flat iron medallions

Flat Iron Medallions are the newest cut in the Bow Street meat case.  I'm stoked about these little gems.  The flat iron steak is a well manicured blade roast with all the sinew and fat removed.  It is the second most tender cut in the carcass, after the tenderloin and above all the rest of the loin cuts.  The flavor is pretty intense.  It's got all the iron-y intensity of a london broil from the shoulder but tempered with a decent amount of fat, super-yummy.  We've taken that muscle and rolled two of them into a long roast, wrapped it in bacon and passed it into a jet-net to tighten it up.  From that long roast we cut the juicy medallions in the photo below. 
the one to the right is the flat iron medallion.  It's tasty and tender anywhere from rare to well done. 

on the left is a medallion cut from the heart of the shoulder clod.  for this clod heart medallion, we de-fat and denude (remove all the gristly silver skin from) the entire clod heart and cut it down into a few small roasts which are bacon'd and netted and then cut to medallion size just like the flat iron.  not as tender but more lean than chicken breast, this cut was deemed more flavorful and more tender than the New York Sirloin by the entire tasting pool in a blind taste test.  Pretty exciting stuff... more juicy and tender from rare to medium.
   lastly, a new marinade.  we'll see if this one makes the cut for summer but preliminary tastings were promising.  utilizing our basic house barbeque, we enhanced it with several pounds of maine blueberries which were pureed, uncooked straight into the sauce.  The sweetness of the sauce and the fruit was off-set by a generous dose of authentic italian barrel aged balsamic vinegar.  This blend was applied to some chicken breasts which can be found in the case on Monday morning.  check them out, bright and yummy summer grilling action at Bow Street :)

Caraway brats , chocolate bread, and homemade, scrapple (!!!)

   Apologies for the lag since the last posts, busy life stuff going on.  Since then, a few updates... Caraway brats inspired by some readings on the Thuriner Rostbratwurst which includes that very spice.   You may reconize it from such famous breads as German Rye, a perfect counterpart to the brat with mustard and sauerkraut (amazing).  it's darn tasty in the sausage as well, btw.  on a related note, I just dug into an urn of sauerkraut which I started after harvest in the fall.  the head of cabbage came from the mother-in-law with the wonderfully robust garden and the 6-9 lb heads of cabbage.   The kraut was, needless to say, rather ripe.  It has gotten very tender and increased in sourness quite a bit.  Funky on the nose, but very pleasant stuff, and quite nice raw.
  The last thing I did which really excited my taste buds was to follow this recipe, rather inapproximately as per the usual.  I believe i got results very consistent with the writer of the page and must urge you pressingly to TRY THIS RECIPE!!  The bread nearly made me cry.  Tonight we're having it toasted with butter for dessert, sheesh. here's mine....
http://www.applepiepatispate.com/bread/pane-al-cioccolato-italian-chocolate/

  One more thing,  following in the footsteps of my Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry and even the more specific footsteps of my great grandfather, John, I made PA Dutch Scrapple from scratch (not scraps) for the first time.  I will be working to derive a new recipe to replace the one which he took to his grave with him and continue the lineage of scrapple producing Tice butchers.  cool right?  well I'm excited.  I'd share the recipe but it's not done yet.  Anyway, here's a photo of the frist attempt with which I was very, but not perfectly, pleased.  Not quite organ-y enough if you know what I mean....

new "wandering buffalo" sausage

  I was really short on ideas this week but was self-tasked with the duty of producing a new buffalo sausage recipe utilizing Great Range Bison Meat (http://www.greatrangebison.com/index.html)  .  It was a bit of a struggle to come up with a concept for another buffalo concept and the thinking which followed was, "Must there be a concept?"  Following that line of thought (which turned out to be just another well disguised "concept", I just added spices that I thought would compliment the nature of the meat and let it speak for itself.   We thought of calling it the "uninspired buffalo sausage" but it just didn't have much of a ring.  Regardless, the results were quite tasty and still show the nature of the meat: clean, and lean with crisp minerally flavors from the blood with little to no fat in between.  That was somewhat remedied by the addition of pork.
  The spice bill includes the usual salt, pepper and garlic as well as onion flake, thyme, mustard powder and died ancho chile.  The spices add a slight mid-western flavor to the meat without being overt or masking the meat entirrely.  They should go with a decent variety of foods, but I'll probably have mine in an omelet.  Get your bison on:)

