One of my many fond memories of a Smokies boyhood involves the family’s annual hog-killing in November.
It was an all day, all hands-at-work affair that took place at the home of my paternal grandparents. In late winter or early spring each year my father, along with multiple siblings who still lived in the area, would buy a bunch of shoats and turn them over to Grandpa Joe to feed and fatten for roughly eight months. Then on a designated Saturday (usually the weekend before Thanksgiving), swine Armageddon would arrive. My parents, Grandpa Joe and Grandma Minnie, aunts and uncles, and a bevy of cousins would be busy from first light until dark of night.
These arduous yet superbly satisfying efforts would yield a bounty of culinary wonder in the form of fried tenderloin and gravy for breakfast the next two or three days, backbones-and-ribs cooked to the point where you could suck marrow from the bones, slabs of bacon for curing in the smoke house, hams to be salted and rubbed with secret ingredients (every male in the family had their own approach when it came to dealing with country hams, and each was quite ready to defend the superiority of his end product in vociferous fashion), and meat to be cooked and canned. Sausage fell into the latter category. It would be ground, mixed with spices, shaped into patties and fried until crisp on the outside and succulent on the inside. There would be four cast iron skillets going at the same time, and as they were emptied more patties went into the pans. The cooked sausage was carefully stuffed into quart jars and covered with piping hot lard that had been rendered as part of the overall hog-killing process. Addition of a rubber ring, lid, and screw top to the jars completed the process. For the next few hours there would be regular pops emanating from Grandma’s kitchen as the sealing process was completed.
While I was passing partial to backbones-and-ribs in those days, and when I can find them today my tastes remain unchanged. Yet when all things are considered I have to conclude that homemade sausage, no matter its lowly status on the totem pole of pork, was my favorite. Whenever Momma pulled a quart jar stuffed with sausage from the groaning shelves in our basement, a mountain feast was in the offing. Whether the patties were broken up and cooked with scrambled eggs, heated and then nestled in a big cathead biscuit, or used with some of the lard from the jar to make sausage gravy, the end result was food on the mountain table at its finest. Mind you, a fellow could also find culinary comfort in a couple of cold sausage biscuits for lunch while out squirrel or rabbit hunting.
My youthful acquaintance with sausage, scrumptious though it unquestionably was both in fact and in fond memory, was in truth a rather limited one. My mother and grandmother used sausage regularly in the ways mentioned above, but they merely scratched the surface when it came to sausage’s many possibilities as a main dish, hors d’oeuvre, or side dish. Here’s a mixture of traditional high country recipes with ones that were pretty much unknown in yesteryear. All merit gastronomic attention in today’s world.
Sausage Gravy
- 1 pound homemade or store-bought sausage
- Whole milk
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Flour
Brown sausage in a large skillet or cast iron pan, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Use a slotted spoon or similar utensil to remove cooked meat from hot grease and set it aside. If there are a few bits and crumbs left, that’s not a problem. Using a portion of the grease (how lean the sausage was will determine how much drippings you have left in the pan), gradually add flour, stirring steadily, to make a roux. As your roux creams out and thickens, add milk a little at a time, continuing to stir steadily, until you have gravy that meets the fine line between being too thick and runny. At this point return the sausage you had set aside and blend with the milk gravy. Once thoroughly mixed it is ready to serve. Just remember that flour-based gravies always continue to thicken after removal from heat, so don’t let it get too thick.
Once the gravy is ready, it is well suited to adorn breakfast biscuits or, as it was often served in my youth, spooned over a chunk of crumbled cornbread for supper. The latter approach is a fine method for making a relatively small amount of meat go a long way. That was something of surpassing importance not only at Mom’s table but in many a hardscrabble mountain household of days gone by.
Sausage Casserole
Sausage and eggs go together like biscuits and gravy, and when partnered with cheese and a couple of root vegetables (potatoes and onions) can make a simple, satisfying, and scrumptious dish admirably fit to grace any table.
