Chaurice Sausage with Pork Crackling Brussel Sprouts

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snorkelinggirl

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Nov 15, 2012
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Like a lot of other fellow SMF folks, I felt like making sausage this weekend. A recipe I haven't made in a while is chaurice sausage. I'm not sure what source this recipe came from originally, but it was passed on to me by a local chef who occasionally teaches classes on sausage making.

This recipe was for 6 lbs of meat + fat. I used 5 lbs of fatty pork shoulder + 1 lb of fat back. If my pork shoulder had been leaner I would have used 4 lbs of shoulder and 2 lbs of fat back.

Gently saute 1 1/2 cups of diced yellow onion and 1 1/2 Tbsp of minced garlic in a little oil until soft. Let these cool, and mix them with your pork + fat. Chill until ready to grind, or freeze for 30 minutes or so before grinding. Add 1/6 cup of chopped parsley before grinding.



While the meat mix was chilling, I assembled my seasonings: 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp chili powder (if Chef JJ is reading this....yes, I did make this from scratch....thank you for the recipe! :biggrin:), 2 tsp dried thyme, 3 bay leaves with center rib removed then ground, 1/2 tsp allspice, and 32 grams kosher salt (1.2%).


I ground the meat mixture through the fine plate of my grinder one time, then mixed in the seasonings. I stirred these in, then mixed the sausage mix by hand until a good bind formed. I stuffed them into medium hog casings and formed links.



I poached off a few of the sausages for dinner tonight in a 165 deg F water bath for 20 minutes and served them along with some roasted acorn squash and shredded brussel sprouts sauteed with pork cracklings. Pork cracklings are a by-product when you render down fat, and they are a fantastic way to add some great flavor to sauteed vegetables or greens. They are also great in cornbread. I rendered some leaf lard earlier this week to use for making holiday pies, so I've had a lot of pork cracklings to work with this week.

For the brussel sprouts, start off by trimming, halving lengthwise, then slicing the sprouts crosswise into strips. I heated up the pork cracklings until they rendered off some fat, then sauteed the shredded brussel spouts in the fat for about 5 minutes (adding a little water part way through) until they were tender. Season with salt and pepper. I browned the poached sausage in the same pan during the last few minutes.




I served the sprouts and sausage with a quartered acorn squash that I roasted at 400 deg F with butter, salt, and pepper, for about an hour until tender.



This chaurice sausage version is milder than some other versions I've seen, and if you want to it could definitely be amped up with more garlic and chili powder, and adding in some ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, and maybe paprika. I'll make it a bit spicier next time myself.

Thank you for reading my post, and hope everybody has a great night!
Clarissa
 
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OMG, that sounds delicious. However, you lost me with the Brussels Sprouts. The are just nasty and taste like someone ate them once already. However, pork cracklings might save them but it is a waste of good pork cracklings.

Disco
 
OMG, that sounds delicious. However, you lost me with the Brussels Sprouts. The are just nasty and taste like someone ate them once already. However, pork cracklings might save them but it is a waste of good pork cracklings.

Disco

Hi Disco,

I ain't gonna be able to change your mind about brussel sprouts, not with a reaction like that. But if you haven't tried them shredded and sauteed, then you have not tried them at their best. Just sayin'.

Have a great day!
Clarissa
 
Thank you everyone for your kind comments and checking out my post!

Hope everyone has a great day!
Clarissa
 
Looks fantastic Clarissa! The texture looks great in the cut shot!

Hi Case,

Thank you!! I've generally run my sausage meat through the fine plate twice, but I decided to do it just once to give it a little more texture. We really liked it this way.

Thanks for checking out my post, and have a great day!
Clarissa


Hey Calarissa
Looks great.  I love brussle sprouts and this is a new way to cook them.  Also, I've never thought about serving my squash simply quartered--I always scoop it out.  Great idea, thank you
Gary

Hi Gary,

This is a fun way to cook the sprouts, although it is more prep up front. But you can do stuff like saute the shredded sprouts with a bit of minced garlic and lemon zest, then finish them with parmesan cheese and a bit of lemon juice. Or add in some balsamic vinegar near the end to let it caramelize and coat the sprouts. Lots of fun variations! Acorn and carnival squashes work great to serve them in quarters, and delicata squash work great halved.....try roasting them with a coat of butter, smoked salt, brown sugar, and ancho chili powder if you want to get fancy!

