Sausage (17 page)

To cook the ballotine, heat the butter in a deep-sided sauté pan or large pot over medium-high heat. Add the ballotine and cook, turning often, until browned all around, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer, cover, and cook, turning three times, until firm when pressed but still a little bouncy rather than hard, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside to rest for 10 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl and set aside to cool while the ballotine rests.

Skim the fat off the top of the cooled broth, place the broth in a small saucepan, and whisk in the mustard. Put the pan over medium heat and heat just until the mixture begins to boil.

To serve, remove the cheesecloth from the ballotine and slice it into ½-inch-thick rounds. Arrange the slices on a platter, pour the warm sauce over them, and serve.

Asian-Style Minced Chicken Sausage with Roasted Rice Powder and Lettuce Leaves

To make the roasted rice powder, place a small, heavy ungreased skillet over medium-high heat. Add the rice and dry-roast, stirring frequently, until golden brown all around, 5 to 6 minutes. Let cool slightly, transfer to a spice grinder, and coarsely grind. Set aside until ready to use, or store in an airtight container in a cool, dry cupboard for up to several weeks.

If using whole chicken breasts, mince them, including the skin. Place the minced or ground chicken in a medium saucepan, add the broth, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the meat is white and firm, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain into a sieve, transfer to a large bowl, and set aside to cool. If desired, reserve the cooking liquid for another purpose, though it will be cloudy.

To make the sausage, add the shallot, chile, cilantro, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the roasted rice powder to the chicken. Gently toss together with your hands, without kneading, until well mixed.

To serve, arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter. Mound some of the sausage in the center of leach leaf. Sprinkle the remaining rice powder over the top, strew the scallions, basil, and mint over all, and serve.

To make the sausage, place all the ingredients in a medium bowl, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended. Form the mixture into meatballs the size of a cherry tomato for appetizers or 1 inch in diameter for a main course with pasta. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, or for up to overnight.

To make the sauce, whisk together the cheese, oil, cream, and basil in a small bowl. Set aside until ready to use.

Combine 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat until the butter melts. Add as many meatballs as will fit without crowding and sauté on medium to medium-low heat, turning 3 or 4 times, until brown all around and no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes for small balls, 12 minutes for large balls. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. If necessary, continue with another round, adding more butter and oil to the pan if needed.

When all the meatballs have been browned, add the cheese mixture to the pan and gently whisk over low heat until smooth and runny, about 1 minute.

If serving as hors d’oeuvres, arrange the meatballs on a platter and coat them with some of the sauce. Serve warm, with the remaining sauce on the side for dipping.

If serving with pasta, add the meatballs back to the pan with the sauce and turn to coat all around. Spread over cooked pasta and toss gently to mix.

Combine the morels and brandy in a small bowl and set aside to rehydrate for 20 minutes, or longer is okay.

Sever the duck legs at the thigh joint. Pull off the skins from the thighs and set aside. Cut the meat off the thigh bones and drumsticks, including any skin on the drumsticks. Reserve the bones. Mince or grind the meat and drumstick skin. Squeeze the brandy out of the morels, reserving the liquid. Chop the morels and place them in a medium bowl, along with the duck meat, nutmeg, thyme, tangerine zest, pepper, and reserved brandy from soaking the morels. Mix with your hands until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or for up to 4 hours.

Meanwhile, combine the broth and duck bones in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until any scraps of meat remaining on the bones easily pull off, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, and set the broth aside until ready to use. Discard the contents of the strainer.

Stuff the sausage into the thigh skins and secure the ends closed with toothpicks. Don’t worry if the sausages look a little lopsided.

To cook the sausages, film a large, heavy skillet with a little duck fat or oil and place over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and brown lightly, turning once, about 6 minutes total. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer, cover, and cook until the skins have begun to soften, about 1 hour. Remove the cover and continue simmering briskly, turning twice, until the liquid has reduced to a glaze, 45 minutes to 1 hour more.

While the sausages simmer, cook the puree. Bring a medium saucepan filled halfway with water to a boil over high heat. Core the cauliflower and cut it into ½-inch florets. Add the florets and boil them until they are mashable, 10 minutes or so. Drain and let cool slightly, then transfer to a food processor. Add the cream and puree until smooth and fluffy. Spoon into a bowl, stir in the horseradish and salt.

Transfer the sausages to a platter and spoon the puree around them. Pour the pan sauce over the sausages and serve right away.