What makes a sausage?

Until we went to Octoberfest at the Mandarin Hotel, we never gave the making, much less the flavors, of sausages much thought. There was quite a variety of them, cooked in different ways, that when we got home, we started doing research and found a lot more interesting things about these encased meat delicacies.

The art of making sausages started in olden times when people wanted to preserve their animal trimmings. The process involves mixing ground meat with fat and seasonings, then dividing it into casings. Depending on where they are made, they differ in ingredients, additives, size and shape, curing, and dryness.

Most countries have their own version of sausages. Prominent among them are Italy, Germany, France, Spain and even England where they refer to them as bangers. It is said that the best known Italian salami is made in Genoa where they use beef and veal seasoned with pepper, garlic and red wine. The French version uses herbs while the Germans smoke a combination of finely ground beef and pork.

Germany has been tagged as the “Land of Charcuterie,” although France might contest this because they have cooked with meat since the 15th century. From the Germans, of course, came the familiar frankfurters and the ‘wursts’ – bratwurst (seasoned with ginger and nutmeg, coriander and caraway), bierwurst (with garlic), etc.

At the Mandarin Deli, try their salami and air-dried beef or the chorizo de la sierda. The Peninsula Connoisseur offers chicken chipolata – tiny sausages sometimes called “little fingers” – made with thyme, cloves, coriander and hot red pepper flakes. Of course the Lobby is popular for schublig with sauerkraut.

The Spanish embutido varies in shape and color. It is semi-hard, made of pork, fat, and seasoned with paprika. Chorizo de pamplona has more fat and is usually used for cooking. Most cherished by Filipinos is chorizo de bilbao. Of course, in America there are hotdogs, which P-Noy had for lunch during his visit to New York. These are really frankfurters bathed in a lot of garnishes – pickles, catsup, mustard, onions, etc.

Our own chorizo is the longganisa. As with the others, they come in a variety of flavors and sizes, depending on the province that produces them. What we remember most are those we had in our youth in Biñan. They were sinfully full of fat, but unadulterated with foreign flavors, except paprika (our local saffron) which provided a stronger flavor and the color orange. Delicious! Those from Vigan and Lucban are popular but we find them a bit too dry, small and more expensive. Batotay, from Nueva Ecija, is quite sweetish. Cagayan de Oro also has its own version. The Purefoods hamonado has long passed the approval of our family.

The next time you want a sausage or chorizo, you would know what flavor to try. Most of them are available in supermarkets, aside from the hotel delis.

At Mandarin’s Paseo Uno, German chef Rene Ottlik prepared a buffet recently. We particularly liked the Obaza Bavarian cheese on rye – kasesalne, cream red cheese mixed with beer – very new to the palette. The hotel is now prepared for the holiday season with their hampers and varied Yuletide food gifts. The hampers of selected items range from P1,500 to P7,800. One may also select from a range of items to prepare a personal hamper. English mince pies cost P240 for 6 pieces, 400gm English fruitcake is at P600, small gingerbread house, P2,400; roast turkey (five to six kilos) with chestnut stuffing, vegetables, gravy and cranberry sauce at P960 a kilo; whole US roast beef with mashed potatoes and red wine at P2,900 a kilo; and baked leg of lamb in rosemary sauce, 2.5 to 3.2 kgs, for P260 a kilo.

It is not too early. Do your Christmas shopping and enjoy it!           

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