Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sausage Fest!

No, the good type.

I decided that I would make "breakfast," if for no other reason, than so I can taste a variety of sausages to decide which one would work best in a stuffing. To round out the meal, I made hash browns (or home fries, whichever name you want to give them) and pancakes (blueberry, as seen by the rogue berries on my fork). I think this is the first time I've made pancakes in like three years.

As for the sausages, things weren't as good. First, Whole Foods only sells links. This means that there's a required "de-linking" phase of preparation to turn them into proper sausage patties (the one true form for sausage). The other issue was that they only had three types of sausage. To ensure something good, I also bought some of their applewood bacon, and fried up a slice of that. The bacon won the sausage battle, if that says anything. The other contenders:
  • Andouille. This was my winner last year, as it has a good sausage-y flavor, without lots of added issues. Unfortunately, WF andouille has red pepper flakes. I was looking for a smokey/garlic-y flavor, and this comes along with sharp unwanted pepper flavors.
  • Italian. Again, I only had three choices. This one was right out the moment I tasted it. Fennel. Nope, sorry, that's not at all the flavor profile I want in my stuffing.
  • Hot Italian. Pretty much the worst of both worlds. Pepper flakes and fennel. Ick.
So, I'm still left without a sausage decision. The only thing to do now is to hunt down sausages at other grocery stores, and see what they have. Since no one believes in meat counters anymore, that probably means I need to buy pre-wrapped pound packages. Stupid industrialized food production removing the care and wisdom of a local butcher. :(

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