I have been toying with the idea of getting a physical space again for Ger-Nis Culinary & Herb Center, this time in Kansas City. I’m needing a commercial kitchen for making my herbal salts and other herbal products for Herbal-Roots, and it’d be nice to have another dedicated food photography studio and with that I’d likely have some in-person cooking classes and food events focused on fresh herbs and my usual- local, organic, sustainable, fairly traded food ingredients and artisans.

During a chat with one of my business advisors highlighting some of the most popular culinary classes we offered back at Ger- Nis Culinary & Herb Center in Brooklyn, one class stood out: part of our Fill Your Freezer series: Fresh Sausage Making. This was a class that I personally taught and after swimming in wave of nostalgia,  I later made a bunch of sausages and in the process updated many of my older recipes with more fresh herbs and spices as well as a few new tricks and techniques. I also created a few new recipes.

Ger-Nis’s Fill Your Freezer series was based on the same concept as squirrels collecting nuts for the winter. The sausage class was designed to teach the art of sausage making and fill students’ freezers for the cold NYC winters. Students learned how easy making your own sausage is with the right know-how. I always taught the class using the Kitchen Aid mixer and it’s sausage grinder and stuffer attachments, as most the folks that were attending the classes and those that would make their own sausage at home, typically had one of those and the attachments for them are rather economical.

My sausage making classes taught a great lesson in power, specifically as it pertains to taste and flavor. As the maker, you control the meat choices, ratios, seasonings and grinding size, so you are making sausage that suits your palate and you create the flavors you want. For me it means I get to be creative and use my signature herbal foreplay style, which is a term I use to describe my technique in flavoring meat with fresh herbs prior to cooking it so as to impart layers of deep and vibrant flavor.

Basically, this means I get to make a seriously spicy and fennel-forward Spicy Italian Sausage and add way more sharp garlic flavor to my Apple & Rosemary Chicken Sausage. It also means I can come up with all new creations like my Mango Red Chili Cilantro Bratwurst or my Minty Feta and Pomegranate Chicken Sausage, which I love on salads. Of course, if you are a hunter or have access to deer, it means you can make some amazing Minty & Peppery Juniper Deer Sausage. Making my own Mexican Chorizo really excites me, especially around here in southern Missouri where I haven’t really found any authentic stuff yet.

The casings (pig, cow or sheep intestines typically) can be bought from most butcher counters that make their own sausages. They should cost around $1 – $2 for a “row” of them, which will make a lot of sausages.

I support and believe in eating high quality sustainably raised meats and rarely eat anything else and never in my sausage-making endeavors. High quality meats and cuts will result in more flavorful sausages.

Sausage is essentially ground up meat that is typically seasoned. Generally, most sausages require added fat to the lean(er) meat to ensure that the sausage will have good flavor and stay moist and succulent while cooking. The “typical” ratio is 25% fat to 75% lean. Even chicken sausage benefits from fat in order to keep them from drying out, which is why they are made most often with fatty thigh meat. Many folks (including me) add extra fat to chicken sausage so they are super succulent. My preference is pork fat.

The fun for me really starts when I get to add the fresh herbs and spices. These range from traditional and classic to bold and creative (most of mine are now the latter, especially with so many unique herbs growing in my herb garden these days and an ultra-stocked spice cabinet thanks to the salt making portion of my work).

Technique wise I prefer to grind everything up together: the meats and fat, the spices, herbs, onions, garlic and/or any other flavorings that I think will likely co-mingle into the meat better. I don’t love a fine grind; I like the basic grind size. If you would like small tidbits or chunks of items in your sausage, like mango or feta, those are added after the grind and just before stuffing. I prep them at the beginning and lay them out flat and freeze them as they hold their shape better this way.

Probably the most important aspect of sausage making is to keep all the ingredients as cold as possible while grinding and stuffing and in between. This makes the process much easier. If you have room in your freezer, it’s nice to utilize it throughout the entire process.

Making sausage is a crazy amount of work, but I think it is work that is worth it, especially when done over the course of a few days and with a few sets of hands. I recommend doing 5-6 different sausage “flavors” as it seems to give the best bang for buck and that includes your time.

I take a few hours the day before  the grinding and stuffing part to prep all my “flavors”: meats, fat, herbs, spicing and extras and place them in the refrigerator overnight for at least 12 hours. The day of grinding I pop the first “flavor” in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes and then I pop the next flavor in the freezer while I grind and so on. I do the same thing when I’m stuffing.

