Sausage Information

Photo: flickr user Wootang01

Preparation

Mexican, Portuguese, Italian - all cultures tout favorite sausage

The most exciting two minutes in sports is:

A - The Kentucky Derby

B - A Joe Montana 99-yard drive

C - The closing moments of a professional basketball game, or

D - The "Weenie Race" at a Milwaukee Brewers game

The answer, of course, is "D," when four "sausages" - people in 9-foot high costumes - race from left field to home plate during the seventh-inning stretch. It's a showstopper featuring an Italian sausage, a Polish sausage, a bratwurst and a hot dog.

(One time, Japanese-born pitcher Hideo Nomo won the race dressed secretly as the Italian sausage. Only in America ...)

Sausage types

Some popular sausages from around the world:

Chorizo (cho-REE-so): Mexican and Spanish origin. The Mexican version uses fresh pork (and can also be made with beef); the Spanish version uses smoked pork. It is highly seasoned with garlic, chili powder and other spices and flavorings, including vinegar.

Linguica (leen-GWEE-sah): A very garlicky Portuguese sausage. Use it in dishes such as the Brazilian feijoada and Portugal's caldo verde.

Andouille (ahn-DWEE): Originally from France, now associated with Cajun cooking, this sausage is spicy and heavily smoked, made from pork chitterlings and tripe. Use in a jambalaya or gumbo. It's also good cold as an hors d'oeuvre.

Cervelat (serv-eh-LAH): A type of sausage that includes thuringer (Germany) and mortadella (Italy). It is a combination of beef and pork and mixtures of herbs, spices, mustard and garlic.

Uncooked but safe to eat as they have been cured, dried and smoked. Slice for sandwiches.

Lop chong (LAHP chong): One of the more popular Asian sausages in this country that is good in stir-fry. It is a hard, dry sausage, highly seasoned, smoked and fatty.

Bratwurst (BRAHT-verst): Pork and veal German sausage seasoned with a variety of spices, including nutmeg, ginger, coriander or caraway.

Usually must be grilled or sauteed before serving. Good as a sandwich or with spiced, cooked red cabbage and potato pancakes.

How to cook them

Sausages, including hot dogs, should be grilled over medium heat to prevent the casings from bursting and losing juices. The meat is done when it's nicely browned and the juices run clear.

Some sausages, such as kielbasa and hot dogs, are thoroughly cooked and need only browning.

Fresh sausages, such as wursts, chorizo, andouille or the Italian varieties, need to be grilled for 10 to 20 minutes.

Another method is to parboil the sausages in beer or water for 15 to 20 minutes, then brown on the grill for 5 to 6 minutes.

Sausage sauce and spaghetti

Kids and dads love pasta dinners. Here's a quick, one-dish dinner for Father's Day that puts a slightly different spin on a hearty Italian favorite.