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Hi, I am interested in starting to make my own sausages. Preferably, I would like to make nice stuffed ones in casings (natural, artificial, whatever). Problem is, all of the websites I have found lead me to believe I would need to invest nearly $100, or much more, into a grinder/stuffer machine. I would ideally like to start out as cheaply as possible and just see if I even like doing it before investing in serious machinery. I am thinking about using a food processor to grind the meat, but I have been told that perhaps that will grind it too fine, and the texture would be off. I also thought that perhaps it would be possible to buy a funnel and just stuff them through that by hand. Has anyone else tried sausage making without the specialty equipment? Do you have recommendations about types/sources of casings? Am I just setting myself up for stress and dissapointing by doing this without a grinder/stuffer? Thanks.

A group of us had dinner at Salumi last Friday night. There were three other eGulleteers, all more active posters than me, and I expect they'll pipe in with details. Also, I took photos of most of the courses and some of the action and at some point I'll add a few to this thread if there's interest. For now, I'll just list some of my random thoughts from the evening. Armandino mentioned that as of last Thursday, Salumi is USDA-certified to ship his cured meats around the country. I told him that's too bad; it's already tough enough to find them in Seattle. Armandino's daughter (Gina?) worked with him on the meal. He proudly announced that she's now half-owner in Salumi. My personal favorite course of the many we had was a very simple grilled sea bass, served cold. This was perhaps the best fish dish I've ever eaten. Perfectly fresh, perfectly cooked; just excellent. Other standouts: the cured meats (of course), the unscotti (recipe to be published in Sept. Bon Appetite), the rabbit. I'll download a photo of the menu later, from home.

I've given up trying to find decent andouille sausage here in Kansas City, and am ready to buy some via mail order. One review I've read puts Prudhomme's regular smoked andouille as the best. Are there any other opinions out there that differ? I need a brand that is available online, so Cousin Beaurigard's down at the corner grocery store/laundromat won't help. What brand and on web site is it available? Greg

Following on from Maragret Pilgrim's thread here is one to discuss Andouillette, the fabulous french offal sauasages. Hot or Cold and sliced? Frites or Puree? Where? Where not? What does AAAA mean, and are there any Andoulette that are not? My most recent experience, in early May was not good, at the Brasserie Lipp on Blvd St Germain in the 6th. It was late,and we had just got in. The Andouilette were fragrant, deeply meaty. However they poisoned me, and I spent the next three days, although surrounded by delicious things, feeling quesy, and not able to eat...

Moderator Note: These posts about Salumi were submitted almost at the same time, and I thought Mario would enjoy seeing all of them. Three weeks ago I had the rare opportunity to enjoy a Friday evening dinner at Salumi. It was wonderful! Click here for the full details. This week I also joined Armandino's "adopt a proscuitto" program. I can't wait to get that thing home next fall. Now that he's USDA certified, will you be carrying any of his products in your restaurants?

Moderator Note: topics merged. If there weren't a lotta lotta other reasons to love you, Mario, and there are, and i'm not even counting the shorts though they are fetching, its the fact that you put LARDO on your pizza, and made LARDO SEXY! And made people all over the country suddently saying the world lardo with great affection, and made the word lardo a fashion statement, a destination word, a word of great desire. this in a country that has been fat-o-ohobic for years! i thought the fashionistas would pass out when they first uttered the word, but there they were, munching on your yum lardo pizza at OTTO, muttering the word lardo, lardo, lardo............ Grazie mille! is there any other food that you are passionate about at this moment that you'd care to share? marlena

Hello, it's been a while. Since we've been promised snow in this week's forecast, I've traded in my food bus for a sleigh. This blog doesn't actually get started until tomorrow, but I wanted to get y'all thinking some. See here's the deal. In my first foodblog, many of you came and visited with me as guests in my home. Well, now you're all more like family. So this time, you have to help me. Welcome to the interactive foodblog. I decided that if I was going to do another blog, I had to branch out. I couldn't just do the same thing I did last time and more importantly, I didn't want to replicate any of the dishes I did last time around. This I realized was going to require me to step outside my foodbox somewhat though. So I'm going to do some experimenting. I'm going to make some things I've never made before. Now I know, from reading the various threads on these forums that there's a wealth of information and advice to be had, and that's exactly what I need from y'all. I'll be doing stuff that you're going to think "how can she not know how to do that?!". Well I haven't and I don't. But, I'm willing to put my ingnorance on the line in the interests of higher learning. I'm putting myself out there folks. Don't let me fall. Not only that, but other than our big Christmas dinner, which will actually be Boxing Day (the day after Christmas for all you non Canadian and English people), I don't think there's a speck of beef on the menu. Oh the withdrawal! Note the Southern drawl? A lot of what I'll be doing are Southern dishes. I figure by the time I'm done, not only will my drawl have improved, but I'll be a card carrying Southern Mama. So sit back and relax. But don't get too comfortable. Y'all need to work with me on this one.