new spice elements from Gryffon Ridge

  We at the market recently acquired some new products from Gryffon Ridge Spice Merchants of Dresden, ME.  While making introductions with the owners we discussed some products I've been after and which they offer.. terrific.  Namely, organic citrus zest.  In this week are organic, granulated orange, lime and lemon zest which quickly found their way into the newest sausage, the Chicken with Citrus and Herbs Sausage.  This recipe includes the aforementioned citrus zests (all of them) as well as healthy fistfuls of fresh parsley and cilantro and a touch of dried dill.  That's not to mention the requisite salt, pepper and garlic which form the base of nearly every sausage in my arsenal.
  It's yet another refreshing and bright tube of meat which recalls the sunny months for those who would prefer to rest in their cozy abodes and await the spring than venture out into the mid-winter cold for snowy recreation.  Yes, we long for lovely weather.  Hate me for loving May Flowers, bring on the April Showers!!  Have some chicken sausage in a fajita and reminisce the sunny beaches and summer barbeques with me, won't you?
  Oh, and find these folks and support their awesome products :)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gryffon-Ridge-Spice-Merchants/159500617427973?sk=wall#!/photo.php?fbid=300838439960856&set=a.159502577427777.34034.159500617427973&type=3&theater

Pork recipe (clearer version)

I have a new food fancy... the pork belly :) The stuff just crossed my mind a week ago and I proposed a purchase to the department manager and he was like, "sure." So now we have some. i really had big ideas for the fresh and lovely, fat-laced indulgence of a muscle cut, but those expectations are proving difficult to fulfill. Regardless, it's delicious and we have some. It may shortly make its way into sausage. anyway, check out the great looking stuff in this video and tell me you're not curious....Secondly, I remade the Green Chorizo but this time around, used chicken for the meat, all natural boneless thigh meat... lovely stuff for making sausage. The thigh doesn't dry out very easily, stays juicy and has a firm but giving texture. The sausage has a fair amount cilantro, green onion, chopped jalapeno lime zest and garlic, with a bit of cumin in the background and cayenne knocking up the heat level. It's got a tingle of heat, but I would not call this an especially aggressive sausage.. perhaps a 1 out of 5 stars. Delicious and sort of refreshing in a spring-ish inspired meat dish manner.

les croissants, les croissants!!

  Yesterday I attempted the previously unachievable croissant-from-scratch.  They really are a royal pain to make, BUT WORTH EVERY BIT OF TROUBLE!!!  I got the book "Tartine" by Chad Robertson, for Christmas and was impressed by the author's approach to teaching the method for his own country loaf.  The book has really changed my understanding of the process and given me a greater appreciation for a great loaf of bread.  I've gotten close to his model a few times but I'm still a step aside.
   Regardless, the latter part of the book describes his croissant method and it really works beautifully.  This is as much a book review as a show-and-tell for my breakfast.  Check it out if you love super crunchy crusts with a springy interior... the author's method is grounded in very old fashioned methods of leavening by basing his breads on wild yeasts in a young, low-acid leaven and sometimes bolstering the rise with a "poolish" of lab grown yeast ripened for hours before innoculating them into the early dough.  The book was written for bread fanatics but is easy to follow for the novice (like me.) 

Here's my croissants from the AM.

