Salsa

Today my boyfriend and I decided to have a salsa war. He would make his more of a "pico de gallo" style and I would make mine in the KitchenAid. I used the recipe included with the food grinder, however I omitted the chipotle, as no one in my family likes the smoky flavor. I used jalapenos instead, with garlic that I roasted in the oven. Also added 5 hothouse tomatoes, onions, and white wine vinegar. Put everything (save the vinegar) through the grinder with the coarse plate. It was a thinner salsa then I like, so I cooked it for about 12 mins. Once we were both done with the salsa it was time for the taste test. My boyfriend's salsa was really hot (I guess that's what happens when you use 3 serranos, 2 jalapenos, and 1 habanero!!) whereas mine was mild (with a nice tang from the vinegar). My mom liked it best when she mixed the 2 salsas together (which I will admit was pretty darn tasty) as it took some of the heat off the hot salsa. So I guess we will have to call a draw on the salsa war (with mine slightly edging ahead!). Now I want to make more salsa and can it.... but that's another post!

Kielbasa

So seeing as how we had pork back fat left over from our last sausages, we decided to make more sausages. It was down to either a Brat or Kielbasa, with Kielbasa edging past Brats with the added garlic (boyfriend LOVES garlic). Went back to Tim's (I think I might become a regular) and picked up some more Pork Butt and some Beef Chuck (although we were also tempted to buy a nice looking Tri Tip, but thats another post!). Went home and started the long soaking process for the casings, and mixed up the meat mixture (lots of paprika and garlic!). Next time I will have to try the freezer trick for the meat, as it came out still a bit mushy. This time it only made about 3 lbs of meat, which for us was enough for one casing. Got the casing on the stuffer much easier this time, tied it off and started to stuff. Boyfriend is now an old pro at stuffing, and the sausage was much more uniform. Put the sausage in the fridge to await the smoking in the morning. Got up this morning and started the gas grill, filled the smoker box with wood chips (mesquite I think) and put the sausage on. The recipe said to smoke at around 160-200 degrees, which I never was able to do, it just kept staying too hot... I think I smoked at around 280 degrees which took me 1 hr. It didn't seem to affect the sausages too much, although I think they would have been a bit more tender. The second I brought them into the house, as the smell wafted through the house, the dog was right there licking his lips! (Oh and did I forget to mention that apparently dogs love casings?? Yes our dog ate 3 last night!!!) Tonight we grilled the smoked sausages and they were very tasty as well, and not at all greasy. I don't know which one I like the better....

Making Sausages

Of the many things I wanted to try, the top of the list was sausages. After making a trip to Cabela's for some sausage casings (hog casings, I would say medium size) the next stop was the library to pick up Complete Sausage Book. We decided for our first sausage to make the "Italian Sweet Fennel Sausage". Called for 3 lbs of pork butt and 3/4 lbs of pork back fat (try saying that three times fast!) Lucky for us, we discovered we have an awesome butcher in town who was very happy to provide us with some recently cut pork back fat and a lovely piece of pork butt. (And for any of you out there that happen to be in the Coeur d'Alene, ID area take a trip to Tim's Special Cut Meats). Got home and started the L-O-N-G process of soaking/flushing the casings (and eww the smell!!) As the casings were soaking, we started on the meat making. Ground up the fat and then attempted to grind the pork, but the fat had clogged the machine a bit. After learning how to clean the grinder attachment, got back to grinding the pork. I didn't love the texture (it was a bit mushy instead of looking like little worms), but I read that if you freeze the meat a bit, you can get a better grind. Anyways, got the meat and the fat together threw in the spices and the wine (we used a Cabernet) and got to mixing with my hands. 3 hours later, it was time for the stuffing! The first casing was a pain to put on, mainly because I didn't grease the stuffer end enough (olive oil is your friend!!) and also because in the middle of it the dog got loose, and we had to chase him down (dogs are not your friends when making sausage!). Finally after much pushing and pulling (and ok I'll admit it, some tearing, oops) we got the entire length of casing on. Tied off the end, and away we went. I was the meat person (stuffing the meat down the grinder) and my boyfriend was the sausage stuffer. The first link was a bit thin, but once we figured out the "keeping your thumb on the end of the stuffer" technique, we were able to regulate better the amount of meat. All in all for about 4 lbs of meat mixture, we got 2 lengths of sausage. Twisted each link (kept em about 5 inches long) and then off to the fridge. The next night we grilled them on the gas grill (they cooked for longer than we thought, I guess due to the thickness) and ate them in french rolls... very tasty! Quite a bit leaner than your average store bought sausages which was quite nice. Then the following night we mixed them in with pasta and store bought roasted garlic marinara, which was perhaps even tastier than in the hot dog style. The leftover sausages were taken to the parents (for a second opinion of course) and two we vacuumed sealed and put in the freezer.

The Beginning

So for my birthday a few weeks back, I became the owner of one KitchenAid Stand Mixer. My mom always had one, but when they moved it went to my brother. I remember going thru the catalog that came with hers (in all its 1970 glory) and being amazed at all the attachments that came with it. So in addition to the mixer I also got a food grinder and sausage stuffer (which has now been joined by the pasta maker attachment). Everyday I want to try something new with my mixer, and so I am going to document my new adventures into cooking