Time for another new Rettland Farm Original Sausage! Are you sure you're ready for it?.
What is It?:
The latest sausage in the RFO line is called "Blissful Barbecue".
Now, I need to explain "Blissful" as it's used here. No, I don't guarantee that consuming this sausage will instantly transport you to a lounge chair on a beach surrounded with blue water, with a cold alcoholic beverage in your hand, and with attractive members of the opposite gender alternately fanning you with those big old tropical leaves and feeding you peeled grapes. If I could guarantee that, friends and neighbors, I wouldn't be here...I'd be eating this sausage.
No, "Blissful" here means that this sausage is nice and mild, just flirting with the spicy side of barbecue-ness. I didn't want (and don't like) a sausage that is so damn hot that it burns the hair off your toes, so I took it easy on the heat. Just enough to accent the pork and to give some street cred as actual "barbecue".
Oh yeah, and another little detail to round out the whole barbecue theme? It's smoked. With real Hickory. Yeah, I thought that would appeal to you.
The ingredient list is a little longer for the Blissful Barbecue sausage, but I think I can still sleep at night. There are no "modified this or thats", no "artificial flavorings", nothing that sounds like it's from your kids Chemistry set. And the sausage is also Nitrate Free, if that's a concern for you.
Just Pork, Water, Kosher Salt, Sugar, Chili Powder, and a handful of herbs and spices. That's it.
How to Cook It:
You HAVE to grill this one! Over lump charcoal if you can swing it timewise, or over gas if you can't.
And yes, YOU STILL HAVE TO COOK IT FULLY TO A SAFE TEMP!! This sausage is not fully cooked, even though it's smoked. So cook thoroughly! Attentively sear the sausages on both sides, and finish them over indirect heat. I'd recommend cooking them to at least 175 degrees, checked with a instant read thermometer stuck in the end of the sausage.
My choice for some background music while your cooking Blissful Barbecue sausages? I'd go with something twangy or bluesy, like some old school country. I'd recommend Willie Nelson's "Whiskey River", or Hank Williams Jr's "Outlaw Women", or something along those lines. (I'm adding a song selection to my cooking recommendations now--I think you can tell a lot about someone by their musical tastes! Plus, music fulfills the last of the five senses when you're cooking and eating, and just completes the experience.)
How to Eat It:
Okay folks, I need help in this department. All of you cooks out there, professional and otherwise, need to tell me the best way to eat this sausage. Please! My old standby of the bun, cheese, mustard routine is starting to get a little monotonous, so send me suggestions!
Besides my old standby, I think that this sausage would also work very well as a pizza topping, as long as the pizza sauce was a little more sweet and a little less spicy, like Tommy's in Gettysburg. On that note, whaddya say Tommy's? Wanna give it a try??
How to Get It:
Come see us at The Farmers' Markets at the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg, on Fridays and Saturdays, 9:30 am til 2 pm. Also come see us at our newest market stand, at the North Market Farmers Market in downtown Frederick, MD. That market runs from 3pm til 7pm on Wednesdays.
As usual, I'd love to hear your feedback. You can let me know your opinion either here in the comment section, or privately at farmer@rettlandfarm.com.
Cheers!
