Here's How The Sausage Is Made, Just In Case You're A Particular NFL Team Owner Who Doesn't Know

Jordie11/09/2022 6:10 PM

One of the only things I've been able to think about all week so far is this quote from Jim Irsay.

It breaks my heart that this man doesn't know how to make sausage or what goes into it. Because there is such a beautiful art to sausage making. I know they say "you don't really want to see how the sausage is made", but that phrase couldn't be further from the truth. Because if you're getting some top of the line, expertly crafted sausage that has a delicious snap, a massive punch of flavor, and every ingredient combines perfectly with the next? Well there's nothing better.

A great sausage always starts with great meat. You can use beef, you can use pork, you can use turkey or chicken or whatever you want. All you need is a nice blend of fat to lean meat. Usually that's going to be somewhere in the 25-30% fat to 70-75% lean neighborhood. You can use the trimmings off a brisket. You can use an entire pork butt. Just whatever you use, make sure there's a proper blend of fat to lean.

Next up you're going to grind the meat and add all the seasonings you want to flavor your sausage. You're going to want to make sure to use some curing salt for sure, to make sure everything stays safe to eat. Curing salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, the world is your oyster. You'll send it through the grinder a couple of times and then it's time to case the sausage. It's literally just ground up meat which has then been fed through a tube and cased in pig intestines. Once your sausages are cased and linked up, you can cold smoke them until they reach an internal temp of 160 degrees. Cold smoking is just smoking at aggressively low temperatures, like under 200°. Once the sausage gets to an internal temp of 160°, they are good to come off the smoker and you throw them into an ice bath to stop them from continuing to cook even further. At that point you can just vac seal them and they'll be preserved for whenever you're ready to heat them up one last time before eating.

Ground meat. Season. Stuff into casings. Cold smoke. Ice bath. Final cook. Enjoy. Simple as that, really, for all the textual learners out there. But if you're more of a visual learner then allow my good pal Chud to teach you the ways of making delicious and extra plump sausages at home.

Now some more sausage content.