Farmhouse Breakfast Sausage

How to make Farmhouse Breakfast Sausage Recipe - Sausages are basic to many cuisines, but especially German, Swiss, Dutch, French and Scandinavian. The taste of the sausages reflected the flavorings favored by each ethnic group.

Makes 2 pounds sausage.

Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh pork butt, coarsely ground
1-1/2 teaspoons dried leaf thyme
1 teaspoon crumbled, dried, sage leaves
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
About 2 ounces salted sausage casings (optional)

Method:
In a large bowl, blend pork, thyme, sage, salt, black pepper and red pepper.

Refrigerate overnight for flavors to blend. Shape into patties.

Cook in a heavy skillet over medium heat until cooked through, turning once.

For link sausages, purchase salted sausage casings from the meat market.

Soak in cold water to remove salt, then slip end of casing over faucet in kitchen sink. Run cold water through to flush out inside of casings. This is more easily done if casings are cut into 20- to 24-inch lengths.

Put meat mixture into a sausage-stuffing machine or into a large pastry bag with a 1/2- to 1-inch tip.

Slip casings over end of pastry tip and press meat into casings. If sausage is hard to press into casings, add water to meat mixture to soften it.

Note:
Sausage casings are available from the butcher; extra casings may be frozen.