For the most succulent sausage, make your own

It's a sausage lover's world out there, right? The crisp crunch of that first juicy bite, the perfect blend of fresh ground meat redolent with toasted spices and pungent herbs.

Granted, you can find good packaged sausages. But for the true fan, nothing compares to the texture and flavors to be found in great homemade sausage.

Sausage-making is an art that spans almost every regional and ethnic cuisine, a craft honed and perfected over thousands of years. For the first-time sausage-maker, the process can seem mysterious. Not to mention daunting.

But make your own sausage, and you might never go back to commercial again. Make your own, and you're limited only by your imagination. Choose the kinds of meat you want to use and flavor the sausage to suit your tastes. Best of all? Made from scratch, the sausage is your creation and you know exactly what has gone into it - no mystery ingredients here.

Start with something like a simple country-style chicken sausage. Combine just a few ingredients and the sausage is ready to go. It doesn't need to be cased; simply form the loose sausage into patties and fry to order. Studded with apples and onions, and scented with cinnamon and chopped sage, it's wonderfully fragrant and tender - the perfect breakfast sausage.

Or riff on a classic, such as bratwurst. It's a rustic pork and veal sausage ground with a delicate balance of flavorings and spices. Case the sausage into plump, tender links and they're ready to go, whether you're serving them with a cold beer for Oktoberfest or grilling a batch for your next pre-game cookout.

Or get creative with a bold and spicy sausage, like "merguez." This lamb-based sausage gets its bright color and assertive flavor from peppers and chilies. Grill it and serve it on its own, or use it to spice soup, stew and chili.

While the ingredients are basic, sausage-making does take some special equipment, which is available at kitchen stores or online. Consider purchasing a food grinder. Though not essential (you can ask your butcher to grind the meat for you), a grinder enables you to flavor and season the sausage mixture before it's ground. Hand-cranked and motorized grinders are available, as are grinder attachments for heavy-duty stand mixers. You can also grind the meat with a food processor, but it's easy to over-heat and over-grind the meat, reducing it to a paste.

You also might want a sausage stuffer if you plan to case your sausage. Tube stuffer attachments are available for most meat grinders, which are great for small batches of sausages. Stand-alone stuffers tend to be a little more expensive, but are a good investment if you plan to make homemade sausage frequently or more than a few pounds at a time.

Sausage-making should not be rushed. Allow yourself enough time to complete the entire process, from purchasing your ingredients to stuffing the links, in one day.

Sausages can be made from almost any meat, but the most common is pork. Pork is versatile, inexpensive, tender when ground and full of juicy flavor. Pork typically stays moist throughout cooking and lends itself to any of a number of flavorings. Cheaper, tougher cuts of meat, such as the shoulder, or "Boston butt," often work best.

An integral part of any sausage recipe is fat. Fat gets a bum rap, but here it lends flavor and gives a smooth, juicy texture. Recipes may vary from about 15 percent to 30 percent fat. This may seem high, but it's comparable to most commercial ground hamburger and lower than some commercial sausage, which can contain up to 50 percent fat.

Pork fat is used most in sausage making, regardless of the type of lean meat used. Back fat (or fatback), the white fat that runs along the back of the pig, is often recommended.

When you're ready to start, cut the meat and fat into manageable pieces, about 1-inch cubes, toss them with seasonings and spices and then cover and refrigerate the mixture for up to two hours so the flavorings marry with the meat.

Half an hour or so before grinding, place the mixture in the freezer; it should chill almost to the point of freezing. Keeping the meat thoroughly chilled is essential. If the meat warms, the protein and fats in the sausage can separate, causing the sausage to break when it cooks, resulting in a coarse, grainy texture.

It's also a good idea to chill the grinder and stuffer attachments before using.

Keep the sausage mixture well-chilled at all times, and grind it into a bowl set over ice. If the grinder blade clogs during grinding, clean it quickly to prevent the sausage mixture from warming.

When the sausage is ground, knead the mixture with your hands. Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn in their book Charcuterie compare mixing ground sausage to kneading bread dough; working the mixture develops structure. The final mixture should be cohesive, with a slightly sticky texture.

