Sausage Fest 2009

Sausage... Just saying the word causes my mind to flood with visions of sizzling intestinal casings filled with processed meats and spices ready to burst with the fatty juice that can only be described as "heart attack juice". Back in April, 2009, I was invited to my girlfriend's uncle Pete's dairy to take part in a tradition that I don't think I'll ever forget. I mean, how often are you approached with the option of making large quantities of homemade Italian sausage? This was my first time in 29 years so I'd say its pretty darn rare.


We arrived on Sunday, which I learned later was actually the second day of the event. Saturday was butchering day, which I wish I could have been a part of. Walking up to the old wooden structure (not sure what the room is really used for) I could smell a lot of recognizable scents. The smell of raw meat, wine, and very aromatic spices (clove, cinnamon, etc.) filled the entire space. The tying of the sausage links had already begun. I watched for a minute or two to see what I was in store for..







Yes, I'm making that ridiculous face on purpose.




To my right is my girlfriend's dad, Bill, who is familiar to this tradition (done this since he was a kid). He got me started by teaching me the initial "loop tie" to tie off the end of the sausage link, leaving a loop of string for hanging the sausage (some of the sausage is hung to dry almost like salami). The rope was soaked in water and small sticks were attached to a power drill to quickly wrap the rope onto the stick. Then, holding the stick in one hand, you cinch tie the links together (trying not to pop the casing). Sounds easy but it takes getting used to, after about 3 practice links, I pretty much had the technique down.

The day turned out to be a lot of fun, and even though I didn't get any pictures of the fantastic meal that was provided to all of us, I will have to comment on a few things. The sausage that was cooked up was FANTASTIC. Also, the mashed potato's were heaven in pan. There was so much butter in it that you could almost call it "mashed potato scampi", plus the fact that since we were at a dairy, I'm sure there was REAL milk used. I'm really glad I decided to go on this little adventure and hope that next year I'll be there again.

These two pictures are of the breakfast sausage casings, and also the breakfast sausage meat mixture inside the mixer.