Sausage Making.pdf

The Many Sausages

famous people who, even if they didn't actually make their

own, contributed to sausage's sometimes inglorious past.

Although Homer didn't mention anything about Helen of

Troy sending out for a sausage and pepperoni pizza, he did state

in the Odyssey that when the Greeks and Trojans weren't

fighting they often enjoyed a few plump, well-turned sausages

grilled over the campfire.

Constantine, on the other hand, banned sausage shortly after

he inherited the Roman Empire. It seems that he was embar-

rassed by the orgies at which sausage was often consumed. His

puritanical sensibilities simply wouldn't stand for it. Of course he

also banned skinnydipping in the public baths so you know that

he was just no fun at all.

Our own history might have been different if (so the story

goes) Captain John Smith hadn't been so adept at roasting his

homemade Polish kielbasa over an open fire. It seems that

Pocahontas loved that sausage and so she convinced daddy to

spare Captain John's life. And they say the way to a man's

heart... ? Anyway, with a name like Smith it was no easy feat

for kielbasa to come to the rescue.

Sausage Varieties

To the best of my knowledge no one has ever catalogued all the

various kinds of sausage in the world. The attempt would prob-

ably be futile since some sausage is made only in a small region

and some kinds of sausage don't exist anymore. The American In-

dians, for instance, made several kinds of dry or cured sausage

from meat and berries but they never bothered to write down

their recipes. To further complicate matters every sausage

maker has his own — very often secret — recipe for a par-

ticular kind of sausage. A generic term like "salami" refers to

dozens of different sausages, some no more alike than night and

day.

It is for these reasons that there really is no such thing as

M aking your own sausage will put you in a league with some

"Italian sausage" or "Polish sausage" or any of the other dozens

of ethnic varieties sold in most supermarkets. Certain kinds of

sausages owe allegiance to various countries or regions but

"Italian sausage" may be Italian to one person but pure bologna

to another.

By definition (mine), sausage is a mixture of ground meat laced

with herbs and spices. That doesn't begin to describe the virtual-

ly limitless varieties of sausage.

All sausages fall into one of two groups. Fresh sausages must

be cooked before being eaten. They must be treated like other

fresh meat — kept cold when stored. Cured sausages are

preserved with certain ingredients such as salt and/or they have

been dried to prevent spoilage. (See chapter five for a discussion

of methods of preservation.) Cured sausages can be eaten as is or

with only enough cooking to heat them through.

Fresh Sausages

Let's take a look at the various kinds of sausages we'll be mak-

ing. First the fresh ones ....

Bockwurst is a German-style sausage made from veal or veal

and pork. It is usually flavored with onions, parsley, and cloves.

Bratwurst is another German-style sausage made from pork

and veal. It looks like a fat hot dog and is delicately flavored with

allspice, caraway and marjoram.

Country sausage is one of the most common kinds of sausage

found in this country. It can be made into patties or small links

and is spiced predominantly with sage.

Frankfurter, or your plain old-fashioned hot dog, is the most widely

consumed sausage in the world, thanks primarily to the in-

dustriousness of American meat packers. Americans consumed

17 billion hot dogs in 1979. Though the commercial variety frank

sometimes deserves its lowly reputation, consisting as it does of

mostly water and fat, the homemade variety belongs on the same

pedestal as all the other homemade sausages because it is just as

wholesome and delicious.

Liverwurst is, next to the hot dog, the most famous of

the German-style sausages.

Vienna sausage consists primarily of pork and beef, but veal

can be added to give it a milder flavor. Onions, mace, and cori- -

ander are the predominant flavors.

Cotechino is an Italian-style sausage that is best made from

fresh, uncured ham. Nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves combine with

Parmesan cheese to give it its unique flavor.

Luganega is a very mild Italian-style sausage. It is unique in

that it is flavored with freshly grated orange and lemon zest.

Northern Italian-style hot or sweet sausage is what you

usually see in the meat case labeled simply "Italian sausage." It

is traditionally a pure pork sausage in which coriander is the

principal herb used as flavoring.

Sicilian-style sausage is basically the same as Northern Italian

sausage except that fennel takes the place of coriander.

Chorizo can be either fresh or cured. The fresh variety is

similar to Sicilian sausage except that it is much spicier. It is not

for people with timid palates.

Garlic sausage can also be fresh or cured. The fresh variety is

a pork sausage with lots of garlic and a little white wine for

flavor. It is an excellent addition to stews or casseroles that call

for some sausage because it is able to stand up to long cooking

without losing its flavor.

Polish kielbasa. Like "Italian sausage," kielbasa is more of a

generic term than a reference to a specific sausage. The commer-

cial variety is preserved and precooked but the homemade vari-

ety is just as often made fresh. I recently had an argument with

someone who insisted that the true kielbasa was made solely

from pork. In fact, kielbasa can be made from any combination of

beef, pork, or veal. Using all three varieties of meat gives the

sausage a much more exciting flavor.

Cured Sausages

Cured sausages would take up the most space in any sausage

catalogue. The proliferation of this species is due in part to the

imaginations of commercial meat-packing plants' promotional

departments. Old-time sausage makers were imaginative, to be

sure, but the technological wurstmachers of today never seem to

tire of inventing new varieties — or at least new names for old

sausages.

Here are some of the cured sausages we'll be making:

Pepperoni is an Italian-style sausage made from beef and pork.

It is quite dry and can be extremely pungent depending upon

how much red pepper you dare throw in.

Salami is a generic term that refers to sausages made from

beef or pork or both. It comes in many shapes and sizes and can

be quite hard and dry.

Garlic sausage, the cured variety, is an extremely complex

combination of flavors. It is not meant to be used in recipes call-

ing for garlic sausage (that province rests with the fresh variety)

but is intended to be eaten out of hand.

Summer sausage, sometimes called cervelat, beef stick, or

beer sausage is a beef or pork and beef sausage that resembles

some of the drier salamis but has a milder and somewhat sweeter

flavor.

Chorizo (dried variety) most closely resembles pepperoni in

size and shape but is usually many times more pungent.

Venison sausage is one you'll have to hunt for and your

grocer's meat case probably won't have it. It usually includes

some pork because, as you know if you've ever tasted venison, it

can be very dry if not treated properly.

Thuringer sausage is a German-style, lightly smoked sausage

which, though technically cured, is not extremely dry and is

more perishable than other cured sausages. Mace, mustard seed,

and coriander provide the flavor.

Garlic ring bologna is another "almost cured" sausage that is

lightly smoked, precooked, and quite garlicky.

Mettwurst is similar in most respects to garlic ring bologna

but is milder in flavor. It contains ginger, celery seed, and

allspice.

Braunschweiger is a pure pork German-style sausage. Its flavor

is mild and smoky and accented by onions, mustard seed, and

marjoram.

Smoked country-style sausage is something you've no doubt

encountered in the meat case labeled "little smokies" or

something similar. You can easily make your own with pork and

beef.

Smoked kielbasa is the sausage you find in the meat case labeled

"Polish sausage." It is similar to the fresh variety except that the

flavors are more concentrated because it is smoked and pre-

cooked.

Bavarian summer sausage is a German-style salami which is

indebted to me for its name, because whenever I have some I

can't help but think of Bavarian beer fests and rye bread. It is

very mildly flavored with mustard seed and sugar.

Yirtmicky is a Czech sausage most easily made if you have ac-

cess to freshly butchered pork because its ingredients include

the meat from a pig's head along with the lungs, heart, and kidneys.

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