HOMEMADE PORK SAUSAGES

MAKES ABOUT 12 SAUSAGES

Fresh Spanish sausages are hard to come by stateside. At the restaurant, we have wonderful Spanish sausage suppliers. At my local grocery stores, not so much. I’m not going to claim that making sausage from scratch is easy or fast. It’s neither. But it is worthwhile because you can’t taste them unless you travel to Spain or an authentic Spanish restaurant in America.

Butifarra, Catalonia’s sausage staple, is a prime example of how something so simple can be so delicious. Just a hint of nutmeg takes it to that next level. In American grocery stores, unadulterated fresh pork sausages are hard to come by. They always have fennel or chile or bits of peppers or even apples. In Butifarra, pork’s pure flavor comes through. So, be sure to buy quality pasture-raised meat. The same is true for chorizo, even though it’s spiked with more aggressive seasonings. In American supermarkets, chorizo is usually sold in its cured form. Cooked as fresh links, they burst with smoky spiced juices and a heady hit of wine.

I love the snap of the casings on crisped sausages, but the meat mixture still tastes good if you want to skip the stuffing step. Simply form into patties or torpedoes and pan-fry until browned and cooked through. You’ll still need a meat grinder to make the mix though. A food processor will leave you with too many chewy bits.

BUTIFARRA

2 pounds boneless, skinless, fatless pork butt, cut into 1-inch chunks

8 ounces pork fat, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

5 feet natural hog casings

SPREAD THE PORK BUTT AND FAT ON A HALF-SHEET pan in a single layer and freeze until thoroughly chilled, but not completely frozen through, about 1 hour. At the same time, place the bowl, paddle attachment, and the meat grinding attachment’s large die plate of a KitchenAid standing mixer in the freezer.

Right before grinding, fill a bowl slightly larger than the mixer bowl with ice and water. Place under the meat grinder attachment. Set up the meat grinder attachment with the chilled large die plate. Combine the salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the chilled pork and fat and toss until well-coated. Set the mixer bowl in the bowl of ice water.

Turn the mixer speed to medium-high and drop 4 to 5 pieces of pork mixed with several chunks of fat into the feed tube. Press through the grinder with the tool that comes with the grinder attachment; do not try to use any other plunger to push the meat through. Once all the meat is ground, remove the mixer bowl from the ice bath and fit into the mixer with the paddle attachment.

Add ½ cup ice-cold water and mix on medium speed for 30 seconds. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill until very cold.

Meanwhile, soak the casings in room temperature water for 20 minutes. You want the casings to feel soft. Run cold water through the softened casings to rinse out the insides.

If you have a sausage stuffer, set it up with the largest tube. If you can clamp the sausage stuffer to the table, that would be ideal. Otherwise, find someone to help you hold it in place. Wet the counter or cutting board in front of the stuffer so that the filled casings will slide and coil neatly without sticking.

Add the chilled sausage mixture to the stuffing chamber and press flat. Crank until the meat just comes to the end of the tube and stop. Run some cold water over the tube and spoon a small amount of water into the opening of the casings, then slowly slide the casings onto the sausage tube, using more water to lubricate if necessary. Feed all but 2 inches of the casings onto the tube. Tie a knot at the very end of the casings.

Start cranking! You want to crank steadily once you start. I use a nice steady motion and, at the same time, slightly pull on the casings as the meat fills it. You don’t want to stop cranking because that will create air pockets.

Once all the meat is in the casings, you’ll want to measure 6 inches for each link. Pinch the two spots where you want to create a link, pressing the sausage meat away from those points and gently toward the middle to create room in the casings for a twist. Twist that link away from you. Then pinch the spot for a second adjacent link, but do not twist it. Do the same for the third link, then twist it the same way you did the first. As you do so, the second link will naturally twist as well. Repeat until the whole thing is twisted into links.

If you don’t have a sausage stuffer, you can use a pastry bag instead. This is a case in which you can’t substitute a resealable plastic bag for a plastic pastry bag. You need the stiffness and shape of a proper pastry bag. You’ll also need someone to help you. Cut twelve 2-inch lengths of kitchen string. Snip a ½-inch hole at the end of the bag and rinse the inside of the bag with cold water. Rinse the inside of the casings with cold water. Stuff enough of the sausage filling into the bag to come two-thirds of the way up the sides. Slide the open end of the casing over the end of the bag and tie a piece of kitchen string 7 inches from the end. Squeeze the mixture into the casing, in one continuous motion if possible, into a 6-inch length. Slide the casing off the bag and squeeze the casing around the filling into an even sausage shape. Tie the other end shut and snip the sausage off the remaining casing. Repeat with the remaining casing and filling, rewetting or replacing the piping bag as needed.

Prick the casings of the finished sausages with a clean needle to remove any air pockets. Place the links on a half-sheet pan in a single layer and refrigerate uncovered until very dry, about 2 hours. The sausages will form a pellicle, which is a taut, thin skin that ensures a nice crisp exterior after cooking. At this point, you can cut in between the links to separate. The sausages can be refrigerated in airtight resealable plastic bags for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before cooking.

To grill the sausage, cook over low indirect heat, turning occasionally, until lightly browned and very hot in the center, about 25 minutes. To sauté the sausages, cook in a cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat, turning once, until browned and very hot in the center, about 20 minutes.

CHORIZO

INCREASE THE BLACK PEPPER TO 2 TEASPOONS. Substitute 3 tablespoons hot pimentón (hot smoked paprika), 2 tablespoons pimentón (sweet smoked paprika), and 3 tablespoons minced garlic for the nutmeg. Substitute ½ cup very cold dry white wine for the water. Proceed as above.