Sausage Fest

I know I've neglected this blog so finally here's a new post.
In December I invited some family members and friends to a sausage making session at our church. My friend, David, and I hatched this session because we were both interested in learning to make really good sausage. He had tried before but was not happy with the results. After some research using the Internet and my own, as well as my friend, Elsie's, extensive collection of cookbooks, I came up with the following recipe.

I gave some sausages to Elsie and family. My favorite comment was from Elsie. She said that she took one bite and it transported her back to her childhood eating her Aunt Bina's Portuguese sausage!

Now don't expect it to taste like commercially prepared sausage. This has a much more full bodied flavor.


Easy Old Timey Sausage

Combine with hands:
1 lb. of pork butt, about 2/3 lean and 1/3 fat, diced fine
One-half tsp. each of sherry, whiskey and vinegar
1 tsp. ea of garlic powder and onion powder
Place in fridge

Grind One-half tsp. ea. of cinnamon, chili, oregano, ground black pepper, sugar
and one-quarter tsp. of cayenne
1 T. ea. of paprika and Hawaiian salt,
1 tsp. chili pepper flakes and
1 bay leaf
with a mortar and pestle or better- a spice grinder.
Set aside.

Saute 1 large clove of garlic, minced and 3 T. finely minced onion in a pan w/ 1 tsp. of oil, until garlic and onion are translucent. Turn off heat. Dab off any excess oil with a paper towel. Add herb mixture to garlic-onion mixture in pan while the pan is still hot.
Combine well. Cool completely.


Add garlic-onion-herb mixture to the pork mixture with your hands until well-combined.
Let sausage mixture sit in fridge at least overnight and up to 18 hours. (Do not skip this step. The spices and herbs need time to mellow and meld with the other ingredients)
Form into compacted logs with a diameter of 2 and one-half inches and wrap in cheesecloth to hold shape.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into slices and fry.
Or, form into compacted flat patties and fry immediately.
If you are ambitious you can force the mixture into casings for sausage and smoke the links.

Drain on paper towels.

Wanda Adams wrote an article that appeared in today's Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the Today's section for 2/16/11. To see the article, you can click the link to the left of this posting (under the photo of Wanda and David) or go to the Star-Advertiser's website for 2/16/11. If you scroll down to the bottom of their site you will see the article titled " How Sausage Is Made".