Homemade sausage: preparing for the wurst
Dan Bolyard/courtesy photo Homemade sausage, fluffy yeast pancakes and scrambled eggs make breakfast worth getting out of bed for.
I’ve had a large supply of ground pork sitting in the freezer from a pig I butchered in 2016. It was kind of ornery, so I figured the meat might be a bit tougher. Instead of cutting out chops or doing up a ham, I ground all of the meat. I think I still have about 125 pounds of ground pork in the freezer. It was ground once with a medium-sized grinder plate, and runs less than 10 percent fat. It’s fairly lean. My intention was to make up various cured meats, but I haven’t gotten to that yet. I did come up with the need for about five pounds of breakfast sausage, so I grabbed a few packages out of the freezer to thaw.
In the meantime, I put together a seasoning blend that sounded like a good mix. I had a commercially prepared “breakfast sausage” seasoning blend, which isn’t too bad. I also put together a mixture of onion powder, garlic powder, ground sage, salt, pepper and brown sugar. The recipe I was working from called for ground cinnamon, but I substituted freshly ground nutmeg. I also skipped the marjoram as I couldn’t find any in the house.
Since my ground pork was so lean, it didn’t want to form into patties of any sort. Instead I just cooked it up and served it as crumbles. I could have easily stirred it into my scrambled eggs, but not everyone wants sausage, or pork of any sort.
Making up sausage links is a bit of a fussy step for most folks. If you have a meat grinder, you might likely have a sausage stuffing tube. You can find casings online or in the hunting supply sections of certain stores. You could make fake links by forming your seasoned ground pork into a rectangle and then using a knife to cut into approximate sized link sizes. I’d lightly chill the meat before cutting. Depending on how well the sausage holds together, you might be able to roll out the square edges by hand for a more rounded look. Fry as desired.
BREAKFAST SAUSAGE
2 teaspoons ground sage
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 pounds ground pork
In a large bowl, combine all of the seasonings. Mix in the pork until seasonings well blended. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Form into patties and fry in a frying pan over medium-high heat until meat is cooked through and golden brown. It would be best if you cooked each patty to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
BEEF SAUSAGE
1 teaspoon sage
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup water
2 pounds ground beef
In a large bowl, combine all of the seasonings and crumbs. Stir in water and egg and let stand for 5 minutes to allow crumbs to hydrate. Mix in beef until well blended. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Form into patties and fry in a frying pan over medium-high heat until meat is cooked through and golden brown. It would be best if you cooked each patty to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
DAN’S SCRAMBLED EGGS
1 teaspoon butter
4 eggs
1/8th cup heavy cream
Kosher salt, to taste
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
In a frying pan, heat butter until bubbly, but before it starts to brown. Crack eggs into a bowl and add cream and salt. Stir well with a fork to break open yolks and mix well. Pour into hot pan and allow the eggs to cook through a bit before stirring and scraping the pan with a wooden spoon. When the eggs are partially cooked, stir in the cheese. Finish cooking to desired doneness. Serve warm.
OVERNIGHT YEAST PANCAKES
2 1/4 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups warm milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and yeast; mix well. Add vanilla, milk, butter, and egg until well blended. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan to 375 degrees. Stir the batter with a whisk. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
Become a Subscriber!
You have read all of your free articles this month. Select a plan below to start your subscription today.
Already a subscriber? Login
