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Yes! By my count there are a few more Saturdays to Sausagefest #13. This means that the Spring grilling season is about to start and all that winter darkness and despair can be put away for another long spell. If you had a productive winter you tried some new sausages, figured out what was acceptable, what wasn't, and maybe identified some new edibles that might make the grade for Sausagefest #13.

Yes! Only a few more Saturdays until we can all let loose and celebrate with our favorite people and sausages! Bring friends and family, get everybody know you involved! The more the merrier. There is nothing as fun as a sausage-filled weekend. Everybody can kick back, relax, play sports, cards, make new friends, make new plans and bets (partybets.com) with new energy and vitality. Ideally every weekend should be like that.

Is there anything as festive as a sausage fest? It should be an international event. We will get there though. When you dedicate this amount of time and passion to something, people are bound to hear about it and get involved eventually. Starting with you! Thanks for visiting the site.

Sausagefest 2005 Review

Monday, January 02, 2006

Sausagefest 2005 had all the expected sizzle of past years plus some piquant scenes and samplings that indicated that you just never know which way the sausage of fate will point. We christened the 2005 fest with the "The War of the Sausages" (by H.G. Swells).

The battle royale was engaged early - a stellar collection of samples from Ream's Meats were the opening offerings (the chorizo was very good as was the Cudghi Italian Sausage). We backed those sausages up with my Serbian favorite, Cevapi. The source is the Lalich Deli on Milwaukee Avenue in Niles (Thanks to Zoran and Vera Lalich for the great stuff.) & If you love the taste of gyros you will like Cevapi even more. These sausages are so lean (fat free) that if you fry them in a pan you have to add oil. The best flavoring, however, comes from grilling these skinless little meat sausages. Sure they look like your typical breakfast sausage in length but there the comparison ends. They come with garlic or without - either way you might wanted to whip up some home made Tszaki sauce (the yogurt/sour cream sauce for gyro's) to go with these guys. Just great!

While the smoke and flames were still hot and the guests still not full, the Rookie of the Year sausage showed up & some genuine Columbia masilla sausage. (Thanks to Ernie and Karen Pabon for finding this dark rich sausage). The combination of masilla and a big Zinfandel was a matched made in heaven.

Rookies of the Year: Karen and Ernie Pabon

Taking a flanking maneuver around the grilled meats, Casey Wasilewski re-joined the festivities after a year's hiatus and served the ambrosia of home made Polish Sausage and sweet polish sauerkraut en casserole. He had the ethnic ladies in the crowd moaning and groaning. Panting and racing heart were beating like jungle drums in the heart of darkness when it came to his steaming kielbasa. (Case, next time bring the defibrillator.)

Best Polish Sausage of the Year: Casey Wasilewski

Just when the melee was settling into a pitched battle between a veteran sausage-ite and a rookie, an experienced champion showed up. The Grabowksi clan (made famous by the Portobello sausage of Sausagefest 6) walked in with the assured swagger that comes with the bared knuckled know-how of grinding and grilling in close quarters. This year they demonstrated another side of their mastery by creating a new category of sausage altogether &mdash the Albino Sausage. Let the record show that on September 3, 2005 the world saw its first albino sausage. Like the true artist that they are, they continue to stretch what it means to be sausage masters.

Unique Artistic Achievement: The Grabowki's

Every year we search for the right kind of "new blood" (or blood sausage) to bring into the mix. It usually works better when you find people of a checkered past, problematic upbringing, or even who are on a special work relief program. Who cares what hubcap collection or youthful indiscretion happened. I say when you meet a guy like Lou Cananoco, you throw the reputation out (it worked for AJ Perzynski and the White Sox).

Lou melded together small peperocini peppers with some great Italian sausage. Thrown on the grill they were the perfect little mid-course aperitif that saved the taste buds from the constant onslaught of protein and fat, over and over. Only someones of Lou's well traveled nature could even think to bring a vegetable to Sausagefest. Outstanding work (and a letter back to the institution to know where you were that day).

Best Achievement with Sausage & Vegetable: Lou Cananoco

As each Sausagefest approaches and the grilling fires get hot you can bank on the veteran competitors to get their competitive juices flowing. We know who they are but still it's always impressive to see the magic re-appear. For the first time in Sausagefest history, we are crowning a back-to-back winner. The first time Doc Tuttle did home made sausages in 2004 there were those in the crowd who admitted the excellence of his tequila spiked southwestern sausages but wondered if he had some help from his wife or one his patients ("Hey Doc, I'll give you a killer sausage recipe if you forget the broken bone fee.")

Ignoring the naysayers, the soft-spoken (until the tequila shows up) Texan just dazzled even the toughest critics by bringing hand-made smoked chorizo sausages to the party. It was sublime sausage, meaty, well seasoned with the variety of tastes and texture that makes you wonder why all meat mixtures can't be this good. Now crowned Grand Champion for the second year in the row, we anxiously await what new deft fete of culinary skill the Doctor can create for Sausagefest 9.

Sausagefest 8 - Grand Champion: Richard Tuttle

To balance out all the meat consumption, the attendees consumed a modest 37 bottles of wine. We had 71 attendees and the karaoke machine and snow cones were a nice addition to party.

Special Thanks to:
Tom Graan (Official Wine Sommelier of Sausagefest)

Casey & Eddie & Steve - for the blood, sweat and tears of manning the grill for several hours.

And to all our guests who always make the event a wonderful night of tasting and adventure.