Gameday Chili Sausage

  I have to admit off the bat that I don't watch sports.  It's just not my thing.  Don't have a problem with sports, I promise, just never got into watching.  I feel better. 
   Moving on, the news in Sausage Land it the "Gameday Chili Sausage" which was created today to appease the Super Bowl fanatic who obviously cannot throw a good party without a delicious sausage option for snacking.  This chow-dog is an all-pork link laced with the classic chili spices of... well: chili, cumin and tomato (not really a spice, I know.)  There's a touch of garlic, and liquid smoke, salt and pepper and a bundle of paprika for color and spice.  We then threw in a few good fistfuls of green pepper, yellow onion, corn and black beans.  It's authentic, delicious and satisfying.  Big "yum" factor here. 
  Don't hold back with this one... boil and broil them, or pan fry with onions, and toast a good bun.  These are aching to be topped with a pile of grated all-American Cheddar and underlaid with coarse and spicy mustard.  Make it look like a dream, then sit back and enjoy the Big Game!!

production day

Haven't been too consistent since the new year, but presently turning that around.  I hope you haven't lost interest in the sausage jargon, but if you've gone elsewhere, let me know so i can read along with you as I'm always into new information :)  Somebody was recently kind enough to pass along a tidbit about a corned beef sausage with kraut blended right into the meat.  NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!  Can we have a serious sausage dialogue?
  This week, production entailed three new varieties and it's only monday.  Look for Sauteed Mushroom Chicken Sausage which included the aforementioned mushrooms sauteed with bell peppers and garlic, deglazed with pinot grigio.  Also find a tasty Smoked-Cheddar Pork Sausage which is just what it sounds like with pounds of grated cheese intertwined.  And lastly, a fresh and Spring-inspired Green Chorizo which was my favorite of the day.  It's loaded with chopped cilantro, green onion, tomatillo, jalapeno, and lime zest with a touch of cumin, garlic and a pinch of cayenne for excitement. 
   Are you missing sunny, warm weather badly?  I do.  Sometimes sausage is the answer.  Sometimes all it takes is a crispy, meaty link, stuffed with the most delectable ingredients to whisk our minds off to a sunny beach.  Perhaps in your day dream as well as mine there is a hammock strung between two coconut trees and a table within arms reach plentifully stocked with, of course, sausage and all the fixin's.  I'd like that.  Try the chorizo... you've earned it.

Oxford Sausage in Maine

  While doing research for sausage concepts I stumbled upon writings regarding the Oxford Sausage.  This is apparently a traditional English sausage named for the county in which it originated.  Sources stated that they could be made from pork, lamb and veal though sometimes lacking one of these meats and other times including even turkey.  I liked the sound of the lamb and so today produced a version with about 50% lamb, 25% pork and the rest in veal.  Added also were traditional ingredients of bread crumb, lemon zest, fresh herbs and nutmeg.  This sausage has a flavorful meat with a light texture.  The richness of the lamb I found to be a pleasant counterpoint to the bright lemon zest.  Quite flavorful and yet mild and harmonious.  I believe there is something to learn in this exercise.  I had originally conceived of writing mellow and understated recipes with easy adaptability to many different applications and seem to have lost track of that goal in my quest for different and interesting sausages which often scream for attention.  This sausage has brought me a much needed pause.

Wild Maine Belon Oysters

  Today was an exciting day for me at the Market.  While chit-chatting with one of our seafood vendors to the store I inquired about wild oysters and recalled an article mentioning the Maine Belon oyster.  These oysters are both notoriously rare and intensely flavored.  Compared to the hundreds of thousands of oysters produced by individual farms in Maine, only a scant 5000 of these Belon oysters are harvested from Maine waters each year.  I honestly didn't expect to be able to ever see them.  Anyway, the vendor says, "We just got a sample sack from an harvester so i'll send them your way."  And so it began...

  To say that eating a Maine oyster is like kissing the ocean on the lips would be to say that eating a Maine Belon is like making out with salt marsh mud, but withholding the grit.  It was in fact the most potently flavored oyster I've ever consumed, which it not an immense sum, granted, but includes all the varieties I've been able to track down for sale in Maine.  Only one of four Belons which I opened actually had any brine remaining, which a tragic commonality as I found the brine to be utterly crucial to any slim chance of balance this oyster had.  But these, I guess, are not about balance so much as intensity.  There's a deeply embedded flavor of all things oceanic and a touch of decay... fermenting salt marsh, wet, sun baked seaweed, dried fish and a dash of cove waters.  Intensely reminiscent of place from which they are harvested.


