Tag: sausage

Swine and Dine Takeaway Pork Packs at RGE RD

Posted on by Sharman

Many locally owned and operated restaurants are proving resourceful and finding innovative ways to cater to their customers during the physical distancing restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. RGE RD, as well as The Butchery at RGE RD, is stepping up to offer RGE RD at home with curbside pick up of everything from a la carte dishes, sausages, empanadas and meat pies, to butchery cuts.

RGE RD Owners Caitlin Fulton and chef and Blair Lebsack consistently share their passion for Alberta Pork with their customers, so when we offered up some Alberta Pork recipe books for a special RGE RD Swine and Dine takeaway order, the answer was a quick “yes!”

SWINE AND DINE RGE RD TAKEAWAY PORK PACKS

Butchery day has resulted in Swine & Dine inspired RGE RD Pork Packs. These take-away packs are $100 (plus GST) for approximately 3.5 kg of Nature’s Green Acres Alberta pork including:

4 pork chops
2 Coppa steaks
8 sausages
1 shoulder roast
1 smoked pork belly

Each RGE RD Pork Pack includes a cookbook from Alberta Pork. Supplies are limited, so call RGE RD at 780-447-4577 to reserve Swine & Dine inspired Pork Pack.

During COVID-19, the Alberta pork sector continues to operate; however, the situation can change quickly. Alberta Pork is working to help Alberta’s registered pork producers wherever possible, and we are grateful to see so many local chefs, restaurants (like RGE RD), butchers and delis finding away to continue to sell and promote Alberta Pork.

 

Recipe: Cafe Linnea’s Custom Mustard Sausages

Posted on by Sharman

 

When Cafe Linnea‘s chef Kelsey Johnson wanted to learn more about butchery, she spent a summer at ACME Meat Market in Edmonton enhancing her skills. Today, the custom mustard sausages she serves at the restaurant are so popular they’re available not just on the menu – but also for take away. While stuffing sausages can seem intimidating to some, at her Christmas in November session at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Kelsey showed how grinding and seasoning custom sausages at home can be simple and rewarding. For those who don’t have all the equipment or the time to make their custom minced meat blends at home, Cafe Linnea sells Kelsey’s handmade custom mustard sausages for takeaway.

What you’ll need…

Cafe Linnea’s chef Kelsey Johnson

Makes approx. 16 sausages or sausage patties

2 kg pork meat (about 25% fat content)
32 g salt
10 g ground mustard seeds
10 g whole mustard seeds
14 g garlic, chopped
2 g cayenne
12 g brown sugar
3 g caraway seeds

Directions:

Dice the pork meat and fat into pieces that will fit into your grinder attachment. Keeping both the meat and the equipment as cold as possible (Kelsey likes to partially freeze the diced meat in one layer on a tray as well as fully freeze the equipment attachments to keep meat and equipment as cold as possible), grind all the pork and double grind about 1⁄3 of the mixture again. Add all your spices and a splash of water to help incorporate everything and mix very well until the mixture feels tacky on your hands.

Now you are ready to either fry up your mixture loose, form into patties, or stuff your sausage casing with it. You can always play around with the spice mix too and really customize your sausage mix to your liking using this recipe as a rough template.

If you have a Cuisinart Sausage Making attachment, Cuisinart recommends:

  1. If you have purchased dry casings, they must be soaked in cold water or a mixture of 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon of vinegar until they become soft and pliable.
  2. Soak for approximately 1 hour, changing water 3 times to rinse salt off.
  3. Place custom sausage meat in the die-cast hopper and turn the unit on. Push the meat into the die-cast hopper opening with pusher until the mixture appears at the end of the sausage attachment. Turn the unit off and tie a knot at the end of the 2-inch casing overhang.
  4. Turn unit on and feed the meat into the diecast hopper opening until all the meat have been used or the casing is approximately 2 inches from being completely full.
  5. Turn unit off, remove the end of the casing from the sausage attachment, and tie a knot in the open end of the casing. If air bubbles have formed, use a knife or needle to burst.
  6. Sausages can be made to the desired length by twisting the casing at intervals. NOTE: To avoid over-stretching and splitting the casing, do not make the sausages too thick. The meat mixture will expand slightly during cooking. Keep casing moist; water frequently by dipping the sausage casing into a bowl of water or vinegar

Recap: Swine and Dine at Salz – a second time around

Posted on by Sharman

On a very chilly Tuesday, February 12, 2019, Salz Bratwurst Co. co-owners chef Allan Suddaby and Mike Forgie played host to a pre-Valentine’s day Swine and Dine dinner filled with love for Alberta pork. And since Mike was involved, it also included a lineup of passionately paired craft Alberta beer pairings.

