posted by Cissy 02-04-101 1:45 PM
Maple-Sage Breakfast Sausage:
1 1/2 lbs. pork chops, cut into pieces (leave some of the fat on)
5-6 lbs. venison, cut into pieces
1/4 lb. beef suet
2 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. unflavored accent
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbs. crumbled dried sage
2 Tbs. crumbled dried parsley
1 Tbs. crumbled dried basil
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbs. crushed red pepper
2 Tbs. kosher salt
Grind pork and venison in KitchenAid grinder, using the plate with the larger holes. Cut the suet into 2" cubes and process in a food processor until it is in small pieces. Note: the first batch of sausage we made, we ground the suet in the KitchenAid and it stuck to the inside of the machine, rendering it a straight tube, instead of having the ridges that move the food along to the grinding part. It was miserable to clean, sticky and greasy. Processing the suet in the processor broke it up better and the final product didn't have large chunks of suet in it.
Mix all ingredients together with hands and form about 1/4 cup into a small patty. Fry in a cast iron pan and taste for seasonings.
We froze the sausage in quart-sized ziplock bags. We wanted to use casings, but the local butcher said it was terribly expensive and that it is usually sold in lengths sufficient for preparing 250 pounds of sausage. Subsequently, they stocked sausage casings in the meat section and a pint-sized tub of casings was only about $3.50. Next year, I'll be more insistent about getting the casings!