  Admittedly, when I tried the first one at work this afternoon I nearly gagged on it but swallowed it anyway and suffered an ill stomach for a solid two hours probably just out of shock.  I was more prepared this evening and even managed to savor it for long enough to chew it a couple times before swallowing it down with a grin.  Super intense but in a romantic way and with such an explicit terroir aspect to it I couldn't be anything but fascinated.  These are a truly rare and genuine experience.

Wicked Hot Italian, Banger tweaking and Duck Sausage

  This week we made a third degree of Hot Italian Sausage we've titled the Wicked Hot Italian.  It's pretty fiery.. not hurtfully angry, but persistent, a nice amount of heat.  It's the basic Hot Italian recipe with added paprika for richness, spice and color and a good heap of cayenne.  Still thinking something violently hot is in order so we'll be looking into more intense peppers for the coming versions, keep eyes peeled.
  Next in line was a slight tweaking on the Banger recipe.  Following recommendations, more breadcrumbs were added to the existing recipe but spices and meat proportions were kept the same.  It's still very tasty but a bit more firm and thicker perhaps, very agreeable and close as I can recall to the last good banger sausage I ate, though it was made by an American producer.
  To be festive and lean into the Christmas feasting spirit we made a Duck, Cherry and Herbs Sausage.  This one is a blend of 2/3 duck meat and 1/3 boneless chicken thigh for lightness and fat, as the duck was rather lean.  This sausage got a few good fistfuls of chopped dried cherries and a balancing amount of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme.  Also dashes of the usual pepper and garlic, some salt, and a pinch of ginger.  It's pretty and I believe an adaptable sausage, suitable to accompany savory Americana-Style sides.  I think it could excel along with more interesting dishes containing toasted nuts, balsamic glazes and more eclectic spices.  The fruit really opens the doors to some fun options. 
  For some reason, all the game sausages I conceptualize tend to involve fruit and/or nuts.  Can't decide whether to humor this urge or to quench it... thoughts?

about the banger

Kinda wanted to call them Bangor sausage, but didn't.  These are Freeport Bangers.  Not entirely unlike the English or Irish bangers but definitely not identical.  I've got an Irishman critiquing them this weekend for giggles after a chat about his disdain regarding the poor representation of the style stateside.  I have been meaning to take this one on but have been waiting to meat the chap upon whom to sharpen my skills with authentic European recipes.  Haven't been there myself, what would I: know.  I took several recipes at a glance and assembled what I thought to be an amalgam of the bunch with a personal tweak or two, couldn't help it. 
  Anyway, for stats it's mostly veal with about 40% pork.  To this was added copious amounts of bread crumbs which serve to thicken the meat but also hold a lot of juice into the sausage during cooking and make it somehow lighter on the palate.  There's small amounts of pepper, salt and garlic along with nutmeg and mace, which I gather are rather crucial to the recipe.  Also, pinches of ginger, marjoram, basil.  Forgive if I forgot, but I believe that's the list.  The most noticeable qualities are probably the juicyness, the lightness and the nutmeggyness. 

for some banger trivia, visit:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangers_and_mash

I could see them sitting along a broad variety of foods as they are flavorful but mild and easy enough to like.  To the Europeans in the crowd, I'd love to hear how the fare fares upon the trained palate... feedback on the feed?

black and blue burger sausage, asiago cheese bread

  That is one whole package!  We were thrilled by the running start this small batch of sausage took yesterday, selling a third of the production in one half of a day.  That's a pretty good rate for a new recipe.  Paul called it "a winner," Michael said we hit it "out of the park," and Bob called it "darn good."  I think it's wicked tasty. 
   It's a 50/50 pork and beef blend seasoned with bacon bits, black pepper and crumbled blue cheese, with a touch of garlic, salt, and onion powder.  We debated a chopped red onion but held back thinking it would make the recipe too busy.  Add the onion on the side if you must or chop it over this indulgent sausage in a toasted roll with a hit of ketchup and mustard for a complete meal with a side of pickles and fries.  We had a couple on a white pizza today with grated cheddar cheese blended to the predictable mozzerella.  That as well was wicked tasty :)  sausage news for the day, checking out, GET MEATY.