I have one new recipe idea that I am excited to make: Minty & Peppery Juniper Faux Boar Sausage (Deer & Pork Sausage). If you mix pork and deer (apparently) it tastes much like wild boar, which I love, so I’m excited to make this and a Wild Boar Ragu recipe with it. Once I get my hands on some deer meat, I’ll do it and report back.

Don’t forget to hang them out for a bit, this helps them settle into their skin!

Garlicky Apple & Rosemary Chicken Sausage

Makes about 6 sausages

I freeze the apple bits before I make these and add them in during the stuffing segment. I love to serve these roasted over some white beans with chicories or even alongside some roasted mustard potatoes.

 Ingredients

2 pounds boneless & skinless chicken breasts, cubed
8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 teaspoons white peppercorns (I like to use the fermented white peppercorns from Burlap & Barrel)
2 tablespoon salt (I use my Smoked Carrot Summer Salad Salt)
1 medium apple (tart variety), chopped superfine
Casings of your choice

Note: I also added 1 teaspoon of toasted onion powder, 1 teaspoon striped purple garlic powder and lavender thyme from my garden which gave these a teensy perfumed quality that I enjoyed with the apple flavor.

Directions

Grinding Up
Mix all the sausage ingredients except for the apple in a large bowl and refrigerate, about 2 hours. Using the medium blade on your meat grinder, grind all of the ingredients, following the instructions. Once the mixture is ground, mix in the apples, combine well, and place mixture in the freezer.

Stuffing
Meanwhile, soak the casings in warm water for about 30 minutes and rinse a few times. Using your sausage stuffer, slip the casing onto the stuffing tube, making sure you leave about 6 inches off the end of the tube; this is where you will need to tie the sausages off later. Remove the meat from the freezer, and place it in the body of the sausage stuffing machine. If all the meat does not fit, place the rest over a bowl of ice so it stays good and cold while you feed it into the grinder. Turn the machine on, and begin the process; air will be the first thing to emerge. As the meat begins to slide out, use one hand to maneuver the speed of the sausage output. Let the sausage emerge into one long coil; the links will be tied later in the process. When the sausage is done, turn off the machine, and tie up the ends. You can use meat or butchers twine or knots in the intestine. To make individual links, pinch a section together, then spin the links, and turn them opposite from each other several times, repeat this moving down the entire main link. Hang the links up so you can review for air bubbles. Using a sterilized pin or sewing needle, pop each section that has an air bubble with the pin, and the link should move flat and the air bubble should be released. (I’ll be honest, I use a toothpick or a cocktail pick and it works fine.) Hang the links for about an hour or two so they can settle, and then refrigerate them covered in the refrigerator overnight. Use or freeze them. They will keep for about a week in the fridge.

Spicy Italian Sausage

Makes about 6 sausages

My Sausage Pasta recipe is perhaps my most popular or recreated in the homes of most of my friends and family. Rarely do I find a store bought sausage that is spicy or flavorful enough, so I love making my own. I got a little wild on this one and added kalamata olives. The idea hails from another recipe of mine: Spicy Italian Sausages Baked with Tomatoes & Potatoes.

 Ingredients

2 pounds pork butt, cubed into ½-inch cubes
½ pound pork fat, slab bacon, or fatback
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
3 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons purple basil leaves
3 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves (I used the Syrian variety I have in my garden)
1 tablespoon Zuta Levana leaves (optional because it’s weird)
¼ cup fresh marjoram, chopped fine
¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives

1 tablespoon salt (I used my Summer Tomato Black Olive-Oregano Salt)
3 teaspoons Cobanero chili flakes (Burlap & Barrel)
2 teaspoons hot paprika
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
Casings of your choice

Directions

Grinding Up
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl very well, and refrigerate for about 2 hours.  Using the medium blade on your meat grinder, grind all of the ingredients, following the instructions. If you are making links, put the mixture back in the mixing bowl, and place in the freezer for a little while until its super cold.

Stuffing
Meanwhile, soak the casings in warm water for about 30 minutes, and rinse a few times. Using your sausage stuffer, slip the casing onto the stuffing tube, making sure you leave about 6 inches off the end of the tube; this is where you will need to tie the sausages off later.  Remove the meat from the freezer, and place it in the body of the sausage stuffing machine. If all the meat does not fit, place the rest over a bowl of ice so it stays good and cold while you feed it into the grinder. Turn the machine on, and begin the process; air will be the first thing to emerge. As the meat begins to slide out, use one hand to maneuver the speed of the sausage output. Let the sausage emerge into one long coil; the links will be tied later in the process. When the sausage is done, turn off the machine, and tie up the ends. You can use meat or butchers twine or knots in the intestine. To make individual links, pinch a section together, then spin the links, and turn them opposite from each other several times, repeat this moving down the entire main link. Hang the links up so you can review for air bubbles. Using a sterilized pin or sewing needle, pop each section that has an air bubble with the pin, and the link should move flat and the air bubble should be released. (I’ll be honest, I use a toothpick or a cocktail pick and it works fine.) Hang the links for about an hour or two so they can settle, and then refrigerate them covered in the refrigerator overnight. Use or freeze them. They will keep about a week in the fridge.

