Smoky Mettwurst

Makes 2 pounds

Active time: 1 hour, including 30 minutes to chill meat

Start to finish: 5 hours

VARIATIONS

Substitute 2 pounds boned chicken or turkey thigh meat, with skin attached, for pork and pork fat. Cook sausage to an internal temperature of 165°F.

Omit liquid smoke, and poach sausages. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add sausages, and maintain water at a bare simmer. Cook sausages for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm.

Metts like Brats are interwoven into America’s love of sausage and summers; in the Midwest they’re sold at baseball games along with brats and hot dogs. These contain some mustard seed to provide a little kick.

Medium hog sausage casings

1 pound beef chuck or brisket

1/2 pound pork butt or boneless country ribs

1/2 pound pork fat

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

1/4 cup beer

3 garlic cloves, minced

11/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1. Prepare sausage casings as directed.

2. Cut beef, pork, 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. While meats chill, stir liquid smoke into beer, and set aside.

3. Grind meat 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.

4. Combine ground meat, beer mixture, garlic, salt, mustard seed, pepper, celery seed, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice 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.

5. 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.

6. Preheat the oven to 200°F, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and arrange sausages on a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet. Bake sausages for 4 to 5 hours, or to an internal temperature of 160°F when pierced with an instant-read thermometer. 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.

Celery seeds, harvested from the common vegetable, can be used as a diuretic, helping to clear toxins from our body system. Celery seeds also have anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce swelling and pain in joints.