I recently made a bunch of sausages at home, the most unusual of which was chicken & apple. It’s basically just chicken thighs, a granny smith apple, some chardonnay, and few spices, but it combines to make a very tender sausage that’s not too sweet.
I got the recipe from the Home Sausage Making cookbook.
Chicken & Apple Sausage
- 2 feet casings
- 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs with skin
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons minced onion
- 1/4 cup chardonnay
You just cut the thighs down into manageable chunks and partially freeze them on a tray for about 20-30 minutes. Then you grind the meat, mix it with the apples and seasonings, and grind everything again. I couldn’t find boneless thighs that weren’t also skinless, so I just tossed a couple of pieces of pork jowl bacon into the grinder to raise the fat content. You couldn’t tell it was there at all. You don’t necessarily have to refreeze the mixture between grindings, but you absolutely have to do it before you go to stuff the sausage into the casing. I was leery of how wet the stuffing was and wondered if it would firm up at all when cooked, but it came out great. Once stuffed, you twist the sausage into links and air dry in the refrigerator overnight.
I poached the sausages in water at 200° for a couple of hours and then finished them on the grill. They came out perfectly cooked and well-caramelized.
Pingback: Homemade Sausage