1. Brettljause – ‘Board Snacks’

To kick things off, chef Suddaby started with a Brettljause, or traditional Austrian farmer’s plate. Our assortment of board snacks featured prebwurst (a pressed sausage also known as head cheese), house made pepperoni, liptauer (a cheese spread made with spicy paprika), rye bread, Salz pickles, and Sylvan Star Gouda.

I grew up with my parents making headcheese, so the walk down memory lane made with pig’s head was easily my favourite bite on the plate. Chef Suddaby was eager to pair his house-made meats and accompaniments with Sylvan Star Gouda – which he described as one of the best products coming out of Alberta.

For theBrettljause, Mike paired one of Allan’s favourite beers, a German style Kolsch, from Siding 14 Brewing Company from Ponoka. He felt the 5% unfiltered Kolsch was the perfect way to start the meal, with the touch of citrus providing a light and refreshing taste next to the salty array of board snacks.

I love an introduction to any meal with a charcuterie plate, so I adored our personalized boards to start the evening. The only complaint at my end of their shared table was that people wished for more bread to ensure using up every last ounce of the spicy cheese spread, which I view as a compliment to the chef as no one wanted to leave a morsel left untouched on their plate.

2. Wurstsemmel – ‘the sandwich(es) course’

Chef Suddaby served not one, but two classic Austrian sausage sandwiches on Kaiser buns with all the fixins for our main course. The Nürnberger is a bratwurst style sausage, that just happens to appear on Salz’s regular menu. Our three sausage sandwich was served classic with mustard and sauerkraut, a nod to traditional Austrian/German taste. For anyone caught saying – one sausage is never enough – this is the sandwich for you. 

The Leberkäse presented as a meatloaf sandwich, served with chili mayo, pickled red onion and arugula. I was a huge fan of the texture and bite of this sandwich. I learned that occasionally you may find the Leberkäse featured on the menu at Salz – stay tuned to their Instagram page for updates and features.

To sip while we savoured, Mike served up a brew from one of Edmonton’s newest breweries – S.Y.C. Brewing. The light and easy drinking white ale is brewed with coriander and orange peel, which Mike felt would compliment the aromatics present in both our Nürnberger and Leberkäse sausages. I’m sure the beer will make a regular appearance at Salz, as Mike described it as the most crushable beer those in the room were likely to encounter all year.

3. Palatschinken ‘Austrian pancakes’

Our dessert has to be one of my favourite Swine and Dine desserts over the past six years. Inspired (or challenged) by this Celiac, chef Suddaby served up a gluten free, Buckwheat crepe with fresh cheese and honey, served on a Saskatoon rhubarb compote with fresh basil. I would take creamy/fruity desserts any day over a chocolate dessert, and when I realized the crepes were still warm, chef Suddaby secured a special place in my heart with my first ever Palatschinken.

If you are wondering where the pork component was – chef Suddaby explained that he used the pork lard that they render at the restaurant both in the crepe batter, as well as used to fry them with. The lard was perfectly rendered and without any bacon or pork taste; I loved the dish, and even more so after hearing of Salz’s example of food recycling and reducing food waste in a commercial kitchen.

To finish things off, Mike paired our crepes with a Fahr North Dunkelweizen. We learned that Fahr beers brewed out of Turner Valley, Alberta, are made according to Bavarian purity law for beer – made with just grain, hops, water and yeast – and are completely additive free. Mike told Swine and Diners not to be intimidated by the dark profile, the chocolate notes would pair beautifully with the sweet and savoury buckwheat crepe. As a Celiac I can’t comment on the beer pairings for the night, but the crew at my side of the table had rave reviews for Mike’s choices. Considering it was $40 for the meal and an extra $10 for the beer – our meal was an incredible value for such a unique and intimate Salz experience. 

Chef Allan Suddaby and Mike Forgie are eager to share their love of pork and locally crafted Alberta brews every day, and not just for Swine and Dines. Be sure to stop by Salz to sip and savour some of the fares they have available in the unique Oliver/Queen Mary Park sausage and beer hall.

Salz Bratwurst Co.
eatsalz.ca
10556 115 St., Edmonton, AB
587-599-7259

Recap: Swine and Dine at OTTO Food & Drink

Posted on by Sharman

Last week, a January winter storm couldn’t keep a plethora of diners away from OTTO Food & Drink, which played host to Alberta Pork‘s first Swine and Dine of 2019. Chef Steven Furgiuele, creator of FUGE at OTTO, along with his culinary team served up a four-course meal featuring Stonepost Farms pork from appetizer to dessert to a packed house.

