Bamberg Style Sausage

Today I have made a German style sausage. It is nicely spiced with cardamom, mace and white pepper which for me, is a killer combination. I am a big fan of both cardamom and mace and look for any excuse to use them in my cooking. Some of you may not be familiar with these spices, so i will give a brief explanation of what they are and how they can be used.

(from the Encyclopedia Britannica)
Mace, spice consisting of the dried aril, or lacy covering, of the nutmeg fruit of Myristica fragrans, a tropical evergreen tree. Mace has a slightly warm taste, and a fragrance similar to that of nutmeg. It is used to flavour  bakery, meat and fish dishes. In the processing of mace, the crimson aril is removed from the nutmeg that it envelops and is flattened out and dried for 10 to 14 days; its colour changes to pale yellow, orange, of tan.

I love mace and I think of it like the more flavorful cousin of nutmeg. I use it a lot in curries and dishes lamb. I have a great recipe for a non sweet lamb korma that gets finished with ground mace and it would'nt taste the same without it.

(from the Encyclopedia Britannica)
Cardamom, also spelled cardamon, spice consisting of whole or ground dried fruit, or seeds, of Elettaria cardamomum, a herbaceous perennial of the ginger family. The seeds have a warm, slightly pungent, and highly aromatic flavour somewhat reminiscent of camphor. They are popular seasoning in South Asian dishes, particularly curries, and in Scandinavian pastries.

You might think that these seem like pretty exotic spices for a pork and potato central European country like Germany, but you can thank our friends in the Hanseatic league for their world spanning importations. They are also responsible for the existence of the popular Berlin snack the currywurst. The trading of the Hanseatic league brought to Germany and most northern European countries a great new variety of spices and foodstuffs from around the world.

So back to the sausages.

Sausage Stuffing Sounds: Saviours, Crucifire (2006)

Bamberg Style Sausage

-2.2 kg Coarsely Ground Pork Shoulder
-12 Thick Slices Smoked Bacon (finely diced)
-1/2 cup Milk 3.25%
-1-2 Large Eggs
-2-4 tsp. Salt (to taste and depends on the saltiness of the bacon)
-2 tsp. Ground White Pepper
-2 tsp. Ground Mace
-2 tsp. Ground Cardamom
-1 tsp. Marjoram

After stuffing the sausages I like to place them in a bowl and let them sit overnight uncovered in the fridge, it helps the casings dry out and shrink slightly.

Enjoy
-Mark