After the sausage is combined, test for flavoring and seasoning. Break off a bit of the sausage and make a small patty, then pan-fry it and taste it. When you're happy with the flavor, wrap the loose sausage tightly in plastic wrap (a large log shape works well; unwrap the log and slice patties as needed), or prepare the stuffer to case the sausage into links (if stuffing, plan to do this soon after kneading, before the sausage has a chance to "set up," or stiffen).

Stuff the sausage into casings according to manufacturer's instructions and when the casing is filled, inspect the sausage for any air bubbles and prick them with a pin, then twist the sausage into even-sized links. Place the sausage on a rack and refrigerate, uncovered, for a few hours or up to overnight to set up. Uncooked fresh sausage generally will keep, tightly covered, two to three days refrigerated and up to two months frozen.

After it sets, go ahead and cook the sausage. Loose sausage can be cooked simply by pan-frying it in patties or by crumbling it into a larger dish.

With cased sausage, cooking can be a bit more tricky. It may be tempting to throw those beautiful links directly on the grill, but that cooks them unevenly, potentially causing the fat to separate, even making them split and burst. To keep them beautiful, poach them first, just until they're cooked through. This cooks the sausages gently and evenly so they retain their moisture and smooth texture.

Make the sausages yourself, or better yet, invite your friends over to help and make a food event out of it.

Makes 16 servings

EndTextStartText

1/2 cup apple cider

1 chicken bouillon cube

31/2 pounds boned chicken thighs with skin, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons minced fresh sage

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 ounces dried apples, cut into 1/4-inch dice (you will have about 1 cup)

1/2 cup finely diced onion

About 5 feet medium sausage casings, optional

EndTextStartText

1. In a small saucepan, bring the cider to a boil, then reduce to a good simmer. Cook until the cider reduces to 1/4 cup, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the bouillon cube, stirring until the cube dissolves. Place the mixture in a glass container and refrigerate until chilled.

2. In a large bowl, toss the chicken with the salt, black pepper, sage, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cover the bowl and place the chicken in the freezer just until it begins to stiffen, about 30 minutes.

3. Remove the chicken from the freezer and grind with a meat grinder fitted with a 3/8-inch grinding plate into a large bowl set over an ice bath. Once the chicken is ground, stir in the reduced cider, diced apples and onion. Knead and squeeze the mixture until well blended.

4. Fry a small patty until done to check the flavor and seasoning (it should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees). If necessary, adjust salt, pepper and other seasonings, then fry another small patty and check again.

5. Divide the sausage into 7 or 8 portions (each about one-half pound). Alternatively, stuff the sausage into the casing, following the manufacturer's instructions for your sausage stuffer; tie into 5-inch links. Refrigerate the sausage up to 2 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

Note: This recipe requires a meat grinder.

Per serving: 189 calories, 17 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrates, 11 grams fat, 64 milligrams cholesterol, 414 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

EndText

Makes 12 servings

EndTextStartText

1 1/2 pounds lean pork butt

1 pound boneless veal shoulder

1/2 pound pork back fat

1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (medium grind)

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher or coarse salt

1 teaspoon toasted and crushed caraway seed

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

About 3 feet prepared hog casing

EndTextStartText

1. Cut the pork, veal and back fat into 1-inch cubes. Freeze the cubes in separate bowls for about 30 minutes to firm them up before grinding.

2. Grind the pork, veal and back fat separately through a meat grinder fitted with a 3/8-inch grinding plate into a large bowl set over an ice bath.

3. Combine the meats and fat together with the pepper, salt, caraway seed, marjoram, allspice and sugar. Cover and freeze the mixture for 30 minutes. Remove and grind the mixture again using the finest grinding plate of the meat grinder. Add the heavy cream and mix well, using your hands.

4. Fry a small patty until done to check the flavor and seasoning (the sausage should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees). If necessary, adjust salt, pepper and other seasonings, then fry another small patty and check again.

5. Stuff the mixture into the prepared casing according to the manufacturer's instructions for your sausage stuffer. Prick any air pockets with a pin and twist off into 4- to 5-inch lengths. Refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

Note: This recipe requires a meat grinder and sausage stuffer. Casings should be properly flushed and softened before using; consult your butcher or the packaging.

Per serving: 282 calories, 22 grams protein, 1 gram carbohydrates, 21 grams fat, 101 milligrams cholesterol, 302 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber.

EndText