Edible Sacramento: Spring Issue
Apr 26th, 2008 | By Hank Shaw | Category: Charcuterie, Out & About | Comments | 1 Comment |
As readers of this blog know, I love sausages. I make them at every turn, and I always have at least four or five kinds in the freezer — not including cured salami. This means I rarely buy sausages, because I know how to get the spice, the ratio of fat to lean and the fineness of the grind all to my liking.
I’m pretty good at the craft, so I asked to write about sausage for the spring edition of Edible Sacramento, which is on the shelves now. And I wanted it to be a story that was way beyond just me, so I cast about for some of the best sausage makers in the area.
I knew about Manny and Al Sol over at Orangevale meats; great Italian sausages, good linguica and I recently ate a trippy Thai-style chicken and cilantro sausage Manny made that rocked. But I kept hearing about this guy Dirk Muller over at Morants Old Fashioned Sausage Kitchen. A real German butcher. I had to go.
Muller, who is pictured above, really had no choice but to be a German butcher, even though he’s born and raised in California. I mean look at him! He is the German butcher from Central Casting: A giant of a man with enormous shoulders and that oh-so Teutonic ‘do and moustache.
And boy can Muller make links. I may be good at sausage-making, but Muller is great. Fantastic. A master. His Chicago-style Polish sausages are so fine that I just had to scream at the television last week when some idiot contestant on the TV show Top Chef refused to cook with Polish sausage because it was beneath her. Ignoramus.
I could go on and on about how wonderful Muller’s work is, but you should just go. Now. Grab some cash and drive down to 5001 Franklin Boulevard in south Sacramento. You won’t be disappointed.
I share your love of sausage and homemade’s best, of course.
Congrats on scoopin’ the the article.