Thank you for the compliments, and hope you have a great day!
Clarissa
 
Hi Disco,

I ain't gonna be able to change your mind about brussel sprouts, not with a reaction like that. But if you haven't tried them shredded and sauteed, then you have not tried them at their best. Just sayin'.

Have a great day!
Clarissa
Someday, just because you say so, I may try them that way.

Disco
 
Wow Clarissa I love your cooking. Your sausage makes me want to learn, and cracklins in baby cabbages, inspirational!  AND.... I am going digging for dinner I think I have some butternut squash I could roast! I am adding your sausage to my short list. I am kind of holding off to get a press, that hand crank on the grinder gets old fast.

It looks totally delicious!

Thank you for sharing it.
 
Jesus wept girl
You've got me grabbbing my jacket so I can drive the 20 mins into town so I can see if they even have squash.  You're killing me.
Gary

I have to confess that I really look forward to seeing the winter squash show up at the Farmer's Market. Hope you can find some at your local market!

Thanks for the compliments, Gary! Have a great week!
Clarissa


Wow Clarissa I love your cooking. Your sausage makes me want to learn, and cracklins in baby cabbages, inspirational!  AND.... I am going digging for dinner I think I have some butternut squash I could roast! I am adding your sausage to my short list. I am kind of holding off to get a press, that hand crank on the grinder gets old fast.

It looks totally delicious!

Thank you for sharing it.

Hi Foam,

Being from cajun country you might find my version to be a little mild for your taste. But that is the great thing about making your own sausage.....just fry a test patty, and adjust seasonings to taste. Sausage making is a lot of fun, and knowing how good of a cook you are, you would be an unstoppable force once you get an electric grinder and vertical stuffer.

I'm glad you liked my use of pork cracklings....I'm going to make crackling corn bread with them next time I render down some fat.

Hope your squash digging and roasting goes well! Have a great night and week!
Clarissa


Now this is just beautiful! And the brussels too! It all looks lovely! Beautiful job!!!!! Cheers! - Leah

Hi Leah,

Knowing how beautiful your own meals are, your compliments are extra special! Thanks so much, and have a great night and week!
Clarissa
 
I really love reading your posts.  Thanks for the great write-ups and photos.  And that meal looks delicious - especially the brussel sprouts.  Yum.
 
I love Brussels sprouts.  Thanks for the inspiration and ways to improve the recipes.

Looks-Great.gif
 
That is the best way to have brussel sprouts.  i dont cook them any other way...since we dont have cracklins around, we use bacon fried up instead.  Very nice looking sausage.  I love this time of year with all the fall squash...acorn is my favorite.
 
I really love reading your posts.  Thanks for the great write-ups and photos.  And that meal looks delicious - especially the brussel sprouts.  Yum.

Hi Roser,

What a nice thing to say! I'm right there with you on brussel sprouts. Thank you very much for the compliments and checking out my posts!

Have a great day!
Clarissa

I love Brussels sprouts.  Thanks for the inspiration and ways to improve the recipes.

:Looks-Great:

Hi Palladini,

Thank you so much. I love them too....I really look forward to this time of year because brussel sprouts become available from local farmers. We kind of go crazy with them, preparing them in different ways, but shredded and sauteed is my favorite method.

Thanks for reading my post, and have a great day!
Clarissa


That is the best way to have brussel sprouts.  i dont cook them any other way...since we dont have cracklins around, we use bacon fried up instead.  Very nice looking sausage.  I love this time of year with all the fall squash...acorn is my favorite.

Hi ifitsdead,

I totally agree, this is one of my favorite times of year for produce with the winter squash, root vegetables, and brussel sprouts coming in. The shredded-saute method is definitely the best....like you, we generally use diced bacon as cracklings don't last long around our house! Thank you for the compliments on the sausage, I was happy with how they came out.

Thanks so much for checking out my post, and have a great day!
Clarissa
 
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