Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Butcher inspires sausage day menu
I’ve devised a food day that will surely please my father on his 89th birthday. A long-retired butcher, my dad has marked many special occasions making and cooking sausage. From the family’s paprika and garlicky Hungarian pork sausage, to grilled veal bratwurst and thuringer buried in sauerkraut, the man enjoys it all. And it’s no wonder because sausage works for any meal.
Start the day with a skillet breakfast with sliced sausages or whole browned sausages served alongside. For lunch, another one-skillet meal: cabbages, tangy sauerkraut and full-bodied kielbasa. After a stroll in the park, we’ll sip a glass of wine while munching on peppered salami (remember, it’s a sausage too) that’s been crisped in a moderate oven.
Sausage, highly seasoned minced meat mixed with a bit of fat, typically gets stuffed into casings made from cleaned animal intestines. Occasionally, I make my own blend and unearth the sausage stuffer from the cabinet. Mostly, I simply cook the seasoned meat, sans added fat and casings, over moderately high heat to render it moist and delicious.
For dinner, a free-form, casing-free sausage made from freshly ground lamb, Kalamata olives and plenty of fresh herbs comes together quickly. Serve the lamb sausage with a robust tomato dipping sauce and a side of basmati rice. Or, remove the sausage from skewers and serve it wrapped in warm pitas topped with the tomato sauce and paper thin slices of cucumber.
It’s a menu a dad could love. Arrange a single layer of thinly sliced peppered salami on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Place in a 325-degree oven until heated through and glazed, about 10 minutes. Let cool on the rack; salami will crisp as it cools. Serve at room temperature.