Minty Pomegranate & Feta Chicken Sausages

Makes about 6 sausages

I love my herb salads and even the biggest meat lovers love my salads. They are always filled with seasonal goods and loads of herbs, a technique I learned in Israel and Turkey. I toss roasted or grilled chicken sausage on top of my salad to make them taste heartier. I often enjoy them on a weeknight in the fall and winter.

Mint leaves are essential for any salad and so these sausages are loaded with mint and they are truly delicious.

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken thighs, cubed into ½-inch cubes
½ pound pork fat
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 cup fresh mint leaves (I use Moroccan Mint variety which I grow)
¼ cup parsley leaves
2 tablespoons lemon leaf (optional but this is my new favorite plant)
¼ cup roughly chopped red onion
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons cured sumac or regular sumac
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon salt (I used my Tzatziki Cucumber Dill Salt)
1/3 cup pomegranate arils (freeze first)
1/3   crumbled feta (freeze first)
Casings of your choice

Directions

Grinding Up
Mix all ingredients for sausage in a large bowl (except frozen feta and pomegranate seeds) very well and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Using the  medium blade of the meat grinder, grind the meat mixture following grinder instructions. Once the meat is ground, mix in pomegranate seeds, and combine. Toss in the freezer for a bit to get really cold.

Stuffing
Meanwhile, soak the casings in warm water for about 30 minutes, and rinse a few times. Using your sausage stuffer, slip the casing onto the stuffing tube, making sure you leave about 6 inches off the end of the tube; this is where you will need to tie the sausages off later.  Remove the meat from the freezer, and place it in the body of the sausage stuffing machine. If all the meat does not fit, place the rest over a bowl of ice so it stays good and cold while you feed it into the grinder. Turn the machine on, and begin the process; air will be the first thing to emerge. As the meat begins to slide out, use one hand to maneuver the speed of the sausage output. Let the sausage emerge into one long coil; the links will be tied later in the process. When the sausage is done, turn off the machine, and tie up the ends. You can use meat or butchers twine or knots in the intestine. To make individual links, pinch a section together, then spin the links, and turn them opposite from each other several times, repeat this moving down the entire main link. Hang the links up so you can review for air bubbles. Using a sterilized pin or sewing needle, pop each section that has an air bubble with the pin, and the link should move flat and the air bubble should be released. (I’ll be honest, I use a toothpick or a cocktail pick and it works fine.)  Hang the links for about an hour or two so they can settle, and then refrigerate them covered in the refrigerator overnight. Use or freeze them. They will keep about a week  in the fridge.

Mexican Chorizo

Makes about 6 sausages

I love chorizo and having it on hand in my freezer, both the Spanish and Mexican versions, lead to a lot of last minute meals in particular when I have impromptu guests. Good for Paella, Tacos, Frittatas, you name it. Spanish chorizo is rather straightforward and fairly easy to get around here. The Mexican version, the type I am used to eating south of the border is much harder. Since I tend to be loaded up on dried Mexican chilies most of the time from my Mexican travels for mangoes, I like to make my own Mexican chorizo. The spice mixture tastes more vibrant and I can make it super spicy, which I love. Roasted Potatoes & Chorizo Tacos are an easy and economical meal to whip up for friends. I serve them with my Peruvian Cilantro Sauce.

I do not remove the seeds from my chilies for many of my chili powders because I like them very spicy, but if you remove the seeds you get a quelled spicy version with the full chili flavor and nuances of each type.

Ingredients

 2 ancho chilies, cut into small pieces
2 guajillo chilies, cut into small pieces
2 mora chipotle chilies, cut into small pieces
1 pasilla chili, cut into small pieces
1 mulata chili, cut into small pieces
3 chilies de arbol, cut into small pieces
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons blackpeppercorns
½ cinnamon stick
A few pieces of whole mace
2 fresh bay leaves
2-3 tablespoon oregano (Mexican oregano is ideal)
2 tablespoons licorice leaves (optional)
2 pounds pork, cubed into 1 ½ inch pieces
½ pound pork fat, cubed into 1 ½ inch pieces
1 tablespoon salt (I used my Smoky Apricot & Mango BBQ Floral Salt)
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons champagne or white vinegar

Directions

Grinding Up
First make the chili powder seasoning. In a large skillet over medium heat, toast the dried chilies, coriander and cumin seeds, cinnamon, mace, black peppercorns and bay leaves for about 40 seconds to a minute, mixing well. Place the toasted chilies and spices in a spice grinder and grind into a powder. I use the Cuisinart Nut & Spice grinder that cost me $35 10 years ago and think it is one of the best purchases I ever made. I use it to do big batches of peppercorns and spice mixtures all the time!

