Any creative sausages for grilling?

With grilling in full swing, I am, once again, looking for creative, unusual, spicy or not, sausages for a barbecue.
Would love some ethnic recommendations, any meat, which would make a nice change to the tried and true Italian and Brats.
smaller sizes would be fun too.
I know Whole Foods carries a lot, but they are rather pricy.
Thanks for your help!
Berns

You need to find a good halal meat market and get some merguez. In fact, find *several* such markets, and do a merguez-off.

Here in Montreal I've got no less than 3 butchers within a 5-minute walk, each with a claim on their sign: "Best merguez in town!"

Spicy, sometimes piquant, typically part or totally lamb.

Geo

This is silly and expensive, but these guys have several exotic game sausages:

http://www.exoticmeats.com/catdescmain.aspx?f=35

Actually at the moment the choices are rather tame, but I have antelope and kangaroo sausage in my freezer from them. (It was from ordering the turtle for my southern party; I had to order more stuff to fill out the minimum order, so I got those, plus yak burgers.)

I suggest making your own. It's so easy, and a lot of fun.

You can start by picking up a copy of Ruhlman's Charcuterie and go from there. It really is very simple.

=R=

I'm going to be grilling up some Vietnamese sausages this weekend. Not sure how they will be, hopefully good.

Paulina's Meat Market is our to-go butcher for sausages, of all types.

http://www.paulinameatmarket.com/

I can highly recommend their brats, turducken brats, knackwurst.... Actaully all that I've had (and there have been quiet a few) are excellent. It's how I satisfy my craving for German food at home.

Loukaniko (greek sausage) is great on the grill..although I make my own I beleive you can buy at most Greek grocery stores..if you want to take a stab at making your own I can share my recipe

If making your own is just not an option, I highly recommend Ream's Elburn Market. While it is bit of a hike, it's well worth it.

=R=

Ream's Elburn Market
128 N Main St
Elburn, IL 60119
630 365-6461

I grabbed some Lamb sausages at the Green City market, grilled them and served with a Mint Zucchini sauce. Everyone raved. There is also an Elk dude.

Geo wrote:You need to find a good halal meat market and get some merguez. In fact, find *several* such markets, and do a merguez-off.

Geo,

Good suggestion, in Chicago Sahar Meat Market carries merguez. Another somewhat out of the box suggestion for grilling is cevapcici, my current favorite coming from Azur Meats.

Enjoy,
Gary

Sahar Meat Market II
4829 North Kedzie
Chicago, IL 60625
773.583.6098

Azur Meats
2547 W Lawrence
Chicago, IL 60625
773-784-7350

I don't know how well they'd do grilling, but a few weeks ago I bought some hot links at Peoria Packing ($8.89 for a 5 lb. case, buy-one-get-one-free, so that was 10 pounds for about 9 bucks) The 5 lb case is basically a single unbroken link, which I coil loosely and smoke on the bottom grill of my bullet smoker while cooking something else on the top grill. I imagine that they'd still be pretty good just cooked on a regular grill, though of course you'd lose the wonderful smokiness.

In Des Plaines, on Algonquin Road just west of Wolf, is the Vrbas Grocery Store (847-298-9665). Our last visit was ~six months ago, so I hope they are still in the business of making some of the best Bosnian sausage in the Chicago area. Very tasty cevapi in at least two varieties and several other sausages of different lengths and diameters. Lots of good seasonings, including much respect for the benefits of garlic -- though you won't be buying this stuff for your health.

It's a good idea to call and ask what they have in stock at the moment and what they will be making. It's a small store and they don't have a large inventory of ready-to-sell always available. Nice people. Interesting other items in the store. Much like DSD on Lawrence Avenue, but I tastier spicing.

Worth the trip, especially if you plan to purchase a sizable amount. Be prepared to buy more than you usally do, as grilling these puppies pretty much makes them addicitve. They also freeze well -- both before and after cooking.

If you like to use a hot fire to get a good char, you might consider holding off on the brewskis until you're done grilling. Once you start to lay the ssausages on the hot grill, you will be pretty much tied up with the grillwork -- putting them on, flipping them over and getting them off -- as they cook quickly.

Enjoy! Enjoy!

GWiv wrote:Another somewhat out of the box suggestion for grilling is cevapcici

Good call Gary! And they're easy to make: just check it out here.

Geo

I've been enjoying Loukaniko as of late. I find it better sliced and servered as an appetizer with a little kasseri cheese.

My thanks to you for the riches of information. Appreciate your taking the time to respond. There is nothing better than the voice of exprience. Now I have several sources and a whole summer left to try them all.
Good grilling to you!
Berns

How about ćevapčići? It's a Serbian casing-less sausage. They're a little bigger in size than a brown-n-serve breakfast sausage and make great finger food (or on bread if they last that long).

A friend brings them to grilling parties but I have no idea where he gets them. Joe's Market on Western used to have them but Joe's is sadly no more. He might go to Beograd Meat Market on Irving Park Road at Richmond but I'd have to confirm.

DaveG wrote:I've been enjoying Loukaniko as of late. I find it better sliced and servered as an appetizer with a little kasseri cheese.

sliced up and sauted in a pan of olive oil with some lightly floured sweetbreads rocks too

Wanted to switch things up a little for this Father's Day at my brother's house, so I'm doing a Greek meze (small plates) platter, as this gathering lends to grazing rather than a traditional sit-down meal.

