Kale and Garlic Sausage

Comfort Food, Great Leftovers, Freezes Well

The area around Lyon, France, is renowned for various styles of cervelas, or Lyonnaise sausages. They usually contain lots of garlic and are briefly hung to concentrate their flavors, then poached. Some even contain luxury ingredients like black truffles, morels, or pistachios. Often they are eaten with boiled potatoes or warm potato salad. They are great in soups, with lentils or beans, or in Cassoulet. My version, which contains kale and garlic, was inspired by a recipe from Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, a restaurant I’ve enjoyed for more than forty years.

Makes about 4 pounds

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• ⅓ cup finely chopped shallots
• 12 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 1½ pounds green kale or lacinato kale (also called cavolo nero or dinosaur kale), stems removed
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup water
• 2 pounds boneless Boston butt (pork shoulder butt), cut into 1-inch pieces
• ¼ pound pork fatback, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 ounces pancetta or bacon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ pound ham, cut into ¼-inch dice
• 1½ tablespoons Spanish paprika (pimenton de la Vera; see Sources) or sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
• 2 tablespoons cognac (optional)
• Medium hog casings

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, shallots, and garlic. Cover and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the kale, white wine, and water. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the kale is
   wilted and soft, about 15 minutes. Drain the kale mixture, squeezing out as much moisture as you can; save ½ cup of the liquid. Transfer to a bowl and cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. Using a meat grinder fitted with a ⅜-inch plate, coarsely grind the pork butt and the cooled kale mixture into a large bowl or coarsely chop in batches in a food processor. Change to an ⅜-inch plate and grind the fatback and pancetta into the bowl with the pork butt or chop in the food processor into about ⅛-inch pieces. Add 2½ teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, and the remaining ingredients (except the casings) and the reserved kale cooking liquid to the bowl with the ground meats. Using clean hands, knead and squeeze the mixture to blend thoroughly. Cook a small patty in a small skillet and taste for seasonings; adjust as necessary.
3. Stuff the mixture into the hog casings and tie into 8-inch links. Place the sausages in a single layer on a baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight so that the flavors develop. (The sausages can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 3 months.)
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the sausages and, when the water returns to a boil, turn off the heat. Let them sit in the water for 15 minutes, then drain. To serve, grill or panfry the sausages.

ALTERNATIVE CUTS:

• Boneless country-style ribs, boneless country-style ribs from pork shoulder butt, or boneless blade-end pork loin.

COOK’S NOTES:

• Another great way to serve these sausages is to cut them into ½-inch-thick slices and gently brown them in butter. Serve for breakfast or add to a pot of cooked lentils or white beans.
• For an elegant variation, add 1 cup roasted pistachios to the meat mixture. You can also add ½ cup soaked dried morel mushrooms, coarsely chopped.