Sunday, May 15, 2011

May Charcutepalooza - Sausage, Sausage, Sausage


Finished Sausage!
The world of Charcutepalooza -- I'm trying things I never thought I could do and learning lots.  This month's challenge was to produce sausage -- several types of fresh sausage were on offer.  My choice was the pork garlic sausage with the addition of a few of my own spices.  I bought a grinder and sausage stuffing attachment for the reliable Kitchen Aid and secured some hog casings -- all from Amazon -- surprised by Amazon being a source for hog casings!!  My meat choice was the recommended boneless pork shoulder butt, garlic, salt and pepper and I added my own twist with toasted fennel and sage from my garden.  Initially, the garlic was the overwhelming flavor but as the mixture has settled, the toasted fennel is emerging as dominant.  No additional fat was added so the final product wasn't overly fatty (my complaint with a lot of sausage).
Seasoning ready to add to sausage
The process was chilling, cubing, chilling, chopping and combining, chilling, grinding (into chilled bowl), chilling, mixing, more chilling, stuffing, more chilling and eating/freezing.  Whew!  I did it solo and think it would be better as a two person operation -- one to push the meat and the other to guide the stuffing. 

I've served the sausage for two friend dinners.  One cooked on the stove top and the second on the grill with applewood smoke.  Both dinners were well received.

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