A supper of black bread, sausage, and sweet white wine

I was more than a little relieved when the government did not shut down on Friday and that may have been reflected in my grocery shopping -- I had been trying to prepare myself mentally for a return to my postgraduate food budget, but was not particularly happy about it. Neither was the Viking, for that matter.

There is the possibility that we'll go through this again in two week's time, but if we do, at least the the freezer is now stocked with more than two baggies of blanched turnip greens and some beans. I cranked out 5 pounds of sausage and set 4 pounds of beef brisket to corn. I also made a cake that should possibly have been cookies instead -- another adventure in historic cooking -- and I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about that.

The sausage, though, I'm happy with. This is a somewhat more traditional sausage than the lamb one I made earlier this year. I want at some point to come up with a proper quantity of fresh chopped sage leaves (and fresh thyme), but this is pretty good for something made with dried herbs.



3 lbs chicken thigh meat (skinned and boned)
2 lbs pork meat (shoulder, for preference)
40 grams kosher salt
35 grams dark brown sugar
20 grams fennel seeds
10 grams dried rubbed sage
6 grams dried thyme
6 grams cracked black pepper
4 grams ground nutmeg
3/4 cup cider (Woodchuck Amber)
1/4 cup cider vinegar

I did not add extra fat. While I agree with those parties who hold that low-fat sausage is not good sausage, I've had too much sausage that was just plain greasy, and can't say I really like that either. I deliberately picked fattier cuts, and left whatever fat there was on the meat, but that was it. I think it was enough, but the Viking thinks the real test will be how it does when made into sausage gravy and poured over biscuits.

I put this through the grinder twice; once with the coarse die and then again on the medium. No casings this time -- I may just possibly have an unhealthy fondness for sausage-and-cheese-on-a-muffin breakfast sandwiches and those are more easily created with patties than links.



Daryl Hine