portion it into patties, fry it and serve it on a bun.
Makes 3 1/2 pounds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
3 pounds boneless pork butt or shoulder, cut into 1-inch chunks
8 ounces pork fat, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons hot Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup ice water
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Toast fennel seeds, coriander seeds and pepper flakes in a small skillet over low heat, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Toss meat and fat with all seasonings but not water and vinegar. Place in freezer until semi-frozen, about 1 1/2 hours.
Grind meat using 3/16-inch plate. (Or pulse in a food processor until about the size of baby peas.) Add water and vinegar to mixture and knead and squeeze to mix thoroughly. Or use paddle attachment on stand mixer on low. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then fry a small patty, taste and adjust seasonings.
At this point you can stuff casings using a sausage stuffer or divide into bulk portions for later use.
To grill the stuffed version, I pre-cook these by simmering in beer, then grill and serve in buns with chopped raw tomatoes, lettuce, peperoncini and sharp provolone.
May 24, 2011
A few years ago, a local sheep farmer asked me to develop a lamb sausage. I loved the idea because he was specifically looking for ways to use the fiddly bits left over from butchering. I decided to go for something with a Provencal character and came up with this recipe. Because of the fresh herbs, garlic and wine, it is best if eaten within a few days of making it. Also, I generally trim most visible fat from the lamb and use pork fat instead. This sausage will freeze but is best fresh.
Makes 3 pounds
2 1/2 pounds lamb (any cut but shoulder and breast are cheap and delicious), cut into 1-inch chunks and trimmed of fat
1/2 pound pork fat, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup red wine
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
12 to 15 juniper berries, cracked and chopped
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Spanish hot paprika
Freeze meat and fat until slightly frozen, about 1 1/2 hour.
Meanwhile, reduce wine over medium heat, to 1/2 cup.
Grind meats using a 1/8-inch plate. (Or pulse in a food processor until about the size of rice.) Add seasonings and wine and mix thoroughly by hand, kneading and squeezing mixture to distribute ingredients evenly, or use the paddle attachment on your stand mixer on low.
Chill for 1 hour then fry a small patty, taste and adjust seasonings if needed. At this point you can stuff casings using a stuffer or divide into bulk portions for later use.
For the stuffed version, I pre-cook these by simmering in red wine before grilling them, then serve with grilled banana peppers and Dijon mustard on baguettes.
May 24, 2011
I arrived in Munich about 11 a.m., starving. I was 18, hitchhiking through Europe, and my ride had just dropped me off. My nose immediately detected something wonderful and I followed it to a kiosk selling sausages. I bought a bratwurst that came on a square of waxed paper with a small hard rye roll and a scoop of mustard. Awesome. I had no idea a sausage could taste so good.
Kevin D. Weeks for NPR
Makes 3 pounds
1 1/2 pounds pork butt, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound veal shoulder, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 pound pork fat, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
2 teaspoons ground caraway seed
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup milk
Toss meat and fat with seasonings (but not milk) and freeze until slightly frozen, about 1 hour.
Grind meats using a 1/8-inch plate. (Or pulse in a food processor until about the size of rice.) Add milk and mix thoroughly by hand, kneading and squeezing mixture to distribute ingredients evenly, or use the paddle attachment on your stand mixer on low.
Chill for 1 hour, then fry a small patty, taste and adjust seasonings if needed. At this point you can stuff casings or divide into bulk portions for later use.
If you don't want to do casings, you'll be surprised at how good a grilled (or fried) brat-burger is with some red onion and brown mustard on a Kaiser roll.
May 24, 2011
During the many years I spent wandering the country, there were two things I missed most as a Southerner. One was fresh turnip greens. The other was good country sausage. The country sausage you find outside the South isn't worthy of the name. It's bland on all counts. The really good stuff is just great pork, salt and black pepper, cayenne pepper and sage. Lots of flavor and no filler. My version is unusual in that it includes some country ham, which adds depth and richness.
Kevin D. Weeks for NPR
Makes about 3 1/2 pounds
3/4 pound country ham, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork butt or shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
2/3 pound pork fat, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried, ground (rubbed) sage
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup ice water
Finely grind country ham in a food processor.
Toss meats with all seasonings except water and place in freezer until semi-frozen, about 1 1/2 hours.
Grind meat using 3/8-inch plate. (Or pulse in a food processor until about the size of baby peas.) Add water and ham to mixture and knead and squeeze to mix thoroughly, or use paddle attachment on your stand mixer on low. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then fry a small patty, taste and adjust seasonings.
At this point you can stuff casings using a stuffer or divide into bulk portions for later use.
For a real Memorial Day treat, grill patties then top with sharp cheddar cheese and serve on fresh biscuits.
Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/24/136616733/homemade-sausages-for-a-memorable-day?ft=1&f=1008
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