On another note, last night was a bread production night.  Shanna ordered something fancy for a friend who did her a favor in a time of need so the asiago cheese bread came to be.  It's about 30% whole wheat with a tough of sourdough starter for levity, then there's grated asiago rolled into the loaf on the last stretch, and a bit atop along with fresh garden parsley and cracked black pepper.  It didn't smell too bad to me.  For those who cared: 1 c warm water, 1/4 c sourdough starter, 1 c whole wheat flour, 2 c bread flour, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp dried yeast, 1/4 lb grated asiago.  blend water, starter and yeast, allowing yeast to hydrate, add salt and flour and mix till smooth and elastic.  proof till double, knead 3-4 minutes with plenty of flour, proof till doubled again, knead, then stretch to 14" square and cover with grated cheese.  roll into a log shape tucking in the ends to keep in cheese and improve the shape of the loaf.  place on baking sheet with a heavy dusting of cornmeal, cover and proof till well risen, about 45 min to one hour in a warm oven.  remove from oven and preheat oven to 450 F.  wash loaf top with beaten egg, and top with more grated asiago, chopped fresh parsley, and cracked pepper.  slash top a few times.  Bake 10 minutes, rotate 180 degrees and bake another 8-10 minutes until golden. 

stats don't lie... pesto sausage, whole wheat slackdough and tempura smelts

I guess one could call me an international blog-star... that's right, folks in Russia are peeping on my meat blog.  strange, but neat.  Serbia and others as well, small world.  Anyway, busy times.. wife's on full steam selling her goodies on ETSY and doing crafts fairs right now and life goes on alongside.  Like I said, busy.  But not too busy to innovate
   Take sausage for example... I haven't posted in a while but wanted to mention the newbies.  Last week a small batch of Extra Hot Italian which was basically our house Hot Italian with added cayenne, a nice amount and it did fairly well too, bonus.  We'll keep making it, thank you.  Also a Lamb Spinach and Feta sausage.  a few obvious flavors tossed together for a friendly reunion.  Rather Greek I guess, really seems like a Mediterranean pizza or sautee for atop pasta to me.  I'm sure there are applications aplenty.  Then Thursday last week we produced a Basil Pinenut Pesto Sausage which required quite a bit more pesto than I had expected.  It was jazzed a tad with some extra salt, pepper and garlic but otherwise drew it's flavor straight from the pesto jar.  Lovely, untainted, fresh, delicious. 
   Otherwise, having pleasant success with bread I couldn't resist sharing.  The photo is of the loaf I've been chasing for quite some time now.  It's a 35% whole wheat loaf based on a slack dough with a touch of sourdough starter for flavor and baked at a crisping 450 F.  That high temp gives the dough a great bounce in the oven and creates a nice dark crust with a very moist interior.  It's really the big pockets of air which are the greatest achievement for me.  The challenge is not getting them, but getting lots of them uniformly distributed throughout the loaf.  This batch worked out especially well. 
 
                                                                                    Last cool tidbit for tonight, tempura smelts.
These fishies are really popular up here and I'm told most people eat them with all the bones intact, but gut them and cut off the head, dredge them in flour and fry them in butter.  They're most often eaten by the guy who caught them and if you come up here mid-winter you'd see folks fishing in shacks on lakes or over the river when it's all iced up.. it's called "smeltin' " and is apparently a valid excuse to take a few days off work to drink beer.  These were store bought.  I de-boned mine and tempura fried them.  The sauce was of apricot preserves, soy sauce, cayenne and a dash of fruit juice.  I was also yummy.  Got this idea from a sushi restaurant downtown in Portland where I ordered them years ago when I had extra money for going out. Theirs were a tad nicer. 

