Authors: Victoria Wise
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To cook the sausages, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the sausages (don’t unwrap them if they are in cheesecloth) and parboil until firm, 5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Unwrap the cheesecloth and place the sausages side by side in a baking dish. Pour the honey over them and turn to coat all around. Place in the oven and bake, basting two or three times, until bronze colored, 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the apples. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the apples and cook, turning often, until deep gold on the outside and soft all the way through, 30 minutes or so, depending on the size of the pan and the type of apple.
Transfer the sausages and apples to a platter and serve.
An unassuming regional dish of sauerkraut with various charcuterie meats—sausage, duck confit, salt pork—garnered three stars for the restaurant L’Auberge de l’Ill, located on the banks of the River Ill in picturesque Alsace, and made both the specialty,
choucroute garnie
, and the restaurant classics in the world of European haute cuisine. It’s one of my favorite composed pork dishes, and I often cook a simple but still lusty version of it with robust Polish sausage. If you’d like to make it more elaborate, add baby back ribs baked until half done and/or the
cured duck legs without the Toulouse sausage stuffing
to the sauerkraut.
The juniper berries lend a clear, piney fragrance. If you don’t have any on hand, 1 tablespoon of good gin, the spirit they flavor, can be substituted.
SERVES 6
Sauerkraut
4 tablespoons butter
4 ounces salt pork, preferably with rind, cut into ½-by-1-inch pieces
2 yellow or white onions, halved and sliced ⅛ inch thick
¾ teaspoon caraway seeds
½ teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed with a mallet
10 juniper berries, crushed
1½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
3 pounds sauerkraut, drained and lightly squeezed
1 cup white wine
1 cup
chicken broth
1 pound
Fresh Polish Sausage
, stuffed in hog casing or hand formed into links about 3½ inches long by 1 inch in diameter
Potatoes
2 pounds red or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To make the sauerkraut, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the salt pork and sauté until barely beginning to turn golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, stir to coat them well, and sauté until they are softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the caraway, peppercorns, juniper, thyme, and sauerkraut, mixing with a fork to separate the sauerkraut strands. Add the wine and broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Transfer the contents of the sauté pan to a large ovensafe pan or clay pot, cover, and bake, stirring once or twice, until lightly brown around the edges, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in the same sauté pan used for the onions, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the sausages and sauté until golden all around, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
When the sauerkraut has cooked for 1 hour, add the sausages, pressing them in so they are well embedded. Decrease the oven heat to 325°F, cover, and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes.
While the sauerkraut and sausages finish cooking, prepare the potatoes. Place them in a large pot, add water to cover generously and a teaspoon or so of salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer and cook until they can be pierced all the way through, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot, and add the butter and parsley. Without stirring, cover the pot and set aside in a warm place.
To serve, present the sauerkraut in the clay pot, if you used one, or spoon it onto a platter. Gently stir the potatoes, season them with salt, and serve them in a separate bowl on the side.
Herbaceous and zesty, this sausage is an excellent all-purpose choice for whenever you want to add a sausage element that is neither too strident nor too wimpy. I especially like it for the
vindaloo
, where it stands up to the other forceful seasonings in the dish.
MAKES 1½ POUNDS
1¼ pounds ground pork
2 ounces salt pork, fat only, minced
2 teaspoons minced jalapeño chile
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage or ¼ teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
⅓ cup red wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste, if needed
Place all the ingredients except the salt in a medium bowl, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended. Cook and taste a small sample, then add the salt if needed. Leave in bulk and shape as directed in individual recipes or stuff into hog casing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight, to firm and to blend the flavors.
Sauté or grill, or cook as directed in individual recipes. (The uncooked sausage will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.)
Vindaloo originated in the tiny state of Goa, on India’s southwest coast, which was colonized by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. Because the Portuguese are traditionally Christian, pork is not proscribed in Goa, as it is almost everywhere else in India. Vindaloo, however, has been embraced throughout India and beyond, reinterpreted sometimes with chicken, sometimes with beef or lamb, so that it can be enjoyed within religious bounds. In fact, vindaloo with any meat, or even as a vegetarian dish, has an irresistible sweet-salty-sour-hot flavor. And though it seems intimidatingly spicy at first, one taste and you are hooked.
A fruit chutney, to both soothe and stimulate the palate, is an expected complement for many Indian meals. Here, dried plums fit that bill in a chutney that can be enjoyed year-round not only with this dish, but with nearly any pork, poultry, or game dish, as well.
I won’t tell you any lies: this dish is for a day when you feel like cooking. The good news is that it is a one-pot meal and worth it.
