Be ordinary. Benjamin Buford Blue, with his laudatory list of all the ways he loves to enjoy shrimp, not only won over Forrest Gump, but found a friend in all of us. This reverence for food in all its forms is well known. While shrimp may not be your first choice, many agree that no matter how the sausage is served, we all need a lot of help.
Sausages have been incorporated into countless cuisines around the world, from Germany and Spain to North Africa and China. Over 200 deli meats can be found in the US alone (according to all cookbooks). However, you don’t need to know the world of sausages to know that pepperoni goes great with pasta, and breakfast sausages prefer maple syrup and eggs. So what gives?
While all sausages are made by mixing minced meat with a variety of spices (sometimes wrapped in cooked animal intestines), there are countless variations on this multicultural treat. Any meat (and some meat substitutes) can be made into a sausage. However, breakfast sausages are most often made with pork. The two most common types of sausage in the United States, breakfast sausage and Italian sausage, are made from pork.
Breakfast sausages contain herbs such as sage and thyme, which give the sausage a more grassy flavor. They can be served with scrambled eggs or on top of biscuits for breakfast. However, in the Italian sausage, fennel and garlic are the main characters. Most grocery stores sell both sweet and spicy pepperoni – the only difference is that pepperoni contains some pepper. While many breakfast sausages are pre-cooked—some from Jimmy Dean and Oscar Meyer, for example—salami is often purchased raw, either ground, or in an inner casing.
Although sausage links can be made without casings, they are usually formed by wrapping raw meat in tubular casings. Premio notes that its “cooked” shape makes it easy to cook, however the sausage can also be removed from the casing for added versatility. Meatloaf, on the other hand, does not have a casing, but is instead made by pressing the meat into a flat, round disc. Since the ground meat used for sausage skewers often has to be processed into the casing, it is usually smoother than the sausage used for meatloaf, which has a more earthy texture.
Both Italian sausage and breakfast sausage can be found in the form of links or patties. While you may be happy with one (or both), for true sausage lovers, the question of biscuit or patty is a hotly debated issue, especially in the South. However, a poll by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council seems to address this issue, finding that 54 percent of Americans who eat sausage prefer it, while 25 percent prefer patties. The remaining 21% had no preferences – the answer seemed to say: “Sausage is sausage, and I’ve had enough!”
Post time: Jul-17-2023