Friday, October 01, 2021

Foodie Friday - Sausage Fantasies

I live in a highrise condo, a flat or apartment in a 15 story building, I own the apartment, a fraction of the overall building. Space is somewhat limited, the kitchen needs replacing, but we will be limited by the space within the four walls, and it will always be a tight space.  It just is.  Because of local fire code, we can't cook, or have a grill or smoker on the terrace, it is simply not allowed.  

So what does all of that have to do with sausages? I can and a few times have experimented with sausage making, but I am limited to fresh sausages, I don't have space for drying, or the ability to smoke meats.  In my fantasy world, I would be able to start with half a pig, break it down into the tasty bits, make sausage and cure hams.  I don't have the heart to dispatch the animal, I would leave that to others, but taking the primary cuts, a quarter or half and working from there fascinates me.  

I have thought about doing a semester at a culinary school, just to get the training in the basics.  I have an ex-brother-in-law who was a CIA graduate (Culinary Institute of America) who went to work for Disney. He spent the first two years at Disney cutting steaks and making burgers. Once he had proven himself he moved on and the last I knew he was head chef in one of Disney's most expensive restaurants.  

I mentioned recently on my Thursday Ramble, the Fermented Pig, a local artisanal sausage and bacon maker.  There is a specialty butcher shop not far away, that I should overcome my fear of the lack of parking and visit more often.  

If I won the lottery (and I won't because I don't buy tickets) I would enjoy having a place in the country, with a space the indulge in some of my fantasies sausages being one of them.    
 

22 comments:

  1. I love a good sausage...but that is way to much handling for me to enjoy the meat. Just give it me.

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    1. If you handle your own, you have more control over what goes in.

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  2. I’m with Maddie. I would never consider making them but I sure do love them. Just give it to me, too.

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  3. Anonymous10/01/2021

    Thankfully in normal circumstances we use trams to get about and don't have to worry about parking, and boy do I find parking a stressful experience, even if I am not at the wheel.

    Is the exterior of your building flammable, like the Grenfell Tower? Otherwise I can't see why you can't barbeque on your terrace.

    Just updating our smallish apartment kitchen as we did a few years ago, without changing the layout really, made a world of difference.

    Do you have an air fryer? They are life changing.

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    1. It's a pretty common fire code regulation here. Comes from dreadful fires in buildings that are flammable, also lowers insurance costs.

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  4. I'm with the rest, but then thankfully there are folks, and maybe one day you, who like making sausages for the rest of us!

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  5. I would enjoy letting you do all the work and then inviting us for dinner :-)

    Sassybear
    www.idleeyesandadormy.com

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  6. "I should overcome my fear of the lack of parking" Yes, you should!

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  7. I've had a lot of cooking fantasies but sausage making hasn't been one of them.
    P.S. there is a similar well-regarded butcher shop here with the very same parking problems.

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    1. Del Ray is a really cute neighborhood, I need to go more often

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  8. A new hobby for when you retire? Pursue it!

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  9. I would need a lot more time on my hands than I do now in order to contemplate making my own sausages!

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    1. So many things to enjoy, so little time

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  10. Warrior Queen once bought a small barbecue cooker that she hoped we could use on the (all wood) balcony of her second floor condo just off of Old Keene Mill Road. I had to break the news to her that fire regulations (Fairfax County) would prevent us from actually using her cooker there.

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    1. Another reason she wanted to move back home

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  11. Brother #4 makes them; he conveys it as a fun hobby always with new ways to stuff them.

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    1. I will do some fresh sausages again,

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