Sausage-fest!!

So if you're an FB friend of mine you might remember this little statement my dad made in early January (this is an exact quote):

Hey Nanc! I was thinking of having a sausage-fest with Steve and the guys. You know, inviting them over and just having a whole bunch of different sausages.

I just knew i had to make that happen, it was only a matter of time...


Today i made Poblano Pepper sausage, only i couldn't find any poblano peppers, so i used spicy hot peppers, and i didn't have any 'Spanish paprika' so i used regular, and when i was talking to my boss about this she said, "You're really half-assing that sausage, huh?" Which, thanks buddy. Enjoy that 500 case grocery order my next day off (i kid, i kid). Usually i'm a stickler with recipes on the first go around, and have to do everything EXACT, then the next time i do whatever the fuck i want. oBviously this philosophy was thrown completely to the wind, but for some reason i still needed to stick to the 5 lbs of pork shoulder line and now have enough sausage for the rest of my life. Seriously though, if anyone wants some of this just let me know because it's pretty damn tasty and over-flowing the freezer. Mom, "Went a little overboard there buddy." (Also i didn't alter that statement either, my mom's now calling me buddy.)

First things first: Grind some meat! if you don't have a grinder you can buy it pre-ground.


This step was gross, and in an attempt to speed through it i turned the mixer up to high and let me tell you there is nothing scary then an out of control spinning meat grinder. Also there's nothing grosser then getting hit in the face by raw flying meat (so i thought). So don't do that. If you're wondering whether or not i'm a dofus, i'm wondering when i can see you and punch you in the face.

After that catastrophe was over, it was seasoning time. I used salt, cumin, ancho chili powder, minced garlic, fresh oregano, and regular paprika.


Once that's mixed you add 1 cup water, the peppers, and cilantro only I HATE cilantro with the heat of a thousand suns. Seriously though, it's one of my least favorite things on this planet, and i know some people have a gene that makes it taste like soap, but it doesn't taste like soap to me it tastes like watery projectile vomit, because that's what happens when i eat that shit. This is why me and parsley are best friends, so it's helping me out with this sausage.


This recipe went from 'southwestern' to 'italian' real fast (Fuck you Flay, Batalli's my boy!).

Anyway after all that's mixed it's time to stuff some sausage. If you're wondering what the grossest thing in the world actually is, it's hog casings:



Gross, don't think about it. So after de-brining and shoving that 10 mile long piece of pig intestinal lining onto the sausage filler, it's go time. Unfortunately you have to get pretty 'up close and personal' with this shit.


Picture fucking perfect. This was some hard ass work too, you should probably use a lower surface (and by you i mean: why didn't i use a lower surface? My arm hurts). You gotta twist it every six inches, and it is exactly like making a balloon animal, which consequentially i'll never look at the same way/inflate again.


So today had some ups and downs. Did i get hit in the face with meat? Yes. Did i use the proper ingredients? No. Did i almost loose an appendage, maybe. Did i half-ass this shit? A little. Did i spend half an hour fondling hog casings? Sure did! Did i end up with some bomb ass sausage? Absolutely.