I'm in the process of making confit duck, so I thought I'd share my technique for doing so; it's a slightly modified version of the one I make in the restaurant. I hope this encourages people to try making it, as it's a wonderful thing to have in the storecupboard. I'd be interested in hearing how other people's techniques vary from my own. You'll need: 10 duck legs (I use French Babrary) a lemon, sliced into 6 or so slices an orange, ditto a couple of dozen sprigs of thyme half a dozen bay leaves a head of garlic about 8oz / 220g medium coarse salt about 2kg / 4lb duck or goose fat (I use goose) 1) In a plastic or otherwise non-reactive contatiner that'll fit in the fridge, place everything apart from the goose fat, and mix with the hands to combine. Leave in the fridge for 12-16 hours. 2) Take the legs out of the fridge. The salt will have dissolved and there'll be some fluid in the bottom of the container. 3) In warm water, rinse the duck legs, and leave them to drain. Rinse and drain the herbs, garlic, orange and lemon. 4) Place half the herbs, garlic and fruit slices in the bottom of a heavy pot (I use a cast-iron Le Creuset pot) 5) Make the first layer of duck legs, overlapping like this. 6) Place the fifth leg in to make a complete circle. 7) Fill in the middle with the remaining herbs/garlic/fruit. 8) Make the second layer of five legs in the same way as the first. 9) Just cover with warm duck/goose fat. 10) Cover with a cartouche of aluminium foil. It's imporatant that the foil doesn't overlap the edge of the pot otherwise the fat may spill over upon cooking. 11) Place in the oven at 90C (200F) for 12-14 hours. The lid should be slightly ajar, as shown, and it's good practice to place a tray underneath the pot to avoid any spillage catching fire on the oven floor. I learned this the hard way. If there's any interest, I'll put up pics of the potting process when I do that tomorrow. Hope this proves of interest...

Every now and then since December 2004, a good number of us have been getting together at the eGullet Recipe Cook-Off. Click here for the Cook-Off index. For our second Cook-Off, we've chosen char siu bao, or steamed bbq/roast pork buns. You've probably had this dim sum staple many times, often a tough dough encasing a gummy, cloying clump of pork -- . But if you had a good one, you know how ethereal the dough and amazing the double-cooked pork can be. And that's what we're going to be making, pillows of porky perfection! In my two previous home attempts to make char siu bao, the three distinct steps (marinating and cooking the pork; making the dough; constructing and steaming the filled buns) were fun and compelling but rife with screw-up possibilities. Questions I know I'll have include: How does one make perfect dough? What ingredients are crucial? What sorts of tips are also crucial? (For example, I've been told by a dim sum chef that bamboo steam racks are crucial to bao, and that metal steam racks don't work well at all.) What cut of pork, marinated in what concotion (including, essentially, shaoxing wine, aka Chinese sherry), cooked in what manner and for whom long, should we use? Some links to get us started: Here is an eG thread on char siu, broadly defined. Here's a thread on evaluating roast pork buns, with a discussion of NYC restaurants. Here's one on Wow! Bao! that expands rapidly into the tao of bao. I'm not at home, so I don't have any reference recipes to use, but I know I'll be checking Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's Chinese Banquet Cookbook and The Chinese Kitchen (both of which were iffy, if I remember correctly), and Barbara Tropp's Modern Art of Chinese Cooking. Saveur also had a recipe in the back of the issue sometime in 2002 or 03 (anyone remember that?). What other recipes will people be using? So let's go bao!

When we lived in Mexico City we could drive to Toluca, 40kms to the west and buy bright green sausage at just about every market stall and from homes along the way. When I say green I mean emerald. About the size of BBQ sausage here in houston and fresh not smoked or dried. I've made Diane Kennedy's green sausage and it's nothing like what I'm looking for. Anybody got a source in Texas?

The Asian grocery that I've been frequenting lately has a variety of Chinese sausages. I've never cooked with them before, but I'd like to. Most are vacuum packed and produced in either the US or Canada. I was wondering if anyone had any brands they liked and any favorite uses. Thanks.

Lost among the mediocrity of the Cobble & Boerum Hills / Carroll Gardens "food revolution" is a true standout that seems to be in a little trouble. Esposito's Pork Store on Court and Union has been in the neighborhood for years making Sopressata and fresh Italian sausages, as well as outstanding rice balls, mozzarella, sandwiches, etc. Recently a place called Latticini Barese in Red Hook closed after 75 years in business. It would be a shame to lose another neighborhood gem; especially when interest in eating in the area seems to be at a high. I therefore encourage those who live in the neighborhood to pop in and check it out. Buy some sausages for your next "Sopranos" party (they close early on Sundays), buy a couple of rice balls to snack on, or maybe some dried sausage and mozz for an antipasti plate. Service is a little "old Brooklyn" but that should be seen as a positive.

