07/17/08 Food & Wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today is food and wine pairing day and we are going to talk about homemade sausage. Sometimes I have to avoid thinking about what I think is in sausage or I can't enjoy eating it. Well that has all changed for me because I finally made sausage. A friend who I think makes fabulous sausage invited me to his house to assist him in making a batch. Well let me tell you a few secrets about making really good sausage. Number one; good sausage doesn't have all of those weird animal parts in it. Number two; you really do need to have the right equipment. The sausage we made was a combination of lean cuts of beef, veal and pork. We trimmed away, any and all, muscle tendon or grissly pieces of fat. So we needed liquid which can be in the form of wine, juice, water - anything that suits you. To the liquid you add all of your seasoning now no additions later. If you are following a recipe cut the salt in half. It is imperative that you mix the seasoning and the liquid together and let it rest while you grind the meat. We ground the three meats alternately with a little bit of high quality suet from the butcher. Once you grind the meat roll up your sleeves and plunge in to mix the ground meat with the liquid seasoning mixture. When it is thoroughly mixed you can stuff it into casings or make it into patties or take small pieces and wrap it in phyllo dough and bake for a stunning appetizer served with your favorite mustard and of course wine. I apologize that I cannot divulge the recipe but these tips can be applied to most any recipe you find. And thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.