luv me some beef ribs

The short rib is truly one of my favorite cuts on the carcass..  This here are the chuck short ribs, or the first three ribs of the chest cage, near the front of the beast, not to be confused with the very similar plate ribs which come from the next seven ribs in line.  Both versions are delicious.  Anyway, today was photo day and these were prepared for the fine folks at Pineland Farms who came to photograph we, the meat staff, and the meat.  I cut these just for the event.  They're normally separated and cut in half or thirds, or left unseparated and cut against the rib into a thin strip with narrow eyebones strung in between, as flanken ribs.  There's some other cool ethnic habachi-style preparations which are hard to describe. 
  For a taste of heaven on earth take these ribs in any form you can find them braise them.  Braising is to cook "low, slow, and moist."  First, season them generously with a dry rub.  If you care to marinade them overnight, do that first, then dry rub them with basic spices like garlic, pepper and salt.  Get ethnic and add chili and cumin, etc. or go over the ocean with a heavy curry crust... awesome.  Give them a sear to color them and add some flavor and then submerge them in wine or dark beer in a crock pot or dutch oven for 3 hours or so.  They'll require a temp of 350 F or high on the crock to get flaking tender and the more stuff you put in the braising liquid the better.  Check them by digging a fork into the meat and turning it... the muscle should easily shred apart and be "tender but yielding", in other words flakey, but not a mushy mess... When they get there they are ready and just need to be served.  This is the very basic preparation and there are countless versions out there but please, PICK ONE AND TRY IT!  short ribs rock.

Veal, at long last....

I didn't think far enough ahead to consider whether or not we could even afford to try a sausage with veal, but it turns out ground veal is not that expensive.  cool, right?  So this week I took a stab at it and created a recipe with about 40% pork and 60% veal with "Fresh sage and Apricots."  I think it's delicious, though I suppose I would.  My co-worker Mike was like, "whoa, it's like, fluffy."  He's right in a way.  The meat has a light flavor and a light and juicy texture that makes the sausage somehow a bit "fluffy."  The apricots are the dried variety and remained in pretty large chunks so they're less dispersed and you can find them as you chew, pleasant surprise.  There's a little bit of some other things as well, but mainly fresh sage.  This is the beginning of something delicious, I can tell already  :)

   Sales changed pace again this week... last week's digger in sausage sales picked up but only after I had scaled back my production.  That led us to some frenzied production late in the day at Bow St. Market.  We threw down on just the basics to get through the weekend; sweet italian, breakfast sausage, bacon and cheddar, smokey chipotle chorizo and a bit of lamb sausage.  I couldn't resist but changing the lamb recipe again, so this batch took on a refreshing can't-let-go-of-moderate-weather bent.  We're calling it the "Out Like a Lamb Sausage" in anticipation of the melting back of snow that hasn't yet fallen.  Perhaps you can tell I'm really not ready to start shoveling snow...

Anyway I'm pretty excited about the recipe which involved fresh rosemary and scallions, black pepper, garlic, salt and a few minor ingredients, most notably spearmint and coriander (!).  I'm probably the most excited about the mint.. it and the coriander give the sausage a nice fresh, fruity quality which just reminded me of great weather and fresh breaking buds and early herbs.  And it turns out I like lamb a LOT :)

This is me with my links weighing in at a studly 1/3rd of a pound per each!

This sausage would be well at home alongside a fresh salad, perhaps with a lemon vinaigrette and some feta.  I think it would also be terrific in a creamy stew with potatoes and leeks or uncased and stuffed into a frittata with artichokes, red bell peppers, and some fresh herbs... definitely on most any pizza (sheesh).

bonsai log

  It's the time of year to put the trees to bed.  These bonsai do not fare well in their containers through the winter, nor do the containers resist cracking when saturated with water in sub-freezing temps so we peel back the pot, wrap the rootball and bury them up to their necks in the earth for the winter months.  They'll go back in their pots after the ground warms in the spring, just before the buds swell and break.  The pine is a white pine, host of the Maine state flower, plucked from the ground as a one year old sapling around 6 years old. 

