Currabinny Cooks: Ispíní, wurst, merguez, chorizo — sausages are so versatile

Three recipes starring sausages

Currabinny Cooks October 2. Sausages and Grapes. Picture: Bríd O'Donovan

Pork is by far Ireland's most consumed meat. This might be surprising to some, as you almost never see pigs or pig farms when travelling around the country. Pig meat in the form of ham, pork and bacon has been one of the most traditional of Irish foods since prehistoric times. At a feast, a leg of pork was traditionally reserved for a king, a haunch for a queen and a boar’s head for a charioteer.

The champion warrior was given the best portion of meat and fights would often take place to decide who should receive it. This was in the age of wild boars, who roamed Irish forests and were hunted. It did not take long before these wild pigs were domesticated. Cattle and other livestock could be kept for milk or wool but the only reason for pig rearing was a source of food. The pig population in Ireland exploded as our reliance on the potato crop grew. Pigs could be fed perfectly well on potatoes, meaning that even very small holdings could keep a pig or two. Eventually, we would develop different ways of using up all of what the pig had to offer resulting in such staples as trotters (crubeens), knee joints (glúiníns), chitterlings, sausages, blood puddings and rashers. Even pig hair was used for paintbrushes and the intestines blown up and used as a kind of football.

Irish methods of curing bacon would eventually become world-famous and a huge part of this island's agricultural output. This would seriously decline after Ireland joined the EU where farms were forced to specialise or rationalise, leading to a lot of farms abandoning their pigs and larger specialist facilities were set up with large-scale pig production in mind. The unfortunate consequence of this was that pig farming would become one of the first in Ireland to fall victim to the type of industrial, battery production we now know of as being wholly damaging to both the animal and the environment.

Luckily, in the last few years, there has been an emergence of a small number of organic pig farms. It is still difficult to find organic pork products in supermarkets but some good butchers and farmers markets will supply organic pork products. You can also buy directly from a lot of these producers.

Some of the best producers include Burren Free Range Pork, McCarthys of Kanturk, Crowe’s Farm, Salters Free Range Farm and Caherbeg Free Range Pork. Crowe’s supply to one of our favourite butchers here in Dublin, The Brown Pig in Terenure. The Brown Pig makes unbelievably good sausages of all different styles and flavours. This week, we have decided to make some dishes using some of our favourite sausages made using free-range Irish pork. Toulouse, merguez and chorizo all have their origins from abroad but are now being made in Ireland with some great quality pork.

Chorizo with butter beans

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

We were in Puglia recently on holidays in one of our favourite places, Polignano a Mare which is full of gorgeous little traditional restaurants. On all of the menus is ‘puré di fave’ which is a kind of purée made from butter beans and is absolutely delic

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 tin butterbeans, rinsed and drained

• 4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

• Juice of ½ lemon

• Sea salt

• Extra virgin olive oil

• 4 thick cooking chorizo, cut into thumb-sized pieces

• 1 green pepper, deseeded and finely sliced

• Bunch of spring onions, sliced thinly, tops discarded

• Handful of parsley, chopped

• 1 tsp hot smoked paprika

Method

1. First, make the purée by blitzing together the butter beans, 1 clove of garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt in a food processor. Scrape out and place in a small saucepan with a tablespoon of water.

2. Cook over a medium-low heat until somewhere in between warm and hot. The water should incorporate well and still leave you with a nice thick paste. Check the seasoning and leave aside.

3. In a frying pan over a medium-high heat add the chorizos and cook until they start to release their oil. Add the green peppers and remaining cloves of garlic, thinly sliced. Cook for a further 2 minutes and then add the sliced spring onions. Stir everything together in the pan, allowing the chorizo to release plenty of oil. Cook for around 10 minutes, stirring regularly so that the chorizo and green peppers just about start to char.

4. The butterbean purée should still be a little warm, spread it evenly between two serving plates.

5. Divide the chorizo mixture on top, sprinkle the smoked paprika over it and then garnish with plenty of chopped parsley.
   
   Picture: Bríd O'Donovan

Hangover rice

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This is a ‘dirty’ rice dish we came up with when very hungover one afternoon. It is a sort of raid-the-fridge type recipe that turned out to be an absolute winner

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Small bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced

• 8 spicy sausages, skins removed

• 1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into thin strips

• 1 stick of celery, finely diced

• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 400g leftover rice

• 2 organic eggs

• Vegetable oil

• Sea salt and black pepper

• 100ml good chicken stock

Method

1. Place a large casserole or frying pan on a medium-high heat. Add the sausage meat to the pan along with a little oil. Fry for a minute or two allowing the fat in the sausage meat to melt out. Add the onion to the pan and cook until starting to soften (around two minutes) and then add the celery, green pepper, green chilli and garlic. Cook for 5-6 minutes.

2. Add the rice to the pan and stir into the fat and other ingredients until everything is well combined and the rice is starting to stick to the pan. Add the chicken stock and keep stirring everything around the pan until the stock all but evaporates.

3. Remove from the heat and leave aside. In a separate frying pan, fry two eggs in a little vegetable oil so that they are nice and crispy on the bottom with lovely runny yolks. Season the yolks with sea salt and black pepper. Divide the rice between two bowls and top with fried eggs. Scatter slices of spring onions over the dishes and serve.
   
   Picture: Bríd O'Donovan

Sausages and grapes

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

I used Toulouse-style sausages here which are traditional French sausages used in cassoulet. They are also perfect for grilling or pan-frying on their own

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4-6 large Toulouse sausages

• 400g red grapes

• 200ml white wine

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

•  

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sausages to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning occasionally until browned all over. Add the grapes to the pan along with the white wine and turn up the heat to medium-high.

2. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat a little to a gentle simmer. Cook like this for around 15-20 minutes until the sausages are cooked through and the grapes are just starting to burst.

3. Serve straight from the pan alongside some buttery mashed potatoes.
   
   Picture: Bríd O'Donovan