Smoky will be offering his talents, techniques and secrets discovered over the last 150 years, or so. He will be to the point, pull no punches and if you suffer through the process, you will become a much better outdoor cook, turning out masterpiece meals for friends and family alike.

In this column, Smoky doesn't waste any time getting into the meat of the matter. Today, we play "pattycake with Smoky" . . . . . take notes!

So, with no further adieu, we turn the mike to Smoky. You're on Smoky . . . . .

Thanks PC,

Creating Country Sausage

By Smoky Hale

Even in these days of prophets preaching polyunsaturated platitudes, there are still occasions that cry out for something other than polyester sausage. In the days of yore, when Hector and I were still pups, almost everybody in rural America made their own sausage. Although, some folks were, by then, using store boughten seasoning mixtures, many still seasoned their sausage from scratch.

The sharp smells of savory sausage samples sizzling on the stove perfumed the crisp clear air of hog killing weather. When the meat had been once ground and seasoned in the same proportions as last year, a sample was quickly fried to check the taste. There is no instance recorded where fine tuning corrections to the seasoning were not made.

Even now, I do not know how to season a batch of meat that guarantees nailing the nuances on the first try. The freshness and potency of the individual seasonings provides too many variables. It may take several attempts to tweak the taste to its tempting best. That is one of the challenges of sausage making - but it is also one of the opportunities. A missed opportunity in most commercial attempts. It is quite obvious that nobody is fine tuning the seasonings in the vast majority of what is now sold as sausage.

Sausage making may seem a little awesome to some, but it is really about as simple as making biscuits. And well worth the effort for those who care enough to serve the very best. Once you ever try, you'll wonder why you waited so long.

The necessary tools cost less than a video movie and are guaranteed not to bore you after you have put it through its paces more than twice. Used meat grinders go for $10-15 at flea markets. Meat grinding attachments for mixers are only a little more and the steel blade in a food processor chops meat well. That's all you need for pattie sausage. A sausage stuffing funnel makes you a full fledged sausage factory.

For beginners, we'll do a simple country pattie sausage. Next you may want to stuff some and smoke them in your grill. Later you will want to do Italian full of fennel, Spanish chorizos and maybe even boudin. The variety of tastes and textures will amaze you.

COUNTRY SAUSAGE

Five pounds lean pork. A shoulder will do nicely. One pound of fat from around the backbone. This should be flaky fat with no gristle.

(Sausage should be about 20 percent fat. Less is tough and dry, more cooks away to a memory.

3 T. non iodized salt
5 t. ground (not rubbed) sage
3 t. cayenne pepper
2 t. ground thyme
2 t. fresh ground black pepper

Trim fat and gristle from the meat and cut into grinding size chunks or strips. Mix the seasonings and sprinkle half onto the meat.

Grind the meat using your coarsest wheel. If using a food processor, leave the meat in 1/4 inch cubes. Mix in the remaining seasoning and return to the fridge to chill. Clean up everything then grind the meat again with the 1/8 inch hole hamburger wheel.

Throw the skillet on the stove and fry up a couple of small patties. It would be nice if you had a pan of hot biscuits coming out of the oven about that time.

Check the taste and judiciously correct. Fry up enough to satisfy your immediate cravings. Cover the rest and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Shape into patties, store in plastic bags and freeze.

If this doesn't make for some memorable breakfasts, you may want to check in for a palate overhaul. While you are recovering, think about brats and knocks and chorizos and....

Smoky Has A New Book The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual 416 pages of great information and wonderful recipes. @ The Barbecue Store

© 1998 by Smoky Hale
Smoky
C. Clark Hale
8168 Hwy 98 E.
McComb, MS 39648

Smoky's 5th basic position for really great barbecue'n.