Vibrant green spinach and nutty, creamy cheese in this sausage goes well with some stewed white beans or a tossed salad.
Medium hog sausage casings
2 pounds boneless chicken or turkey thigh meat with skin attached
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large shallots, chopped
2 cups firmly packed baby spinach
leaves, rinsed, dried, and chopped
3 tablespoons dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 cup grated Gruyère
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1. Prepare sausage casings as directed.
2. Cut chicken 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 chicken chills, heat butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until shallots are translucent. Add spinach, and cook for 2 minutes, or until spinach wilts. Set aside.
4. Grind chicken 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 chicken, spinach mixture, vermouth, cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, thyme, 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 4-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 165°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.