Sausages: Linking a World of Flavors

Sausage, one of the oldest of processed convenience foods, came about as a way to make efficient use of an animal. Sausage makers came up with concoctions of perfectly edible and nutritious—but not particularly appealing—meat scraps, organ meats, blood, offal and fat, combined with spices, seasonings and perhaps some fillers. In American cuisine, sausages have typically been associated with hot dogs, breakfast meats and picnic fare.

But not anymore.

Rediscovering missing links 

Many different traditional sausages in ethnic communities could add diversity to the category on a national level. These include German weisswurst and bockwurst (fresh, white sausages with minced veal and pork, and seasoned with lemon, mace, onions, ginger and cardamom) and knackwurst (pork and beef seasoned with garlic); polish sausages like kielbasa (pork wiejska kielbasa spiced with garlic and marjoram; plus caraway-seasoned kabanosy and krakowska seasoned with black pepper, allspice, coriander and garlic); andouille and abruzzo (a spicy, smoked mix of pork chitterlings and tripe; French andouille is milder than Cajun andouille and Italian abruzzo); boudin blanc (French white sausage with milk and rice; Cajun types are spicier) and boudin rouge or noir (a spicy blood-sausage variation); Portuguese linguiça (ground pork, onions, garlic and paprika cured in vinegar before stuffing) and chorizo or chouriço (smoked and dried or semi-dry; linguiça’s spicier cousin with color and flavor from smoked paprika, chile powder and sometimes hot chiles); Mexican chorizo (raw, fatty and highly seasoned); merguez (garlicky North African sausage with lamb or beef spiced with harissa—smoked chiles, garlic, coriander, cumin, caraway seed, tomatoes and/or olive oil); and Swedish potato sausage (a mix of beef, pork and potatoes).

Dried and semi-dried sausages like salami present numerous opportunities to explore. Genoa salami gets a flavor accent from peppercorns, while cotto, a cooked type, features black peppercorns. Other ingredients like garlic, red pepper and red or white wine contribute flavor to Genoa and cotto salamis.

Pepperoni is the ubiquitous spicy, Italian smoked sausage with red pepper. Lap cheong, Chinese dried sausage, generally takes one of two forms: meat sausages (yuen chong) and liver sausages (goin chong).

Their flavor comes from high levels of monosodium glutamate, soy sauce and sugar; Chinese wines are common additions, as is cinnamon.

Summer sausage, or cervelat, is a fermented sausage often made from beef and pork, and sometimes venison. Few summer sausages stray from the classic seasoning of sugar, mustard seed, black pepper, garlic and salt. Some add cheese to contribute another layer of flavor. One combination that could differentiate a beef summer sausage is bacon, garlic and red wine.

In reality, the combinations are endless, even among a particular type of sausage. Take kishka (also spelled “kishke”), a traditional Jewish sausage made with onion, suet, matzo meal and flour, steam-cooked and roasted. Go to Russia and you might find this sausage made with flour, butter and spices, and cooked in chicken broth. Polish kishka often combines blood, beef and barley, and the Hungarian version typically contains rice.

Creative ingredient combinations, recipes and processing differentiate sausages. Different degrees of grinding and chopping—from coarse to fine to emulsified—also influence the look and bite. Smoking is common, but adding different types and levels of smoke flavor can help replicate smoked notes in a product processed outside the smokehouse.

A key characteristic of air-dried sausages is the tangy flavors from fermentation during drying. During this process, lactic acid accumulates as bacteria—now generally added as a starter culture—acts on the sugars, which helps preserve the meat.

Fats also contribute distinct characteristics to sausages. Traditional recipes generally called for at least 25% fat, and even as much as 50%—either from the meat or added fat. Low-fat sausages, including those made from lean poultry, could be dry with an unpleasant mouthfeel. But quality low-fat sausages may not need additional fat. One way to add a moist mouthfeel is with fruit, especially dried-plum or dried-apple powders.

Dried plums are naturally rich in fiber and high in sorbitol (up to 25% in dried plum powder). The addition of as little as 3% dried plums to the raw meat block can help to retain moisture. Dried- plums’ acid content, particularly malic acid, along with its high antioxidant content, help fend off the effects of bacteria and oxygen.