SERVES 6 TO 8
Chutney
1 cup dried plums, cut lengthwise into quarters
¼ red onion, cut in half lengthwise and cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped orange peel (not just the zest)
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar
Small pinch of cardamom seeds
Small pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup cold water
Vindaloo
3 yellow or white onions, 1 coarsely chopped, 2 quartered and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons peeled and coarsely chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1½ pounds
Spicy Garlic Sausage
, formed into 1-inch balls
2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
6 small dried red chiles, such as cayenne or japones, broken into pieces
1½-inch piece tamarind pulp
2 cups warm water
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1½ teaspoons pure chile powder, preferably ancho or New Mexico
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 waxy potatoes, such as Yukon gold, red, or white, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups plain yogurt, whisked smooth
To make the chutney, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and toss to mix. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the liquid is almost gone, 8 to 10 minutes. Or, combine the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 8 to 10 minutes. Set the chutney aside, or cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to 1 month.
To make the vindaloo, combine the chopped onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and cider vinegar in a food processor and process until as smooth as possible. Transfer to a large bowl, add the sausage balls, and turn gently to coat evenly. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate while preparing the rest of the ingredients, or for up to overnight.
When ready to cook, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a small, heavy saucepan. Add the mustard seeds and chiles and sauté until the mustard seeds begin to pop, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a small bowl, soften the tamarind pulp in the warm water for about 30 minutes. Pour into a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl to capture the liquid, pressing down on the pulp to extract as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
When ready to cook the dish, melt the butter in a large enameled pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onions, stir to coat with the butter, and cook gently until soft and beginning to turn golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the meatballs and their paste, the turmeric, chile powder, salt, and tamarind liquid and bring to a boil over medium heat, turning the sausage balls as needed to coat evenly. Cover partially, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook until the sausage balls are almost cooked but are still pink in the center, about 20 minutes.
Gently stir the potatoes into the pot and continue cooking, partially covered, until the potatoes are easily pierced all the way through, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
Transfer the vindaloo to a serving dish. Serve right away with the yogurt and dried plum chutney on the side.
In a showcase dish for slow-cooking-meets-quick-and-easy, sausage and lentils come together in a hearty combination for cool weather. The slow part is making the sausage, which is actually a cinch and can be done days in advance. The quick-and-easy part is that the dish cooks in about half an hour. Of all the many, many kinds of lentils, which vary in size, color, and their use in cooking, French green lentils are perfect for preparations such as this one where you want the lentils to cook up soft to the center while retaining their shape and not collapsing into a puree, as would be desirable, for instance, in an Indian dal. The soupçon of balsamic vinegar is stirred in just before serving so its tang and aroma remain bright and boldly present, not faded into the background.
SERVES 6 TO 8
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ pounds
Spicy Garlic Sausage
, formed into 1-inch balls
1 medium yellow or white onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small bay leaf, crumbled
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1½ cups French green lentils
6 cups water
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups packed chopped chicory leaves
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons minced scallion, light green parts only
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, add the sausage balls and brown all around, about 8 minutes, transferring them to a plate as they are ready.
When all the sausage balls are browned, stir the onion, carrot, and garlic into the fat remaining in the pot and cook until slightly softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return the sausage balls to the pot, add the bay leaf, thyme, lentils, water, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer and cook until the lentils are soft but not mushy, 20 to 25 minutes.
Stir the chicory into the pot and continue cooking until it is just wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, sprinkle the chopped scallions over the top, and serve right away.
Somewhere in the land space between Asia and Europe, pork became a rare ingredient in cooking. In most of those lands, it was because pork is proscribed for religious reasons. But then there are noticeable exceptions. In Armenia, Georgia, and Greece, pork appears on menus, though never in the exalted number of dishes that it does in the surrounding cuisines of Europe, Southeast Asia, or China. The disparity remains a mystery to me. There is no religious prohibition in these places, and pigs don’t require vast ranges or grasslands to thrive. Indeed, a small pen in the home yard does nicely. Perhaps it is because of the influence of their neighbors. The Armenians, Georgians, and Greeks are Christians, but they are flanked by Muslims and, if contiguous populations don’t insist on warring with one another, they intermingle, which means, most profoundly, they come together at the table. Thus, if you can’t share a pork dish with your neighbors, you might instead choose lamb or beef for a multicultural, convivial affair.
In any case, the Greeks have retained in their repertoire a pork-based sausage that includes a bit of beef and is aromatic with orange zest and coriander and extra zesty with chile flakes. It imports with ease to anywhere such a sausage is wanted.
MAKES 1½ POUNDS
1 pound ground pork
6 ounces ground beef or veal
2 ounces salt pork, fat part only, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped orange zest
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon chile flakes
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup retsina or dry white vermouth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Place the pork, beef, salt pork, orange zest, coriander, chile flakes, pepper, retsina, and ½ teaspoon of the salt in a medium bowl, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended. Cook and taste a small sample, then add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt if needed. Leave in bulk, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight, to allow the flavors to blend.
Sauté or grill, or cook as directed in individual recipes. (The uncooked sausage will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 week.)