Bockwurst is a mildly seasoned first cousin of bratwurst and made with leeks or onions. Serve with a bean salad or baked beans.
Medium hog sausage casings
3/4 pound pork butt or boneless country ribs
3/4 pound boneless veal shoulder or breast
1/2 pound pork fat
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large leek, white part only, finely chopped and rinsed
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1. Prepare sausage casings as directed.
2. Cut pork, veal, and pork fat into 1-inch cubes. Place cubes on a sheet of plastic wrap on a plate and freeze for 30 minutes, or until very firm.
3. While meats chill, heat butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add leek, and cook over low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until soft. Set aside. Combine milk and egg yolk in a small mixing bowl, and whisk well.
4. Grind meats and fat through the fine disk of a meat grinder, or in small batches in a food processor fitted with the steel blade using the on-and-off pulse button. If using a food processor, do not process into a paste, but ingredients should be very finely chopped.
5. Combine ground meat, leeks, milk mixture, parsley, chives, salt, pepper, mace, and ginger in a mixing bowl, and knead mixture until well blended. Fry 1 tablespoon of mixture in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
6. Stuff mixture into casings as described and twist off into 5-inch links; prick air bubbles with a straight pin or skewer. If time permits, arrange links on a wire rack over a baking sheet and air-dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 1 day before cooking.
7. To poach sausages, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add sausages, and maintain water at a bare simmer. Cook sausages for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm. Remove one sausage to a plate with tongs and insert an instant-read thermometer. If the temperature is 160°F, sausages are done. If not, return to the pot and continue cooking. Remove sausages from the pan with tongs, and serve immediately or cool to room temperature, lightly covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Note: Sausages can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 2 months. Once cooked, they can be refrigerated up to 3 days.