Critic-Turned-Cook Tackles Sausage Making
Critic Turned Cook follows former Seattle Post-Intelligencer food critic Leslie Kelly on her journey away from the keyboard and into the kitchen. Take it away, Leslie!
Leslie Kelly meets her sausage maker
Oh man, I love the sausage at Shultzy's, the popular pub near the University of Washington where I've been working. Especially the andouille, which is made with a super-secret recipe that owner Don Shultze got from a mysterious Cajun woman who walked through his door years ago and asked him to make her a batch. "She never came back, but I still use her recipe," he said.
The sausage making process isn't so pretty though—the meat squeezed into casings that used to be known as intestines. Yeah. You've got to have the right touch when you're cranking the handle and adjusting the amount that's funneling through the tube, or you'll have sausages that are too skinny or too fat.
When the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" traveled to Seattle last year to film some episodes, they wanted to feature Shultzy's, especially the sausage-making end of the restaurant. But the owners weren't keen on letting the crew shoot what some might consider a less-than-appetizing process. The producers said they would pull the plug if they didn't agree to all-access; the Shultzes replied that that was fine, and they wouldn't be crying in their IPA about not being on the show. (In truth, I don't know why Shultzy's was even on the radar—it's not a diner, drive-in, or dive.)
After spending some time watching the sausage masters (Andy and Jordan) and taking a turn, I had a new appreciation for this ancient art. And the sausages are as beautiful as a well-marbled steak. They're really gorgeous when you sit down to eat one after a wild lunch rush where the tickets stack up because there's no more room on the grill.
Do you think it would turn some diners off if they saw how their food was made?
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