Where recap = what do you mean its Monday TUESDAY ALREADY?! This weekend I was supposed to work on my redesign. Instead? LUNCH with friends. I was supposed to work more on my redesign. Instead? DRINKS with the neighbor. I was supposed to wrap up and upload my redesign. Instead? Watch the CARDINALS whoop some Seahawk boo-tayyy... anyway, you get my drift. Where drift = drifted far away from my responsibilities and closer to the cold cervesa in the chilled mug. The good news is football Sunday = time in the kitchen making some home made Italian sausage.
Initially I had no intention of making sausage this weekend. Can you tell scheduling does not seem to have its desired effect on me. I had one task - finish site redesign and instead I am watching football, drinking and making sausage (Talk about debauchery huh?). Truth be told, I went to the grocery store in hopes of getting some bulk Italian sausage from the local sausage-er (Sausage-er? Whuuu?) and found that they were all sold out and all that was left was the nitrate-laden, fat-packed blechhhhh inducing sausage links. (Yes I am looking at you rhymes with Millage Varket) Then it hit me. Hey Lazy - make it on your own. You are from Chicago - that knowledge was given to you at birth. So I did. I strode right past the pre-packaged links of hell and right to the butcher. Three pounds of pork shoulder please - and make it snappy - I have sausage that requires my attention. (Wait. I said whuuuuut?!)
Back home, armed with pork shoulder, my well stocked herb cabinet and my Kitchen Aid at my side, I started down a path I could never turn back on again. The joy of home made sausage. I chose to not stuff it in casings. With the holidays approaching - I knew I would be busting them open anyway so that extra step was not a necessity. I took the 3 pounds of pork, cut them up and ground them with that handy grinder attachment... and there is no good photo of grinding meat with this thing that does not conjure up some horror movie, so here is just a gratuitous pork shot.
Beautifully marbled, yet not too fatty. I learned that when making fresh sausage you don't need to add that extra pork fatback if you have a leaner cut, as it lasts about 5 minutes after you are finished cooking it anyway. I also used the following herbs and spices:
1 Tablespoon of paprika
1 Tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes
2 heaping teaspoons of fennel - lightly toasted
2 heaping teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons of onion powder
2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt.
I used my mortar and pestle to crush the fennel with the herbs rather then pulverize them. I like to see whole fennel in my sausage and I love it when they pop in my mouth. After I ground the pork, I added the spice mixture and blended thoroughly. Wah-lah! Fresh Italian sausage. I pan fried some up immediately to satiate my curiosity and my belly. It was spot on. The rest I froze for future recipes like sausage apple puffs and sausage bread and pasta with sausage and onions...
Oh looking for a photo of the sausage? Yea well un-cased sausage does not photograph very well. Nosirreebob not well. At. All.
And that site redesign? NEXT monday - did I mislead you and say that is was supposed to be on the 17th? Oops...
