Meat-er Man:

A half a handful of pepper and three pinches of salt. So reads the sausage recipe brought to Klaus Schurmann by one of his customers.
“We have to be careful, these old recipes don’t come in cups or grams, but rather pinches and handfuls.
Schurmann prides himself on making sausages to suit the tastes of all his customers, and sometimes that means small order custom recipes.
“Through the years, people have given me recipes from their grandparents and they ask, “can you make her sausage?” he says.
And he can.
Schurmann began his training in Europe as a 14 year old apprentice.
“First of all, you want to be something else,” he says. “But most of the time your parents make up your mind for you.”
Though it wasn’t something he initially wanted, going into the trade isn't something Schurmann regrets.
“It’s a good trade, and people always have to eat,” he says. For the past five years, Schurmann has been making his sausages, smoked meats, salami an pepperoni at Raymond Meats and Groceries – soon to be Old Country Sausage Shop.
Schurmann says he was tired of buying sausages with fillers and preservatives.
“Sausages shouldn’t say ‘may contain meat’,” he says. “We have an aging population right now-they can’t eat that stuff. You don’t need the extras.”
In an area where few people make their own sausages, Schurmann pulled out his old world recipes.
“sausage-making in Canada right now is dead-it’s a dinosaur,” he says.
Unlike other sausages, Schurmann uses real meat no ends or cartilage. All of the beef and pork used come from local government inspected beef and pork.
“It’s 100 percent real beef or pork and no sugar and additives,” he explains.

That means there is no flour, monosodium glutamate or filler in his fresh sausages. He uses sea salt, which doesn’t retain fluids, instead of regular salt.
All of the spices are fresh, too. Schurmann refuses to use pre-mixed spice combinations because some contain MSG and flour.
“If I want nutmeg, I want nutmeg. If I want pepper, I want pepper,” he says. Everything is regular 100 per cent – if we want garlic, we peel the garlic.
Schurmann says there is a sausage to suit all palates. He makes a Moroccan sweet sausage with apricot and plums in it which children love; an andouille with flavor not boosted by salt for which he can’t keep up with the demand; and hot and spicy Texas style sausage.
Sausage is a very versatile food, too.
“Any meal, instead of having a T-bone steak, you can have a sausage,” Schurmann says. “Anything you want to do with a sausage, you can do- and it’s cheaper than roast beef or steak.”
To contact Schurmann, call 752-3006, email raymeats@theboss.net or stop by the store in Raymond.

Tips for the expert
Klaus Schurmann provides the following tips on sausages:

• Fresh sausage may be stored in the fridge for 10-12 days or frozen until you want to eat it.
• Boling sausages isn’t necessary – it only releases the spices.
• Avoid piercing the casing with a fork, which causes the spices and juices to leak out. Turn with tongs instead.
• To fry sausages, put a little oil in the pan. Quality sausages without fillers don’t have water injected into them, so they need a little moisture in the pan.
• Use Moroccan, bratwurst or pork sausage in bulk for stuffing poultry, peppers, even crepes.
• European wieners, borkwurst, weisswurt, bratwurst or sizzlers are great served on a bun with sweet German mustard and sauerkraut.
• Add smoked cooked sausages such as Dutch mettwurst, sizzlers or kolbassa to soup, scrambled eggs or potato salad.
• Moroccan, sizzlers smokies, krakauer and kolbassa are recommended barbeque sausages.

 
Penne, Sausage & Broccoli in Tomato Sauce

1lb (450g) Italian, farmers or your favorite fresh pork sausage
1lb (450g) dried penne pasta
1 cup (250 ml) broccoli florets
1 tsp large red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 can (28 oz/ 796 ml) crushed Italian tomatoes
3 sun dried tomatoes, finely cut
1 ½ tsp (7 ml) dried basil
1 tsp (5 ml) dried oregano
¼ (1 ml) tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese

In skillet, sauté pork sausage over medium heat, until browned, about 11 minutes. Remove from pan; drain; slice on an angle and keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling water for 3 minutes; add broccoli and continue cooking 3 to 4 minutes or until past is tender but firm. Drain and return to pot.

In skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion until tender, about 3 minutes; add garlic, red pepper, tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt and cooked sausage; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Toss sauce with penned; season with black pepper to taste and serve sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Serve with Italian bread sticks or garlic bread

Hot ‘n’ Cold Sausage salad

1 lb (450g) Farmers, Country style or chorizo fresh pork sausage
1 pkg prepared lettuce mix with romaine and radicchio
Half red pepper, cut into thin slices
Half English cucumber, sliced thin
1 cup (250 ml) sliced celery
1 can mandarin orange sections, drained, reserving ¼ (60 ml) of juice
2/3 cup (160 ml) chicken broth
¼ cup (60 ml) cider vinegar
1 tsp (5 ml) Dijon mustard
2 tsp (10 ml) cornstarch
2 shallots, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, over medium heat, sauté pork sausage about 11 minutes or until no longer pink in the centre. Remove from pan; drain; slice thinly.

Meanwhile on four dinner plates mound salad greens. Top with sliced red pepper, cucumber, celery and orange sections.

Blend reserve mandarin organ juice, broth, vinegar, mustard and cornstarch.

to skillet along with shallots;

Return sausage to skillet along with shallots; stir-fry until shallots are tender, about 2 minutes. Push sausage and shallots to one side of pan; add vinegar mixture and stir until it boils about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon hot mixture equally over salads and serve with crusty rolls.

Hearty Alberta Chowder

1 lb (450g) Chorizo, Italian or your favorite fresh pork sausage
1tsp (5 ml) vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, diced
½ cup (125 ml) chopped green pepper
¼ cup (60 ml) all purpose flour
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
¾ cup (180 ml) diced carrots
1 can (12 fl oz/34 ml) kernel corn, undrained
5 cups (1 ¼ litres) beef broth
1 can (19 oz/540 ml) diced tomatoes
1 tsp (5 ml) Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
¼ tsp (1 ml) each thyme, salt and pepper
Chopped parsley

In a large heavy saucepan, sauté pork sausage over medium heat about 11 minutes or until browned; remove from pan; drain; slice thinly and keep warm.

Heat oil in pan, add onion, garlic, celery and green pepper; stir and cook 4 minutes or until vegetable are softened. Stir in flour; cook1 minute. Add potatoes, carrots, corn and liquid, broth and tomatoes, 1 cup (250 ml) water, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper; bring to boil; cover and simmer 6 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with tossed green salad and crusty rolls.

Dutch Mettwurst with kale

(Makes 6 servings)
6 large russet potatoes
398 ml cooked kale (or spinach)
1 ring Dutch Mettwurst
Peel and boil potatoes. Mash. Add kale to potatoes and mix.

Place in 4 quart (4 ½ litres) casserole dish. Slice Mettwurst in ½ inch (1-centimetre) slices. Place on top of potatoes.
Cover casserole and bake at 300 F for 30 minutes.