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By Ann M. Evans and Georgeanne Brennan
The cold days and even colder nights of January and February are much appreciated by those who still practice the time-honored tradition of making sausages and curing meats from a farmstead pig – and some of those people live right here in Yolo County.
Throughout the Old World, and much of the New, until very recently, rural people and their extended families kept that most glorious and generous of animals, the pig. The pig, sometimes weighing more than 300 pounds, would be slaughtered, or as is now the common phrase - harvested, during the coldest of the months and then cured, using a variety of methods from simple salt cures to more elaborate fermentation methods, all meant to preserve the meat throughout the year. The cold weather, in the days when no refrigeration or even electricity was available, was essential to avoid spoilage before the meats had become sufficiently cured.
The successful harvesting and curing of the pig meant that the rest of the year the family would enjoy sausages – chorizo, bratwurst, salami, for instance, depending upon the regional tradition, and all kinds of cured meats such as prosciutto, jambon cru, pancetta, or speck. These cured meats were used primarily as seasonings, added to vegetable dishes, to soups, stews, and pastas, or served as a first course, quite different than the way fresh meat takes the center of the plate.
Generally two days were allotted for the harvesting and provisioning process, and friends, family and neighbors were invited to the farmstead to help, and for their assistance were always provided with lunch. Georgeanne remembers participating in such a ‘day of the pig’ when she was living in Provence, and lunch of the first day wasn’t a quick sandwich and salad, it was the traditional, celebratory feast that included boudin noir, or black sausage, a garlicky roast pork loin, a first course of the previous years saucisson, salad, cheeses, apple tarts, copious amounts of local red wine, and finally thick, rich espresso.
The best part of the traditional Provencal jour du cochon, according to Georgeanne, is the boudin noir which is made with loads of onions, spices and wild herbs, thickened with blood and then poached. After poaching it is fried in olive oil and butter, then served hot with mounds of fluffy mashed potatoes, and a compote of warm apples.
However, even if you don’t have a whole pig to start with, you can still make your own sausage. It can be made and then frozen in bulk or in patties. With just a bit more effort and a sausage attachment for a Kitchen Aid, you can stuff the sausage meat into casings and then freeze them. Hog casings are sold at Town & Country Market in Winters, and you can buy homemade chorizo there as well, made from one of the owner’s, John Lorenzo, Spanish family recipes. It is so lean you’ll need to fry it in oil!
If you want to learn about how to make your own sausage, meet some Yolo County sausage makers and learn about some of the county’s sausage making history and traditions, attend the Yolo County Land Trust’s The Art of Sausage Making at Tazzina Bistro, Woodland on February 7. At another upcoming Yolo County food and wine event, don’t be surprised if you find some sausage or cured meats in one of the Big Pots being served up at Berryessa Gap Winery in Winters on January 24th at their Big Pots, Big Reds dinner. The winery owners are of Spanish, Mexican, and Italian backgrounds, all cultures that honor the pig, and the star chef cooking, Elka Gilmore is an expert in all three cuisines, as well as French.
 We caught up with a few ranchers in Yolo County who shared with us their sausage-making memories. John Bledsoe of Woodland raises pigs with his son in northern Yolo County, and sells a variety of pork product at the Davis Farmers Market, including Breakfast, Bratwurst and Italian sausage. He said his earliest memory of sausage was his grandfather asking him to help make the sausage. “My job was to clean out the intestines,” he said. “I stuck a hose into the intestines, washed them and then scraped them. I also remember my grandmother throwing salt in the pig’s blood for making blood sausage.”
Fred Manas, of Manas Ranch in Esparto, said right now he’s too busy to make sausage, but his cousins in Winters are getting ready to make them about now. “My grandparents lived in Winters,” he said. “They raised and harvested their own pigs and the whole family made Spanish Chorizo and Morcilla (a kind of blood sausage.) They would hang the sausage and let it air dry. As a kid my Grandma sent me out to the shed with knife to cut off a string of sausage for lunch. I’d come into the kitchen, and she’d have some fresh bread for me and a little coffee. I’d kill for it, it was so good.” With his wife Alice, Manas (who has his Grandma’s recipe) plans to locate a cut and wrap facility in Esparto in 2009 in which he hopes to sell Spanish and country sausage, German sausage and more.
Karen Stone, of Yolo Land & Cattle Company nestled in the Blue Ridge Hills of Winters, raises beef with her family. She says though they are not making sausage yet, they are at the Davis Farmers Market selling beef. She hopes to provide grass fed, all natural Angus beef sausage in 2009. Though not a rancher, Mary Stephens DeWall of Davis grew up in Esparto and remembers her Uncle Paul Stephen’s country Christmas Sausage.
Sausage, of course, can be made from other meats, and even seafood. As a visit to the meat counters at the Davis Food Co-op and Nugget Markets, where sausages are made in-house, you’ll find sausage made with chicken, turkey, beef, and lamb, as well as pork. Increasingly, these artisinal sausages feature such seasonings as artichokes, dried tomatoes, basil, feta cheese, and spinach, and are all well worth trying, in addition to the chorizo at Town & Country Market and Bledsoe sausages at the Davis Farmers Market as mentioned above.
At home, meat can be ground in a meat grinder, of course, but also in a food processor using the metal blade and pulsing to reach the right consistency. Once the meat is ground, simply season it with your choice of fresh or dried herbs, salt and pepper, then let your imagination run. It is, however, important to fry a bit of the sausage before you finalize your seasonings. You’ll be surprised how much seasoning you’ll need to achieve that true ‘sausage taste’.
What to serve with sausage? Your favorite pasta, polenta, potatoes, and braised greens of course, but how about old-fashioned Sweet-and Sour Red Cabbage? Winter is high cabbage season, and the heads are coming crisp and succulent off the local farms. So, as you snuggle deep into coats and covers, sheltering against the cold, remember the role the cold winter days play in traditional sausage-making and meat curing, historically provisioning us for the months to come.
Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage (Serves 4 to 6)
Serve this on a platter along with boiled potatoes and sausages for a hearty winter meal, or for a vegetarian meal, serve the cabbage with seasoned barley and baked sweet potatoes.
The Ingredients:
1 head red cabbage, about 2 pounds
3 tablespoons butter
one-quarter onion, minced
2 apples, cored, peeled and chopped
one-eighth teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
one and one-half teaspoons salt
one-quarter cup red wine vinegar
½ cup red wine
2 tablespoons honey
one-quarter cup brown sugar
Putting It Together
Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise. Remove the v-shaped core on both halves. Turn the cabbage cut side down and with a sharp knife or a mandolin, shred the cabbage as finely as you can. Put in a bowl of cold water. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium high heat. When it foams, add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the cabbage, dripping wet, from the bowl. Cover and reduce the heat to medium and cook until the cabbage is somewhat limp, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, cover again, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, until most of the liquid has been absorbed, and the cabbage is very tender. At this point, taste and adjust for salt, vinegar, and sweetness, adding more of each as necessary and to your taste. It should be a pleasing balance between sweet and sour.
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