Here’s a subtle recipe to serve at elegant brunches and other celebrations. It’s based on some classic French chicken dishes and goes very well on a salad.
Medium hog sausage casings (optional)
2 pounds boneless turkey or chicken thigh meat with skin attached
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1. If using sausage casings, prepare them as directed.
2. Cut turkey 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 turkey chills, boil wine in a small saucepan over high heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. Set aside. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until shallot is translucent. Set aside.
4. Grind turkey 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 turkey, wine reduction, shallot mixture, parsley, rosemary, salt, thyme, and pepper 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, if using, 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. Alternately, if keeping sausage in bulk, refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes to blend flavors.
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.