  The second is a pair of maples saved from a weed whacker at the in-laws property which were collected a year ago and were each at least three years old at the time of collection.  They're a bit immature and need some branch shaping which will be the project of the coming season.

Noreaster Buffalo

   Perhaps it wasn't all that clear but we were trying to convey the idea of New England, huntsman's cuisine, Maine woods, cool climate native plant life (which inevitably would flavor local cuisine) and of course buffalo.  A handful of people thought it was referring to the town of Buffalo, New York and their fiery food habits.  Not so.  Really just a buffalo or bison sausage.
  I've had an idea muddling around in my mind for a venison sausage lately.  This was likely brought about by the relentless conversation about deer-slaying amidst the meat department and store at large this week as we encroach upon opening day for deer here in Maine.  I've had vague memories of a recipe from an old job where we actually made venison sausage from trim off a whole Maine farm-raised venison carcass.  I: don't remember liking it a lot but there was little if any fat blended into that recipe to my recollection.  At any rate, that recipe along with others I've encountered in the past many years pertaining to game meats in general have formed this picture in my head.  so... Today while perusing the side case I stumbled upon the bison and thought perhaps today would be as good a day as any, no venison on hand. 
   This recipe calls for about 60% bison and another 40% pork.  To those meats are added fresh rosemary and thyme, juniper berries, some pepper, salt, a minor touch of other herbs and spices, and a fat handful of dried cranberries.  It cooks up pleasingly well at about 85% lean and shows touches of the dark meat with bites evoking senses of the maine woods and coast with bites of pine coming out between lean meat, earthy herbs and the sweet/tart familiar cranberry.  Perhaps the next batch will include a touch of walnut too.. super woodsy and seasonally appropriate, to my palate.  Swing in and make up your own mind.

not a baaaa-d sausage...

Sorry for the overly expected lamb pun, but I just couldn't help it.  The great news of the last few weeks is that lamb sausages have really done well.  Of the 12-14 sausage varieties we've had going at a time, lamb shot up to the top five for sales in the first week and has hung there since.  This week we ran out of trim which we've been saving from other cuts and had to dig into purchased trim which drove up the price a dollar so I scaled back the batch against my will.  I did not scale back my irresistible desire to offer new and varied options to our customers however... this week there's one in lamb:
  I split the batch and remade the Lamb with Herbs de Provence because it was so delicious and added another half batch of a new Curried Lamb.  The curry blend is a mild yellow curry; it's got a bit of cumin, a lot of turmeric and little to no heat.  Indian style curry, complex and earthy, lovely.  I added a bit of ginger for fun and some of the exotic and lightly spicy qualities I personally enjoy about Thai curries thinking it would offset the richness of the lamb.  And of course salt and garlic.
  I'm pretty excited about it and think it would be terrific alongside braised greens and aromatic rice or perhaps poached, then chopped and stir fried with fresh veggies for a thai style dish to be served in a coconut broth with white rice.  Maybe you'd just grill yours with long spears of pineapple to pretend winter's not coming, which it's not :)

  I almost forgot to mention the Ham and Apple sausage.  This was a very fall inspired recipe which will require some effort to perfect.  I probably over did it with the ham (problem #1).  This required a lot of granny smith apples to counteract (#2).  The result was a tasty and quite meaty sausage which changed to and oxidized gray color in literally one afternoon as the acid in the apples began to leach into the meat and denature the proteins.  It hasn't gone the way of the completely denatured ginger lime scallion sausage which got rather mushy from the acidic soy sauce, but it doesn't look great either.  Dried apples will be going into the next batch, but don't be afraid, it's still tasty!
  If I haven't mentioned it yet which I don't believe I have, I have an ongoing goal to create and innovate as long as my employers at Bow St. market will let me.  This entails creating and executing at least one new sausage every week.  For the last several weeks, I've actually accomplished two, which will probably reduce to one for the slower winter months.  Anyway, you can be my accountability partner, Blogger.  We'll see where this thing goes.  If you have any great ideas, send them my way and we'll probably get around to them eventually.  I am nowhere near out of ideas yet.