Blueberry and Wild Rice Summer Sausage
Not only is Minnesota my home, but it is home to a healthy population of whitetails, wild rice, blueberries, and maple syrup. So it is only fitting that I make a sausage representing my home state.
I made a version of this sausage years ago by taking my default summer sausage recipe and adding blueberries, wild rice, and maple syrup. It was good but I felt it could be better. My daughter loved it and kept asking me to make it again. Since she contributed a couple deer to the freezer this year I owed her a batch of her favorite sausage.
This time around I added flavors that would compliment the maple syrup and berries. Allspice, ground clove, ground ginger and brown sugar accentuated the sweetness and gave it a floral spiciness. I also simmered and mashed frozen blueberries then added maple syrup and coconut rum to the pan to make a blueberry syrup to permeate the blueberry flavor throughout the sausage.
I smoked this sausage but it would do equally well without the smoke and either sous vide or cooked in the oven at 175°.
The end result was far better than the first and makes for a unique, quintessentially Minnesotan summer sausage. This would also do well as a snack stick.
Ingredients
Seasoning Mix
Blueberry Maple Syrup
Instructions
Preparation
-
Sausage Mix
- Mix all seasoning ingredients together and set aside. I usually do this days in advance and put everything in ziploc bags to make processing day a breeze.
- Ensure your meat is below 32°F; if not, place in the freezer until it is a little 'crunchy'.
- Using a medium (7mm) plate, grind your meat.
- Add the seasoning mix to the meat and mix until just incorporated.
- Grind the meat mixture again.
- Add the dried blueberries, dry milk, water, and blueberry maple syrup to the meat mixture and mix by hand until tacky. You should be able to have it stick to your hand when you hold it upside down.
- Stuff into fibrous casings of your choice.
- Place sausages in the refrigerator for 24 hours before smoking to allow cure to work.
-
Blueberry Syrup
- Add frozen blueberries and water to a skillet over medium heat.
- Simmer until reduced by 1/2.
- Add the bourbon or rum, then continue simmering until the alcohol has burned off.
- Add the maple syrup.
- Strain the solids and allow to cool before adding to your meat mixture.
Cooking Instructions
-
Smoke, Chill, Rest
- Pre-heat your smoker to 150°F.
- Hang your sausages in the smoker and smoke for 1 hour.
- Increase the temperature to 180°F for 1 hour.
- Increase the temperature to 200°F until the internal temp hits 155°F.
- Put sausages in an ice bath for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Place in refrigerator for 24 hours (preferably hanging) to dry.