- 1 pound sausage
- 3 cups diced or shredded potatoes (store-bought ones intended for use as hash browns save some time and work perfectly well)
- 1/4 cup melted butter (use the real McCoy, not a butter substitute)
- 12 ounces extra sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 container (16-ounce) cottage cheese
- ½ cup Vidalia onion, minced fine
- 8 large eggs
Place a standard 9- x 13-inch casserole dish in your oven and preheat it to 375 degrees. While the oven and casserole dish are heating, brown your sausage and when it is cooked and crumbly, drain grease. If desired, save the grease and maybe a few of the sausage crumbles to make gravy. Next stir together shredded potatoes and melted butter into the hot casserole dish, lightly pressing to the sides and bottom with a spatula. Mix together the browned sausage, cottage cheese, Cheddar cheese, onion, and eggs in a bowl. Whisk just enough to blend and pour over the potato and butter mixture in the casserole dish. Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the casserole comes out clean. Figure fifty minutes to an hour of cooking time. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.
Sausage and Grits Casserole
This is another casserole utilizing sausage that works quite nicely either for breakfast or as a main dish for other meals. It combines two types of pork for a delightful dish.
- 1 pound sausage
- ½ cup grits, cooked per directions (use the real deal, not instant grits)
- 1 cup extra sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
- ½ cup chopped ham
- 3 medium eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ stick butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Brown and drain sausage. Place in an 8-inch square casserole dish. Cook grits by directions until thick. Add butter, cheese, and ham to grits. Beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together and add to slightly cooled grits and ham mixture. Pour over sausage into the casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees about 40 minutes or until set.
Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
If you are looking for a hearty, offbeat appetizer, this tempting offering might well strike your fancy as well as that of anyone fortunate enough to savor these delightful treats.
- 20 medium to large fresh mushrooms
- 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
- 6 to 8 ounces of sausage
- 3 tablespoons onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped fine
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ½ tablespoon mustard
Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems, leaving the caps intact. Chop the stems fine and sauté for eight minutes in the margarine. Add onion, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper.
In a separate small skillet brown and crumble sausage, getting it very fine. Add the browned sausage to the mushroom mixture and sauté until the onion is translucent (about five minutes).
Stuff mushrooms with this mixture and place in a lightly greased casserole dish. Combine the mayonnaise and mustard and top each stuffed cap with a small blob. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve immediately or place atop a chafing dish to keep warm.
Spicy Sausage Cornbread
What mountain trencherman could ask for more than a bunch of traditional staples from Appalachian foodways being combined to make a memorable dish? If you like a bit of heat in what you eat and bread that will stick to your ribs and put added pep in your step, try this variation on cornbread.
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 pound sausage
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 15 ounces (one can) of cooked crowder peas, drained and rinsed. You can use black-eyed peas if you prefer.
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup cream-style corn or corn cut fresh from the cob
- 1 can (4½ ounces) chopped green chilies or four or five dried hot peppers, crumbled
Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet until the sausage is browned and crumbled and the onion translucent. Drain and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine cornmeal, flour, salt and baking soda; mix with a whisk and make a well in the center.
Stir together the eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Pour into the well in the dry ingredients and stir until moistened (batter will not be smooth). Add sausage and onion mixture, peas, cheese, corn, and chilies to batter. Stir well to blend.
Pour into a greased 9- x 13-inch baking dish or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (forty-five minutes or a bit more).
This dish can be served with a green salad or fresh spring vegetables such as radish, leeks, or spring onions. Also works nicely as an appetizer when cut into small squares.
Open-Face Apple and Sausage Sandwiches
This is a decidedly different twist on enjoyment of sausage, but it combines the delicious meat with another longtime staple of mountain and agriculture, apples.
- ½ pound sausage
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Large Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced (leave peel on)
- 2 slices toast
- Several pinches of brown or cinnamon sugar
Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Make thin patties of sausage and cook in butter until well browned and with the center no longer pink. Remove patties and set aside, keeping them warm. Place apple slices in pan (add a bit more butter if needed, although the fat from the sausage will likely suffice) with a pinch or two of brown or cinnamon sugar. Brown apples slightly, turn, and sprinkle with additional pinches of sugar. Cook until slightly tender. Place apples on hot toast and top with the sausage patties. Serve immediately.