Somehow I had to get bacon—one of my favorite foods—into this book. The crisp nuggets add texture as well as flavor, and the cheese adds a creamy feel.
Medium hog sausage casings
11/4 pounds pork butt or boneless country ribs
1/2 pound pork fat
1/4 pound bacon, diced
4 scallions, white parts and 3 inches of green tops, chopped
1 cup grated smoked cheddar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1. Prepare sausage casings as directed.
2. Cut 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.
3. While meats chill, cook bacon in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until crisp. Remove bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Crumble bacon when cool enough to handle. Discard all but 3 tablespoons bacon grease from the skillet, and add scallions. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until scallions are translucent.
4. Grind meat and fat through the coarse 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, bacon, scallions, cheddar, salt, pepper, and nutmeg 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. Cook sausages as directed to an internal temperature of 160°F when pierced with an instant-read thermometer or as directed in a specific recipe.
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.