liv bites

When it comes to food, my assistant and I agree on most things. He’s turned me on to his loves like olives and peppers, and I introduced him to the wonderful world of Greek yogurt. But there is nothing he loves more than meat — especially sausage. It constantly impresses me how he can sneak sausage into almost any meal I’m making (on his plate, not mine). And when we’re eating meals separately, I can safely assume grilled sausages were on his plate.

Needless to say, he was beyond excited when I came over to his apartment last week with a bag of school-made Garlic Sausages.

I had no idea what to expect from our workshop in sausage-making, but here were the major takeaways:

• Sausage-making is very messy. I don’t know if I’ll ever look at raw pork — or yes, raw pork back fat — the same way.
• It’s an ordeal. If you’re going to go for it, go ahead and make pounds upon pounds of sausage, because you can always freeze them.
• You will smell like pork all day. Two showers are better than one.
• It’s really, really fun!

My father very generously surprised me with a KitchenAid stand mixer as a Christmas gift (thank you!), so imagine my shock to see that we were using the very same machines in class, with a special attachment, to make our sausages. In other words, for the nominal price of around $50, I could be making my own sausage at home.

Visions of a sausage-making party — not for the faint of heart — have begun floating around in my mind.

I was saddened to see that I didn’t snap any pictures of the raw sausages, but you’ve seen them all before. We used them to make a couple of different dishes, including:

Sausage Bruschetta with Roasted Peppers and Herbs

And a Warm Sausage Potato Salad with Wilted Arugula

In cooking school we always take the long way when making everything, and I’ve come to realize that not everything is worth it. Making your own sausages definitely is. Not only do you not have to worry about additives and nitrates and such, you also control the quality of the meat that goes in, as well as the seasonings. So take my advice and throw in another clove of garlic.

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