Serves: 5–6
Summer Sausage
1 lb (454 g) ground beef
2 lb (907 g) ground pork
3 Tbs kosher salt
2 tsp ground mustard seed or dry mustard
2 tsp garlic, chopped
2 tsp black pepper, crushed
½ Tbs sugar
4 tsp pink curing salt
1 Tbs smoked paprika
1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) ice cold pilsner
Hog casings (optional)
All ingredients should be as cold as you can get them without freezing. Mix all ingredients except the beer, in a stand mixer with a paddle. Add the beer to the mixture and emulsify the sausage. Test a teaspoon of the mix in simmering water to taste.
If you have access to hog casings and a sausage press, stuff the casings with the mixture. Otherwise, lay down a sheet of plastic wrap and place about 2 cups of the sausage mix in the middle of the sheet. Press the sausage into a log shape, and wrap the log in plastic pushing out as much air as possible. Repeat the process with plastic wrap and then foil.
Poach the cased or wrapped sausage in a 150°F (66°C) water bath for 20 minutes or until done. Cool, then slice. If you used foil and plastic wrap, remove them before slicing.
White-Beer Cheddar Dijon
½ lb (227 g) white cheddar
1 tsp cornstarch
1½ cup (12 fl oz/355 ml) white beer
1 Tbs butter
2 Tbs (1 fl oz/30 ml) Dijon mustard
Shred the cheese and toss it with the cornstarch in a bowl. Combine the beer and butter in a saucepan and bring them to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the cheese mixture. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture back to the heat to thicken slightly. Add the mustard. Remove from the heat and puree in a blender on high.
Pickled Onions
½ cup ( 4 fl oz/118 ml) vinegar
1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) water
3 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 sprig thyme
1 red onion, sliced in thin rings
Place the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns, and thyme in a nonreactive saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Strain the mixture and add the onion rings. Let sit refrigerated until cool.
Biscuit
3 cup cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
¼ lb (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces
2 Tbs solid vegetable shortening
2 cup (16 fl oz/473 ml) buttermilk
¼ cup buttermilk (2 fl oz/59 ml) and 1 egg yolk, mixed
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and shortening to the dry ingredients and break up with your thumb and fingers until the mixture has a flaky texture. Add the buttermilk and stir together with a fork until the mixture just comes together. Do not overwork.
Roll out on a floured surface. Cut out the biscuits with a 3-inch (7.6-cm) round cutter. Brush the biscuits with the buttermilk-egg-yolk mixture.
Bake at 400°F (204°C) until golden, about 10 minutes.
To serve, plate several sausage slices with a biscuit, pickled onions, and White-Beer Cheddar Dijon.
Beer suggestions: For the sausage, Pilsner Urquell (Plzen, Czech Republic) offers biscuity notes balanced well with hops bitterness. For the white-beer cheddar, Allagash (Portland, Maine) White or Avery White Rascal (Boulder, Colorado) are great choices. For pairing, we suggest a Weihenstephaner (or similar) Helles (Freising, Germany).