I started out at Caputo's in Deer Park, figuring they'd have all things ethnic. After scoring some silky French feta to stuff some pappadew peppers, and Castelvetrano bright green Sicilian olives, I inquired but was quite disturbed in that they do not carry loukaniko sausage or lamb kebabs to grill. Now I was in a spot. I immediately texted my Greek buddy, asking him if there's anyplace northwest suburban that could fill my needs. He said not that he could think of, so I told him I was resigned to driving all the way down to Produce World in Morton Grove, because now I had to have them! He replied that as long as I was making the trip that far, I might as well go to his favorite joint, P&S Meats on Milwaukee by Harlem.

This nondescript city stripmall storefront really packs a punch. I knew I was home when my daughter & I walked in, and the owner & two friends were sitting at the one tiny table, eating their lunch, yakking it up in Greek. Louie the owner knew my buddy well and proceeded to set me up with loukaniko, marinated lamb kebabs, kefalograviera hard cheese, homemade tzatziki, and home-brined jumbo green olives. Oh, and a couple pounds of tenderloin for my daughter's Thai beef salad that she's making. She remarked upon leaving that 'you can't find this kind of place up north'. How true that is...

In the spirit of quality control, I grilled up a couple of the loukaniko last night, squeezed some lemon juice on right before serving, and knew that I had done right. The orange zest in this version was dialed back a bit in comparison to others I had tasted, and the casing was a little crunchy without the inside losing any of its moistness or flavor. Great stuff, great place to visit, very few places like this anymore, certainly not in far suburbia.

P&S Meats
7544 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60631
(773) 775-1503

jnm123 wrote:This nondescript city stripmall storefront really packs a punch. I knew I was home when my daughter & I walked in, and the owner & two friends were sitting at the one tiny table, eating their lunch, yakking it up in Greek.

Weirdly I drove by this place yesterday noticed the P&S sign and a couple fellows sitting at a small table, made a mental note that it looked a worthy stop. Might have forgot, my mental notes are not what they once were, but now P&S is high on my to-do list. Thanks.

Yeah, Gary, I may have been in there at the time, like 12:30-ish. Noteworthy tzatziki also, not too heavy on the garlic--I just tasted it in my assemblage of the meze platter.

I love P&S Meats. I thought I had a mention of them on here somewhere but maybe not. I'll have to head over this week now that it's back in my memory. Great stop before a tailgate or any social gathering where grilled meats on a stick are appreciated. The ready to grill kebabs run around $1.25 each (Beef, pork, Chicken). The homemade tzatziki is indeed awesome.


Football Season Is Nearly Upon Us...

If you don't mind mail order -- or if you visit Michigan anytime this summer -- Pleva's Meat Market up in Cedar, MI (Traverse City area) is pretty amazing. They're located in a largely Polish community, so the sausage leans ethnic -- but because of proximity to Traverse City, it also often includes tart cherries. I've read that adding cherries to grilled meat has considerable health benefits, so last trip to TC, I figured I'd spin past Pleva's. Really awesome sausage -- fairly wide array -- all made on site. Some of the sausages also include pecans. Glorious brats, great polish. The cherries add a depth and richness to the flavor that is mighty pleasing (as well as all those health benefits). They carry both fresh and smoked.

Here, from their website, are the sausages they carry: FRESH SAUSAGES
Cherry Pecan Sausage (link), Cherry Pecan Sausage(bulk), Fresh Polish Kielbasa, Italian Sausage, Italian Cherry Sausage, Cherry Chorizo Bratwurst, Cherry Cajun Bratwurst, German Bratwurst, Bulk Pork Sausage, Link Pork Sausage

SMOKED SAUSAGES- READY TO EAT
Smoked and seasoned to perfection!
Beef Jerky, Chicken Cajun Jerky, Hotdogs (natural casing), Cheddar Hot Dogs (seasonal), Ring Bologna, Garlic Bologna, Slicing Bologna, Slicing Garlic Bologna, Pickled Bologna, Polish Kielbasa, All Beef Cherry Bratwurst, Cajun Bratwurst (seasonal), Italian Cherry Bratwurst, Cherry Pecan Sausage, Cherry Pecan Bratwurst, Chicken Cherry Sausage, German Bratwurst, Polish Bratwurst, Polish Dogs, Turkey Bratwurst, Canadian Bacon, Summer Sausage

http://www.plevasmeats.com/
Pleva's Meat Market
8974 South Kasson Street, PO Box 42
Cedar, Michigan 49621
(231)-228-5000 - fax-(231)-228-7052

Da Beef wrote:The ready to grill kebabs run around $1.25 each (Beef, pork, Chicken). The homemade tzatziki is indeed awesome.

P & S Tzatziki has a fluffy almost aerated quality, little light on the garlic for me, but tasty. Kebabs were more than $1.25 each, cost varied according to type, but were loaded with meat and nicely marinated. We tried all 5, gyro, beef, pork, chicken and lamb. My top two were pork and gyro, my bride, chicken and beef.

Also bought Greek sheep/goat feta, olives, house made yogurt and a bit of house made bison corned beef. Whipped up a tomato/onion/pepper salad with grilled lemon vinaigrette and bread from Taza bakery made for a nice meal.

P & S is a friendly butcher shop, they have steaks, ground meats etc, small selection of Greek centric dry goods and a few house made/frozen Greek dinner items such as pastitsio.

berns wrote:With grilling in full swing, I am, once again, looking for creative, unusual, ....

If you make your own, using some pork from the state of Washington:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... asure.html

...might qualify as "unusual".

Ron

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"The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing."
James Brown