HOME SAUSAGE MAKING is the classic in the field. Now completely revised and updated to comply with current USDA safety standards, this new edition features 150 recipes. Included in the lineup are 100 recipes for sausages (cased and uncased) and 50 recipes for cooking with sausage, all written for contemporary tastes and cooking styles. There are instructions for making sausages with beef and pork, fish and shellfish, chicken and turkey, and game meats. Ethnic favorites include German specialties such as Bratwurst, Mettwurst, and Vienna Sausage; Italian Cotechino and Luganega; Polish Fresh and Smoked Kielbasa; and Spanish-Style Chorizo, Potatis Korv (Swedish Potato Sausage), Kosher Salami, and Czech Yirtrnicky. On top of all the meat varieties, there is an entirely new section on vegetarian sausage options.

Reader Reviews
I just purchased this book. Yesterday, I was ambitious and wanted to try out some of the recipes. I started out with the portabella sausage for a nice lunch meal. Easy and fantastic. A real keeper of a recipe.

Next, I wanted to try the cotechino. We hosted an exchange student from Reggio Emilia and I wanted to try this recipe from her home town. The results were good. A touch too much cloves for my taste, but passable. I'll cut the cloves to half the amount next time.

The third recipe was the chorizo. A very good recipe for a mildly hot version. It was perfect for my wife. It can easily be spiced up by just increasing the red pepper. The fennel seed was just right and I would not adjust that. Another keeper.

Finally, I made the bockwurst. I noted the quantity of cloves and was concerned. However, the first recipe for the portabella sausage was so good that I was going to trust the author. That was a mistake. Unfortunately, I did not sample any of the meat sausages until I had prepared and mixed all three. If I had sampled them as I went along, I would have never used the quantity of cloves specified in the bockwurst recipe. Three-quarters of a teaspoon of cloves was about three-quarters of a teaspoon too much. A pinch would have been right. Mace would have been maybe a better choice. It is disappointing since everything else with the recipe was very good.

The bockwurst is going to be edible only if it is included with other stronger flavors. The veal is a light flavor to start with and any spicing should be in moderation. I wasted $15 in ingredients. I will make this recipe again with only a pinch of cloves.

So, how do I rate this recipe book? I will give it four stars. The recipes look good and relatively easy with readily available ingredients. The negative is the author's fondness for cloves.

I will experiment with more of the recipes and will be more careful in following the prescribed seasoning. The levels of salt and pepper, so far, are just right. I have followed recipes for sausages from other sources and had batches that were much too salty. I plan to cut the quantities of suspect spices in all first-time future recipes and will sample the mix. I can always add additional seasoning before stuffing.

I would recommend this recipe book with the caveat that one needs to be initially conservative with following the spice quantities. You can always add more to suit. You can never remove or counter excessive seasoning.

Available from Amazon Price: $11.53 Updated on 12-23-2008.