Mix the powdered spice mixture into a large bowl with all the other ingredients, and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Using the medium blade of the meat grinder, grind the meat mixture following grinder instructions. Once the meat is ground, toss it in the freezer for a bit to get really cold.

I don’t often stuff my chorizo into sausage links. I package it up in smaller individual packs for the freezer most often.

Stuffing
Meanwhile, soak the casings in warm water for about 30 minutes, and rinse a few times. Using your sausage stuffer, slip the casing onto the stuffing tube, making sure you leave about 6 inches off the end of the tube; this is where you will need to tie the sausages off later.  Remove the meat from the freezer, and place it in the body of the sausage stuffing machine. If all the meat does not fit, place the rest over a bowl of ice so it stays good and cold while you feed it into the grinder. Turn the machine on, and begin the process; air will be the first thing to emerge. As the meat begins to slide out, use one hand to maneuver the speed of the sausage output. Let the sausage emerge into one long coil; the links will be tied later in the process.  When the sausage is done, turn off the machine, and tie up the ends. You can use meat or butchers twine or knots in the intestine. To make individual links, pinch a section together, then spin the links, and turn them opposite from each other several times, repeat this moving down the entire main link. Hang the links up so you can review for air bubbles. Using a sterilized pin or sewing needle, pop each section that has an air bubble with the pin, and the link should move flat and the air bubble should be released. (I’ll be honest, I use a toothpick or a cocktail pick and it works fine.)  Hang the links for about an hour or two so they can settle, and then refrigerate them covered in the refrigerator overnight. Use or freeze them. They will keep about a week in the fridge.

Mango, Red Chili Cilantro Bratwurst

Makes about 6 sausages

I love a good brat and I can’t resist a new mango idea. One of my favorite brat recipes that I have ever made is my Mango Pickle Relish; it’s technically a brat condiment recipe. This recipe I thought would be wonderful with that or even tossed over my  Mango Red Cabbage Bean Salad.

Bratwurst is a combination of pork and beef but what gives it its interesting texture is the addition of egg and milk. I used powdered buttermilk in my recipe to keep it from being too wet.

Ingredients

2 pounds of ground pork, cubed into 1 ½ inch pieces
½ pound lean sirloin steak, cubed into 1 ½ inch pieces
½ cup cilantro leaves
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
¼ cup roughly chopped red onion
1 red fresno chili pepper, seeds removed, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon sumac
2 pieces of mace (optional)
2 tablespoons powdered buttermilk
½ cup finely chopped fresh mango, frozen flat & separated

Directions

Grinding Up
Mix all ingredients for sausage in a large bowl (except frozen mangoes) very well, and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Using the medium blade of the meat grinder, grind the meat mixture following grinder instructions. Once the meat is ground, mix in frozen mangoes. Toss in the freezer for a bit to get really cold.

Stuffing
Meanwhile, soak the casings in warm water for about 30 minutes, and rinse a few times. Using your sausage stuffer, slip the casing onto the stuffing tube, making sure you leave about 6 inches off the end of the tube; this is where you will need to tie the sausages off later.  Remove the meat from the freezer, and place it in the body of the sausage stuffing machine. If all the meat does not fit, place the rest over a bowl of ice so it stays good and cold while you feed it into the grinder. Turn the machine on, and begin the process; air will be the first thing to emerge. As the meat begins to slide out, use one hand to maneuver the speed of the sausage output. Let the sausage emerge into one long coil; the links will be tied later in the process. When the sausage is done, turn off the machine, and tie up the ends. You can use meat or butchers twine or knots in the intestine. To make individual links, pinch a section together, then spin the links, and turn them opposite from each other several times, repeat this moving down the entire main link. Hang the links up so you can review for air bubbles. Using a sterilized pin or sewing needle, pop each section that has an air bubble with the pin, and the link should move flat and the air bubble should be released. (I’ll be honest, I use a toothpick or a cocktail pick and it works fine.)  Hang the links for about an hour or two so they can settle, and then refrigerate them covered in the refrigerator overnight. Use or freeze them. They will keep about a week in the fridge.