Garlic Sausage from Mississippi question?

[Ufimizm]

I had a friend who was living down in Natchez, MS bring back 20 lbs of Garlic Sausage from Passbach meats. It's a smoked beef sausage made with beef and offal meats (heart, tongue, head meat, glands...etc) It has a stronger offal type flavor and the couple links I have cooked have a more mealy texture. I am supposed to make red beans and rice with it. I have a good recipe for red beans and rice, but I can find no recipes using this type of sausage. I am either afraid of it being too overpowering, or turning to mush. Is anyone familiar with this type of sausage that could offer a couple tips in using it.

[highchef]

I have made red beans with every sort of smoked sausage handy. I don't think it will do anything except give it a bit of 'dirty rice' flavor, and you won't have to add garlic. My favorite sausage to use for this is venison/pork, but I've used beef. It will be different, but then it's always different depending on how long it's cooked, the veggies, whether there's a ham bone in there etc. I'd give it a shot, if the sausage is good by itself, it'll be good with beans. jmho.

[Ufimizm]

I made a huge pot of red beans and tried to figure out how to use this sausage. The sausage has and offal off taste and I tried to moderate it down. I ended up poaching the sausage in water with salt, onions andblack pepper. I then sliced it and fried it to try to harden the texture up. I added it to the red beans and it soaked up a good amount of juice. It was rather dissapointing though. Normally when I make a batch of this for a gathering it dissappers, but this time I have plent left.

I have lived in Wisconsin for most of my life and have always had access to a variety of good buthcer shop selection of sausage, but this stuff through me for a loop. From the little I can find it is a local specialty of Natchez, But I was unable to find any reciepes that use this softer offaly sausage. If anyone has any other suggestions of what to usee this with please post. I still have about 10lbs of it to use up lol.

[RobertCollins]

The mealy throws me. This sounds like it might be smoked way too long and have drained out the fat. When I have done this break the stuff tasted like mealy bad oatmeal with flavors [not always good].

The offal doesn't bother me but I think of the good red beans and rice I've had as really tasty and a bit on the bright side of spicy.

[brucesw]

There's a rave review of the sausage on Yahoo Local.

This put me in mind of the chapter in John T. Edge's book Hamburger and Fries about the slug burgers of Mississippi, also called tater burgers, cracker burgers and dough burgers - a practice dating to the Depression of incorporating filler material in hamburger meat for frugality's sake which persists today. I wonder if this is something similar.

Does the label list any filler material? TVP?

You might post on the Southeast Cooking and Baking board for some more notices and people familiar with the sausage and how they use it.

[MarkinHouston]

If all else fails, you could call them and ask what they recommend. (Assuming there are return customers, so they must have some feedback. I looked on the internet but did not find any helpful information.

Passbach Meats

213 Sergeant Prentiss Dr

Natchez, MS 39120

(601) 445-8743