Bacon Wrapped, Stuffed Pork Sausages

I don’t know when I was first introduced to “stuffed sausages” as they’re called locally in the north of Ireland, but I do know that from the first time I ate them, I was hooked.  I mean, pork on pork with some stuffing in the middle, really? I would argue that there are few things better tasting.

I’m told that stuffed sausages originated at the butcher counter of McAnerney’s in Armagh city, County Armagh.  McAnerney’s is well-known locally for its butcher shop. Although I believe that’s where they originated, one can now find stuffed sausages in many butcher shops in the north. So, after several years of succumbing to these on various occasions I recently decided to make my own.

So, there are basically three ingredients: pork sausages, stuffing and bacon. Pretty straightforward.

Some notes:

• I am pretty particular about pork sausages and greatly prefer the sausages in Ireland to those we get in the U.S. Not only are the seasonings different, but the meat in Irish sausages is ground much more finely. I picked up plain pork sausages and some with wild garlic from a butcher shop in the Moy, County Armagh. The butcher was really friendly and engaging. If you try this recipe with American pork sausages, please let me know how they turn out.
• As far as the stuffing goes, I used Irwin’s Nutty Crust bread which I think is really the best bread for making stuffing.
• The bacon did not come from a butcher shop, but is great bacon nonetheless. I used Denny brand - the maple thick cut rashers.

For the stuffing, I shredded one onion and sautéed it in a combination of olive oil and butter.

Then, I added four slices of bread (which had been toasted and chopped in a food processor), plenty more butter, and about a cup of chicken stock. Lastly, I added dried sage, salt and pepper to taste. I believe it’s more traditional to use parsley, but I didn’t have any on hand. You want the stuffing to be a bit wet so that it’s easily mold-able when you stuff the sausage. 

Now, to prepare the sausage, just slit it right down the center, about 3/4 of the way into the sausage. Leave about 1/2 inch on either end.  The two sausages with the green flecks are the ones with the wild garlic. 

Take a large spoonful of stuffing and place it into the slit you’ve cut in the sausage. Then, wrap the sausage with one slice of bacon. Try to wrap the sausage in such a way that the ends of the bacon are on the bottom of the sausage.

Place on a baking sheet. I baked these at gas mark 5 (350º F), in the center of the oven, for about 20 – 22 minutes.

These were really are amazing! We think they turned out better than McAnerney’s, actually! I had stuffing leftover, so that was baked in a separate dish for snacking on later. 

Stuffed sausages are great any time of the year – we’ve been known to pick some up from the butcher and toss them on the grill in the summertime. Not for the faint hearted, these…but so worth the time and effort.

Ok, so we also cooked some fresh asparagus and someone thought they would make a nice garnish…actually, I think he was right! Plus, it was was good to get a little something healthy in there.

I hope you’ll let me know if you try making your own stuffed sausages…thanks for stopping by!

del.icio.us Tags: pork,stuffed sausages,bacon,main dishes,appetizer,stuffing,northern ireland