For Lovers of Encased Meats: Sausage in a Flash

About author / Amy Powell

World traveler; gourmet 30 minute meals; lover of exotic ingredients; winner on FoodTV's Chefs vs City; graduate French Culinary Institute. Her recipes will tantalize your taste buds.

‘Tis the season of encased meats. Nothing indicates the arrival of summer more than the smell of kielbasa cooking on a stand outside of Costco or the sizzle of hot dogs grilling at a neighborhood cookout. Be it hot dogs or sausages, encased meats are really a year-round staple food item. But there is something about the warm weather and the firing up of the grill that really gets one excited about tubular meat.

Encased meats are one of the original forms of prepared food, first recognized as being made almost 3000 years ago in what is now Iraq. Cured encased meats were born of necessity so as to extend the life of meat and to limit wastefulness. Traditionally sausages were made with the scraps of leftover meat, blood, even offal, depending on the variety, mixed with animal fat, salt, and spices. The not-so-appealing sounding mixture was then stuffed into an animal intestine, resulting in the now familiar tube shape of encased meats. The meat was then cured allowing it to be eaten for months to come.

Sausages are now eaten all over the world. In England sausages known as bangers often use starch as filler that helps keep the shape of the meat as it cooks. Germans boast over 1000 different types of sausages from bratwurst to mettwurst. The Chinese first recorded making sausage over 2500 years ago. And of course, who can forget the all-important American contribution to the world of encased meats, the ubiquitous hot dog.

My love of encased meats runs deep. I love encased meats so much, in fact, that I asked for an industrial sausage stuffer for Christmas this year. Sadly, it has hardly left the box since the wrapping paper was removed. Sausages are a savory and satisfying food but making them myself, industrial stuffer and all, can often seem a daunting task.

If you don’t happen to own a sausage stuffer, or are like me and have hardly taken yours out of the box, there are ways to try your hand at sausage making without the need for a hearty supply of animal intestine. Next time you are at Whole Foods, coveting the display of fancy looking links, instead of breaking the bank for gourmet sausages made by the supermarket, take notes on their varieties so you can try your hand at making them yourself.

A good sausage is not unlike a good hamburger in that it requires some ground meat with a high percentage of fat, usually about 30-35%. That meat mixed with your choice of seasoning and salt is the making of sausages in minutes. Instead of buying a stuffer, or removing the one you own from its package, just make that sausage of your choice into a quick sausage patty that can be grilled or pan fried in a matter of minutes.

The fat component is key. A quality ground lamb, pork, or beef chuck will likely have the fat needed to give the sausage patty flavor and keep the ground meat from simply tasting dry.

If you decide to try your hand at chicken or turkey sausage patties, that poultry meat will probably need a little help. First, try and buy a variety of ground poultry with dark meat in it as there is more flavor and more fat. Second, you might need an egg, or egg white, to bind the meat and provide some moisture. Third, the addition of fruit (such as the case with the highly popular chicken apple sausage) adds flavor and its high moisture content will keep the meat from drying out. I happen to like the combination of ground turkey with egg, diced pear, and minced sage for a different take on the morning breakfast sausage.

The pleasure of encased meats knows no season. However, there is nothing like long summer days and firing up the grill to get one in the mood for throwing some sausages on the barbeque. Whether or not you have a fancy market do the work for you, or a stuffer to make them professional looking yourself, sausages of all types can be had with not much more than what is in your spice cupboard, combined with a large mixing bowl and your bare hands to do the mixing.

So next time you get a craving for a sausage on the fly, forget the casing, make like the ancients and mix your meat scraps with some fat, salt, spices, and maybe a fruit or two and you have everything you need for a sausage anytime that craving for encased meats hits you.

Serves/Makes: 4

• 1 1/4 pound ground lamb
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 1 tablespoon paprika, PLUS
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 anchovy
• 1 can (15 ounce size) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley