Free Sausage by Victoria Wise Page A

ounces salt pork, fat only, minced
    2 small cloves garlic, minced or pressed
    1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
    1 tablespoon finely chopped lemongrass
    ½ teaspoon finely chopped dried small red chile, such as cayenne or japones
    1 teaspoon sugar
    ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
    Kosher salt
    Combine all the ingredients except the salt in a medium bowl, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended. Cook and taste a small sample, then add salt to taste. Leave in bulk and shape as directed in individual recipes or stuff into sheep casing. The sausage can be used right away. (The uncooked sausage will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; it does not freeze well.)
    Sauté or grill, or cook as directed in individual recipes.

Southeast Asian Pork and Lemongrass Meatball Kebabs Wrapped in Lettuce Leaves withVietnamese Dipping Sauce
    What traveler to faraway places with strange-sounding names hasn’t become enamored of the street food found along the way? As much as art, architecture, magnificent landscapes, and the people, the food attracts. Street food requires no formal dress, nor a large bank account. It is simply there for eating, either at the spot or on the move to the next point of interest. In keeping with the street-food theme, grill these sausages if you can. Otherwise, a brisk sauté on the stove top works well.
    The dipping sauce,
nuoc cham,
is
the
table sauce in Vietnamese dining, much like a cruet of vinegar and one of oil on an Italian table, a bottle of chile oil and one of soy sauce on a Chinese table, or fresh tomato salsa or
salsa verde
on a Mexican table. It is important to use a good-quality fish sauce, one that is smooth, rather than sharp. I recommend Thai Kitchen brand, generally available in well-stocked supermarkets these days and certainly available in Asian markets.
    SERVES 6 TO 8
    Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
    ¼ cup fresh lime juice
    2 tablespoons cider vinegar
    2½ tablespoons Thai fish sauce
    ¼ cup water
    2 teaspoons sugar
    5 thin rounds jalapeño or other small chile
    1 tablespoon coarsely grated carrot
    Peanut or canola oil, if sautéing
    1 pound Southeast Asian Pork and Lemongrass Sausage , formed into 1-inch balls
    24 red-leaf or butter lettuce leaves
    ¼ cup shredded fresh mint leaves
    To make the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix. Use right away or set aside at room temperature for up to several hours. (The sauce is best used without refrigerating and is perkiest if used the same day it is made.)
    Prepare a medium-hot grill, or film the bottom of a large sauté pan with oil and place over medium-high heat. If grilling, soak 12 to 16 small bamboo skewers in water to cover while the grill heats.
    If cooking on a grill, drain the skewers and thread 2 or 3 sausage balls onto each one. Place them on the grill rack directly over the heat source. If sautéing, place as many meatballs as will fit without crowding in the pan. Cook, turning the balls frequently, until brown all around and no longer pink in the center but still moist, 8 to 10 minutes, by either method.
    To serve, arrange the lettuce leaves, slightly overlapping, on a platter. Transfer the meatballs to the platter as they are cooked, setting them atop the lettuce. Sprinkle the mint over the meatballs. Divide the dipping sauce among a few small bowls and set the bowls around the table so the sauce is within easy reach of all the diners. Each diner lifts a lettuce leaf, enfolding 1 or 2 of the meatballs, and dips the leaf package into the sauce.

Beef Sausages
    BEEF SAUSAGES MAKE UP a smaller menu than the extensive one for pork sausages. It seems that people prefer the large cuts when it comes to beef: roasts, steaks, or chunks stewed, braised, or skewered. But where’s the beef sausage? For this chapter, I ferreted out a roundabout of traditional ways with beef sausages, and added some of my own devising in keeping with typical culinary ingredients