Jack’s Smoked Sausage

In My Last Romance and other passions the last story, “Treat Yourself to the Best” is about a young woman named Fifi whose big, noisy, rural family drives her crazy. In the story she takes her husband back to her hometown for a sausage making party, a thing I have plenty of familiarity with!

My brother Jack was a great sausage maker. This recipe is in the original cookbook written exactly the way he wrote it down for me. Jack died in 2002 and I think of him every day. This is his recipe:

Grind up 25 lbs. Of venison or beef and 25 lbs. Of pork. Pork butts are the best but bulk pork may be used. Crush 6 cloves of garlic and soak them in a quart of hot water. To the ground meat add 1 lb. Morton’s Tender Quick (available at most butcher shops), 1/4 lb. Sugar, 2 oz. Black pepper, 1/4 t. sage and the juice of two lemons. Blend in. Work in the garlic water until the meat and water is completely mixed. Stuff sausage into casings. Hang the sausages and let them dry overnight. The next day it is ready to be smoked. During smoking you must keep an eye until it gets to a rich, red color, and the casings are dry.

To serve, boil them for 15-20 minutes, grill over open fire or sauté over medium heat until firm and cooked through.

At home, as in the story, we usually had them with baked beans and pancakes.

More about Jack: Good Night, Sweet Prince