Fish Sausage
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
1 hr
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Total Time
1 hr
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Servings
10 servings
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Calories
170 kcal
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Course
Main Course, Appetizer, Lunch
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Cuisine
American
Fish Sausage
Description
Fish Sausage combines fatty fish like salmon or tuna belly with lean white fish to create a balanced texture and flavor. Minced white or yellow onions are slowly sautéed in butter until soft but not browned and cooled to retain moisture without cooking further after mixing. The fatty fish is pureed with ice to a fluffy consistency, then mixed with diced white fish, cooled onions, salt, white pepper, anise seed (ground and whole), chopped chives, parsley or lovage, and butter residue. This mix is kneaded thoroughly to combine before being stuffed into soaked sheep casings.
The preparation results in a tender sausage with a subtle anise fragrance and a mild fish flavor heightened by fresh herbs. The casing is filled somewhat loosely because sheep casings are delicate, making for a fine-textured product. Alternatively, the mixture can be formed into patties that resemble high-end fish cakes, offering a similar flavor and versatility.
This sausage works well as a delicate protein addition for meals, suitable for slicing and cooking or pan-frying patties. The balance of fatty and lean fish with aromatic seasonings provides a refined seafood option beyond typical sausages.
For best results, allow the sautéed onions to cool completely to avoid cooking the mixture further during kneading. If casings break when stuffing, move the filling away from the break to tie off the sausage. The patties option allows flexible cooking without casing.
Ingredients
- 45 grams unsalted butter about 3 tablespoons
- 325 grams white onion about 3 cups, or yellow onion, minced
- 500 grams fatty fish like salmon or tuna belly or trout, diced
- 500 grams white fish cut into ¼-inch dice, lean
- 21 grams salt about 2 tablespoons
- 4 grams white pepper about 1 teaspoon
- 4 grams anise seed about 1 teaspoon, ground, or fennel seed
- 6 grams anise seed about 2 teaspoons, whole, or fennel seed
- 4 tablespoons chives chopped
- 4 tablespoons parsley chopped, or lovage
- sheep casing
Instructions
- Soak the sheep casings in warm water to rehydrate.
- Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat and sauté the minced onion until soft and translucent, but without browning it, about 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and let this cool, then refrigerate the onions. You want them cold before proceeding.
- Put the salmon or other fatty fish into a food processor, along with a handful of crushed ice. Process into a fluffy puree, about 1 minute or so. Move this to a large bowl.
- Add all the remaining ingredients, along with the cooled onions and any butter you can scrape from the bowl, and mix well with your (very clean) hands until it all comes together in one big ball. This should take about 90 seconds to 2 minutes of kneading and mixing.
- Put this mixture into a sausage stuffer and thread the sheep casings onto the funnel. Fill the casings, erring on a little looser than tighter, as sheep casings are fragile. If you break one, move the fish mixture away from the break so you can tie it off, then continue with a new coil. It happens.
- When you have the mixture all stuffed, you will want to pinch off links. I like links in sheep casings about four to five inches long. To do this you can tie them off with string, or pinch down with your fingers to make two links – the end link and the one between your fingers. Spin the link between your fingers away from you to tighten the link. You may see air pockets forming underneath the casing; we’ll deal with them in a bit. Now move down the coil and pinch off another two links. This time you spin the link towards you. Repeat this process, away from you, then towards you, all the way down the coils. (Here's a video showing you this process.)
- When you are done, gently compress the fish mixture in a link at the end, then tie off that link. Do the same on the other end. Now get a needle or a sausage pricker and set the point in a burner until it glows; you are sterilizing it. Us this to prick every air pocket you can find in the links. When you get them all from a link, rotate it in the direction it was made (toward or away from you) to compress the meat into the link and seal up any air pockets.
- Put your links in the fridge, uncovered, for up to a day. This tightens them and allows the links to bloom a bit. They will keep for a few days in the fridge and freeze well. I generally grill or pan fry them and serve with a seasonal salad.
Notes
- If preferred, shape the mixture into patties instead of sausages to create a variation resembling upscale fish cakes.
- Ensure the sautéed onions are fully cooled before mixing to maintain texture and moisture balance in the sausage.
- Handle sheep casings gently during stuffing to avoid breaks; if a casing breaks, move the filling away from the break before tying off.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 10servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 170 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 170kcal | 9% |
| Carbohydrates | 4g | 1% |
| Protein | 21g | 42% |
| Fat | 8g | 12% |
| Saturated Fat | 3g | 15% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 2g | 10% |
| Trans Fat | 0.1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 62mg | 21% |
| Sodium | 865mg | 36% |
| Potassium | 473mg | 10% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 322IU | 6% |
| Vitamin C | 6mg | 7% |
| Calcium | 34mg | 3% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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