I could use some expert/experienced help in making these special treats. Any ideas will be appreciated.

I am on a quest for finding the best Italian Sausages in town, ones that are spicy (piccante) and ones that are not. Currently I get them at Bianca Marias on HAstings St. and also at the butcher on Granville Isl. (can't remeber the name but by the toffee/fudge place). Also for a great butcher, I seem to be all over the place currently and have just found out that Columbus meats debone chickens and turkeys for you.. do all butchers do that? Need some 'meaty' advise.

How quickly does sausage go bad when refrigerated (not frozen)? I bought some Italian sausage at the grocery store on Friday. I used half of it that night and put the rest in tupperware. The refrigerator is on one of the coldest settings because it has been hot here in DC. Question: barring any bad smells, is it OK to use?

I have about 1/3 lb. sitting in my fridge. What should I do with it?

Has anyone tried to cure guanciale (cured pig's jowls) at home? There is a simple recipe in the Babbo cookbook, which also appears on the Babbo Web site: http://www.babbonyc.com/in-guanciale.html I was surprised that the recipe did not call for using any "curing salt." I would love to avoid using curing salt/nitrite, but from some preliminary research, it seems to be a standard curing ingredient in order to kill certain bacteria. I looked at a few recipes for pancetta, and they all use a curing salt, in addition to regular salt. I'm wondering if this is an omission in the recipe, or if it could safely be made without curing salt. Another question: The recipe does not discuss washing the salt off the meat after the cure and before the drying period. This is a step I have seen in pancetta recipes. Another omission of a step that should be followed? Any thoughts on either of these questions? Thanks.

Combine the three different candles to make a BLT! Ben p.s. there is a bunch of other great bacon related stuff on this site.

As noted in the Toronto Star Digest, here on eG. Toronto (or Hogtown as we are affectionately known) speak out on the concept of having a Toronto "signature" dish. So, fellow Torontonians, I want your opinion. Do we need a special dish to call our own? Is this the right dish? Discuss!

I’ve always loved making gumbos, and have gotten to the point where I’m very pleased with the my concoctions – most of them are pretty basic, traditional gumbos. But I moved from the U.S. sometime ago, and authentic Southern US ingredients are not in ready supply – in fact, pretty much non-existent. One of the key, basic ingredients I love to add to my gumbos is: andouille. The good news is, I have a feeling that "andouille," or something very satifsfactorily similar exists here in Melbourne – even if under a different name. I say that because, there’s a huge selection here of European (both mediterranean and eastern) sausages, smoked and cured meats, deli items, etc etc, pretty much everywhere you turn. The main market in Melbourne, Queen Victoria Market, has a staggeringly fantastic amount of choice: Italian, French, Hungarian, Polish, Greek, Turkish … truly bountiful. So I wonder if someone can help me find the closest equivalent to andouille, from these or other cultures. Never having made it, I’m not sure of any very-specifically-Southern U.S. spices or additions that go into the real thing, but even leaving those aside, what’s the next closest beast? Italian Cotechino? Polish Kielbasa? French garlic sausage? Spanish chorizo? I’m not totally up on which (if any) of these kinds of sausages are smoked, like an andouille is. Thanks for any help you can provide everyone.

What makes these things so damn good...is it the many cerveza's consumed prior....but man are they good..anyone know how they are made and what makes em special...let hear it from all of you whom have cruised a border town, eaten one and lived to tell about it!

I'm cooking Thanksgiving lunch for a bunch of other expat DC Eurotrash this year. So no one is going to complain too much if we veer away from the old standards. Thought I'd maybe confit some turkey thighs -- mainly so that the main course can be safely done a few days ahead -- but wondering what to use for the fat. Olive oil? Duck drippings? Is this a bad idea in the first place?

I have a fantastic cornbread stuffing recipe of my grandmom's I make every single year, but this year wanna mix things up a bit and add oysters or sausage...I have done a big internet search and it has been difficult to find something that requests very few, if any, spices (boo hiss) or requests those awful herbed croutons which I REFUSE TO EAT! I will be both stuffing a bird and making some in a pan---can I just add a pint of shucked oysters to a regular cornbread stuffing recipe? Better yet, any recipes y'all wanna share? Links?

After tasting peanut butter bacon cookies at the last eGullet NJ picnic, it has finally dawned on me that there is nothing on this planet that doesn't go well with bacon. Am I stating the obvious here? Am I missing something? Bacon reminds me of lecithin. Do you know the way that lecithin has a water loving head and fat loving tail?. Bacon has those same hermaphroditic qualities, except it's savory head and a sweet tail. Come up with a food where bacon would be completely out of place. I dare you :)

I assume pancetta, or anything with a high fat content, doesn't take well to freezing. Am I wrong? I can't eat any more of this pancetta! (Well, I can but I shouldn't.)