It’s been a pretty busy week here in the Foodie kitchen. Not only did I start on a couple of slabs of guanciale, but I also made another batch of beef jerky for the Everyman, and gathered together the makings for a sausage. I’ve been attempting to create a levain again too, which I’ve nicknamed Frankenstein, in the hopes that it will get big and strong and delicious. Lastly, I had a botched experiment in some bacon jam; I’m sure this is something I’ll come back to again at some point.
Having taken another stab at this whole charcuterie thing, I decided it was high time I started dabbling in a sausage I could call my own
As I mentioned before, there was a delicious baco noir sausage I wanted to recreate. The problem being that aside from the baco noir, I had no recollection of what what was in it. However, I do quite enjoy baco noir, so I decided that it would be the base for my sausage too. For some reason I was drawn to the idea of dried blueberries and fresh thyme leaves. To round it out, I threw in some leftover shallot confit from the Valentine’s dinner I made. Once combined, it turned a bright purple in the bowl, so I left it in the fridge to give the flavors a chance to mellow out for a day.
The next day I piped the whole purple mess into some casings. And I have to say, I was quite proud of myself. I didn’t break the casing once, and I turned out some evenly sized, quite professional looking sausages. Only time will tell whether they taste as delicious as they look. Their faint, violet hue is both charming and slightly disturbing; I just have to keep reminding myself that they are not spoiled meat.
For those who want it, I’ll post a copy of the recipe too.
Foodie’s Violet Baco Sausage
3 lbs pork butt, cut into chunks
0.25 c. shallot confit (caramelized onions would make a fine substitution)
0.33 c. dried blueberries, rehydrated in water until plump
0.5 c. baco noir wine
leaves from a dozen thyme sprigs
salt and pepper to taste
Grind chunks of pork butt with the shallot confit and dried blueberries twice; refrigerate for half an hour between grindings to firm up the meat. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until a slightly tacky paste is formed; mix thoroughly to ensure blueberries and shallot confit are evenly distributed throughout. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Stuff into casings and refrigerate sausages for an additional 24 hours to cure slightly. Use within 3 days or freeze.
Makes 10-12 links.
Until next time…
Tags: baco noir, blueberries, guanciale, levain, pork, Preservation, ramblings, Recipes, sausage
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