Making Sausage

A Little History
For many of the past centuries, sausages were made to help preserve meats before the time of refrigeration. The word sausage comes from the Middle English sausige, which came from sal, Latin for salt, the main preservative used throughout history.

Today, sausages are made for the simple fact that they are a wonderful, tasty food. Hundreds of different varieties are made in the United States alone, and thousands more worldwide, varying by regional tastes and ingredient availability.

What's In There?
Sausage is basically defined as ground meat mixed with fat, salt and other seasonings, preservatives and sometimes fillers. Sausage is available in fresh form, which needs to be cooked before consumption, and dry or cured form, which are already cooked. Virtually any type of meat can be used in sausage, but most common are pork or pork blends. However, true sausage lovers will try most anything. Vegetable sausages and seafood sausages are becoming more popular.

Casings
Traditionally, link sausage is stuffed into casings made from the intestines of animals, but artificial casings, which are made mainly of collagen are available in most specialty markets. Both work well, but some casings need to be pierced to avoid air bubbles when stuffing.

Most meat grinders come with instructions for stuffing your casings and come with funnel shaped attachments. If you do not have a meat grinder to use to stuff the casings, you can even use a baker’s piping tube to stuff the casings or even a new, clean funnel. Anything that works for you is okay.

All casings that have been preserved in salt must be soaked in lukewarm water for at least 30 minutes before use. Flush each casing under cold water, running cold water through the casing. This removes excess salt from the casing. Unused casings can be drained, covered with salt and frozen.

Grinding
If you buy fresh meats from the market, you may ask the butcher to grind it for sausage for you. Don’t be afraid to ask, that’s what they are there for and can usually share a recipe or two. Making a friend with a butcher is one of the best investments you can make. Grinders are easy to find in any department store or kitchen specialty store and some are rather inexpensive. Your food processor with the metal blade will also work. Be sure your ingredients are well-chilled, as the chopping/grinding process creates heat which can start to cook your mixture, turning it into a paste-like substance.

Grinders are easy to find in any department store or kitchen specialty store, to see some in our store. Your food processor with the metal blade will also work. Be sure your ingredients are well-chilled, as the chopping/grinding process creates heat which can start to cook your mixture, turning it into a paste-like substance.

Reduce the Fat
While it’s true that most sausages you are familiar with are high in fat content, making your own allows you to control the amount of fat and reduce it dramatically. Just remember, a lower fat content usually means a drier sausage. Many folks like to add a small amount of tofu to their meat mixture to help keep the sausage from becoming too dry. Tofu is hardly noticeable and has no real flavor of its own.

Safety Concerns

Bacteria can spread throughout a work area and contaminate equipment and work surfaces. To reduce your risk of food-borne illness, please adhere to the following:

Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water before beginning to work and after changing tasks or after doing anything that could contaminate your hands such as sneezing or coughing.

Start with clean equipment and clean thoroughly after using. Be sure all surfaces that come into contact with meat are clean.

Sanitize surfaces with a solution of 1 tablespoon chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Allow to air dry. Keep meat as cold as possible (40 °F or lower) during processing.

Recipe Finds
We have three recipes here for your enjoyment. Feel free to adjust the ingredients as you see fit. The great thing about sausages is that they can be adjusted to your liking without worrying about a disappointing result. If you have any favorites that you like to share, please post to our message boards, or submit to us to be included in our recipe archive.

Italian Fennel Pork Sausage
Ingredients:

• 2 Boston pork butts, skinned, boned, and cut into small chunks (including fat), weighing 6 pounds after trimming
• 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese
• 4 tablespoons crushed fennel seeds
• 3 garlic cloves, minced

Instructions:
Crisp fennel seeds in a pan in a preheated 325-degree F. oven for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and thoroughly blend with your hands.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight for flavors to meld.

Put seasoned pork chunks through medium plate of a grinder, or pulse several times in your food processor using the chopping blade.

Place in a large bowl and mix thoroughly to evenly dis tribute seasonings.

Fry a sample patty in melted butter to test for proper seasoning.

All sausages can be prepared as patties (the easiest and many think the most flavorful method of preparation), or run through a sausage-stuffer or a funnel into sausage casings, then frozen.

Most food processors come with instructions for stuffing casings.

Yield: about 6 pounds

Recipe #2:
LEAN Italian Sausage

Prepare the basic lean meat mixture as follows:

• 4 pounds bone & skinless turkey breast
• 2 pounds boneless pork loin
• 2 tablespoons browning sauce

Seasonings:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons fennel seeds, crushed
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 6 yards sausage casing
• Vegetable cooking spray

Instructions:
Combine the meat mixture and all seasonings and mix well in a large bowl.

For best flavor, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to let flavors merge.

Force meat mixture into the casing using a sausage stuffer or a funnel and twist off at 6 or 8-inch intervals.

Cut each link to separate and you are ready to cook them, or freeze to be kept fresh.

Each 4-oz. Serving contains about 170 calories and about 4.6 g fat (1.3 g saturated) and about 300 mg. Sodium.

Recipe #3
Lobster Boudan - New Orleans Style!

• 2 pounds lobster meat, raw
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup cognac
• Salt to taste
• Cayenne to taste
• White pepper to taste
• 4 cups cooked medium-grain rice
• 1 1/2-inch diameter, casings, about 4 feet in length

Instructions:
In a food processor, combine the lobster meat, shallots, cream and cognac.

Season with salt, cayenne and pepper.

Turn the mixture into a mixing bowl.

Stir in the rice and parsley. Season with salt, cayenne and black pepper.

To test the seasoning of the sausage, pan-fry a small piece of the filling for a couple of minutes on each side.

Re-adjust the seasoning if needed.

Either using a feeding tube on your meat grinder, or a funnel, stuff the sausage into the casings and make links by twisting every 4 inches.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water up to a boil.

Poach the sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the sausage is firm to the touch.

Remove from the water and allow to cool.

In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, pan-fry the sausage in butter for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Remove from the pan and they are ready to serve.

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