Owner Ed Donszelmann professes that at his Norwood neighbourhood pub, ‘there is no pomp and ceremony at Otto Food and Drink, just good food, craft beer, a carefully considered wine list, and friendly staff.

When I asked Chef Furgiuele why he wanted to host a Swine and Dine at OTTO he shared that he felt it just made sense – he wanted to share a pork-packed menu featuring the comfort food that OTTO is known for. Steve explained that while there are a variety of sausage options at OTTO, pork is the backbone of the menu. He also forged a relationship with Becky and John Doherty of Stonepost Farms at the 124 Grand Market, and was eager to showcase their Berkshire pork (as well as teach his crew how to break down an entire pig). Prior to our first course, guests learned first hand about their journey as first-generation farmers from Becky, who was on hand to also experience the wonderful meal Steve created with pork from her farm. 

1st Course – 14 Hour Smoked ‘Apple Butter’ Pork Crostini

Our first course of the evening was inspired by Chef Furgiuele’s love of using Louisiana Grills’ products to smoke different cuts of meat -14 Hour Smoked ‘Apple Butter’ Pork Crostini. Steve knew he wanted to serve a light crostini with Bonjour Bakery sourdough to start, so he paired smoked pork picnic cuts with acidic notes from pink lady apples, pomegranate, and arugula. 

 

Photo courtesy of Cindy @letsomnom

2nd Course – Cotechino Salsiccia

Photo courtesy of Cindy @letsomnom

Steve explained that Cotechino is an Italian dish typically served on New Year’s Eve. The large sausage, made from the leg of the pig, is often served with lentils, which symbolize coins, and are inspired to bring money for the coming year. For our second course, Steve used warm spices, some of the skin, as well as a heavier fat content to create his large-diameter sausage. He swapped out the lentils for Gold Forest Grains farro, and accented the dish with preserved lemon, Franciacorta sparkling wine, and a parsley salsa verde (that I would easily buy by the jar).

 

3rd Course – Cena Della Domenica

Our main course was on par with the hearty servings of sausages OTTO and FUGE are known for. Steve’s childhood Cena Della Domenica, or Sunday dinners, were the inspiration for the entire meal, especially our family-style main course.

Growing up, Steve’s father bought cases of Pecorino Crotonese from Italy, stacking the family cold room with wheels of cheese. While he hated rapini growing up, his palate has adjusted to enjoy the bitter veg, and he chuckles at how rapini, or broccoli rabe, has become a more popular/trendy vegetable.

Photo courtesy of Cindy @letsomnom
Photo courtesy of Cindy @letsomnom

The Pecorino Crotonese & rapini salsiccia sausage was smothered in more cheese as well as a smoked tomato-pork sugo (rich tomato sauce with pulled pork) and served alongside a lemon-broccoli salad, roasted parsnip with hazelnut picada, and Bonjour Bakery parisienne bread.

4th Course – Zeppole

Photo courtesy of Cindy @letsomnom

A zeppole is an Italian doughnut or fritter usually topped with powdered sugar. Chef Furgiuele decided to make his version 100 % gluten free – huge thanks from this gluten-free girl. Steve shared that his father used to talk about when they would slaughter pigs back in Italy, and they would take the blood and mix it with cocoa to be dipped with bread sticks. Swine and dine challenges chefs to incorporate Alberta pork from appetizer to dessert, and Steve’s serving of sanguinaccio dolce – an Italian pudding made from pig’s blood made creamy and sweetened with chocolate, was a first for many of us in the room.

Chef Steve gets ready to pour the pork blood for his sanguinaccio dolce sauce

The sauce tasted similar to Nutella, and had chef Furgiuele not told the room we were going to dip our donuts in blood, I don’t think anyone would have been able to distinguish the flavour. I love being able to try new things, so I applaud Steve for pushing the culinary boundaries with a room full of adventurous diners.


When I spoke with Steve about the meal he was very proud that his team used every piece of the Stonepost Farms pig for OTTO’s Swine and Dine dinner. It may have been cold outside, but the vibe inside OTTO was filled with the warmth of hearty food and shared among good company. 

One thing is for sure, Alberta pork sausages are always on the menu at OTTO Food & Drink. Chef Furgiuele is always coming up with new sausage and pork creations – stop by OTTO for a sip and a bite:

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTTO Food & Drink
11405 95 St, Edmonton, AB T5G 1L3
(780) 477-6244

HOURS
Everyday 4:30 p.m.–10 p.m.
Happy Hour 4:30-6 p.m. Daily