Making sausage at home requires no special equipment and minimal culinary skills. All the major outdoor retail stores will be glad to sell you sausage-making kits that include seasonings, cures, casings, and step-by-step instructions on how to turn any wild game meat into tubular deliciousness. The only gadget required is a food processor. If you don’t have one, however, you can simply use a sharp chef’s knife to turn whole waterfowl breast fillets into minced meat for sausage making.
Beginners often choose to go the easier route and make sausage patties. To do so, simply chop up several well-chilled duck or goose breast fillets, taking the extra time to make sure that all the shot is removed. Pulse the meat in a food processor until it is well ground. It should still be a tad coarse, so be careful not to turn it into paste.
Combine 2 cups of the processed meat with 2 cups ground pork. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a splash of Tabasco. Use your hands to mix well and form into patties. The sausage patties can be grilled or cooked in a lightly oiled skillet along with sliced peppers and onions, then served in a sturdy bun with mustard, mayonnaise, or whatever condiment you’d like.
If you prefer sausage links, an electric meat grinder is a must. You can purchase a decent electric grinder for just over $100. Alternatively, you can use an old-school hand grinder, if you don’t mind an occasional scraped knuckle. Another option is to hire a local game processor. A commercial game processor can custom blend your waterfowl into a variety of sausages. Of course, you will still have to take the time to trim the meat and make sure that it’s free of shot and gristle before taking it to be processed.
With just a little imagination, you can make many different varieties of sausage, from hot or sweet Italian to summer sausage to spicy Cajun andouille. All you need are the proper seasonings and the desire to create something different from harvested game meats. The sky’s the limit in terms of the number of different recipes you can make.
Grilled Duck Sausage Sandwich
Preparation Time: 10–15 minutes
Cooking Time: 8–10 minutes s
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 4 6-inch duck sausages
- 2 bell peppers, any color, quartered and seeds removed
- 1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup spicy mustard
- Lettuce leaves
- Tomato, sliced
- 4 6-inch sandwich rolls
Directions
[Step 1] Place the quartered bell peppers and onions in a bowl and lightly coat with olive oil. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
[Step 2] Place sausages, onions, and peppers on a medium-hot, well-oiled grill and lightly brown them evenly. After the peppers and onions are browned, transfer to a plate or move to the colder side of the grill. When sausages are done, transfer them to a plate with the peppers and onions.
[Step 3] Combine the mayonnaise and mustard in a small bowl and mix well. Spread the sauce evenly over the sandwich rolls. Top with lettuce leaves and sliced tomato and then with peppers, onions, and sausages.