The case for poultry 

Sausage products made from ground chicken and turkey, often positioned as healthier alternatives to pork sausages, may or may not actually have a lower fat content. Ingredient possibilities for poultry sausages include fruit juices, berries, herbs and nuts, just to name a few of the myriad options.

Chicken sausages—either raw or fully cooked—have seen numerous gourmet ingredient combinations of late: apple and Gouda; apple, maple and sage; cranberry and cognac; sun-dried tomato and basil; and garlic, thyme and lemon. Chicken sausage is even hitting the menus of fine-dining restaurants. At Emeril’s New Orleans, the menu has featured a smoked chicken-garlic sausage paired with a pan-roasted chicken breast.

Turkey sausages have great potential for growth. Although the white meat of chicken and turkey have similar flavors, adding dark turkey meat to sausage grinds can bring a stronger flavor to the mix (although it also adds a higher fat content). Consider a Brie and caramelized- onion turkey sausage, or perhaps a Wisconsin Cheddar, Vidalia onion and turkey sausage. A combination of caraway seed, nutmeg and ginger works well in a turkey bratwurst.

Poultry is also a viable alternative to pork in the breakfast-sausage category. Some examples of future breakfast flavors where poultry takes center stage include turkey sausage with maple, black pepper and sage; honey and almond chicken sausage; and a mango-turkey breakfast patty.

A touch of the wild and exotic 

Although wild game and exotic meats can prove difficult to source, when the ingredients are available, this category allows for adventuresome creativity. Berries and nuts make natural introductions into wild-game sausages. Since wild game is usually very lean, add ingredients, such as fats, that contribute lubricity to the formula.

The earthy flavors of these meats often require creative ingredient pairing. Potential sausage combinations include: duck with Port wine and fennel; wild berry and rabbit, or poultry; lean wild boar with added fat and cranberries (great for breakfast by itself or in hash, or served alongside a chicken entrée); bison chipotle, where smoky chipotle accents the rich sweet-beef flavor of the bison (to diversify jambalaya, served on a semolina roll, or on a gourmet pizza); venison with blueberries and walnuts to offset the sometimes-gamey flavor of the venison (in stuffing or a stew); duck and foie gras with Sauternes wine (served warm with a lingonberry sauce, or thinly sliced as an appetizer with canapés); cranberry, walnut, pheasant and wild boar (farm-raised pheasant has a similar flavor to chicken; for a stronger-flavored sausage, choose wild pheasant); and teriyaki and pineapple duck.

An ocean of opportunity 

All types of seafood can be used in sausage. Combining fish, shrimp, lobster and crab with complementary herbs delivers great flavor—but keep in mind that using too much of one particular herb can overload the senses. These sausages typically have a delicate flavor, so the goal is to enhance—not overpower. Some recommended herbs are basil, lemon verbena, chives and pineapple sage (Salvia elegans). Dried-plum powder or dried-apple powder helps add moisture.

Alioto’s, San Francisco, claims seafood sausage from prawns, rock shrimp, scallops, tomato and basil and served in a lemon-butter sauce as a specialty of the house. The Linkery, San Diego, offers various types of hand-crafted sausage throughout the year, including seafood sausages such as basa (a Vietnamese catfish), bluefin tuna and mahi mahi with two dipping sauces: a tarragon aïoli and a rustic salsa verde. And over at New York’s Chanterelle, Chef David Waltuck serves a grilled seafood sausage that includes tilefish or sea bass, shrimp, scallops, lobster, pine nuts, cayenne pepper, Port and brandy, served with beurre blanc.

Other possibilities for seafood sausages might include lobster boudan with fresh lemon and tarragon sauce; Florida lobster and shrimp sausage with Key lime essence; and Maryland crab and Old Bay sausage.

With or without a bun, the sausage has moved beyond breakfast and sandwiches to achieve gourmet status. Formulas now have specific ingredient and flavor objectives, rather than relying on sausages as merely a byproduct of meat manufacturing. Consumers everywhere can now find dozens of different sausages to satisfy their palates.

Rick Perez is founder and director of Ever Changing Times, Inc., culinary team headquartered in Mount Dora, FL (3 2/3 3- 9 ). He has over 25 years of experience in the foodservice industry, including years with Hilton Hotels Nationwide. As a member of the Research Chefs Association, Perez is an advocate of promoting education and professionalism in the culinary field.