Friday, May 24, 2013

Curly “Q” Sausage – Get It Twisted

Someone sent me a video link last summer, showing someone spiral cutting a hot dog. The wienercision was done by Blake Smith from Chow.com, and I remember wondering if this technique would work with parboiled Italian sausage.

Oh, it worked. It worked real good. By the way, I was going to provide a link to the aforementioned video, but Blake ended the demo by putting ketchup on his hot dog, so forget it. Okay, fine, since I did steal his technique, here you go.

Not only does this look very cool, the technique also provides a significantly greater amount of surface area, and when you’re talking about grilling meat, it’s all about the surface area. You could brush barbecue sauce on an un-helixed Italian sausage, but here you’re literally flavoring the sausage inside and out. 

And if you're skeptical about how well barbecue sauce goes with Italian sausage, take it from someone who ate one; it’s a match made in backyard barbecue heaven. I’d like to wish all you a safe and very festive Memorial Day weekend, and I hope you “spring” these curly “Q” sausages on your guests. Enjoy!

37 comments:

Unknown said...

"wienercision"

*faints*

Roberto said...

Jim Rose Circus, huh? You weren't, by any chance, the Amazing Mister Lifto who hung heavy weights (cinder blocks, steam irons, beer kegs, etc.) from his body piercings, including those in his nipples and genitalia. At Lollapalooza Lifto would perform the "genital lift" feat after spraying shaving cream on himself.

You don't have to fess up if you would prefer to keep your past secret.

Unknown said...

I liked this one. very interesting.

PJ said...

Can't wait to try this recipe! But wait... what no Cayenne? I just bought the biggest container of Cayenne BJ's had just so I can get your recipes exact! Hey, Paula Deen has her butter, and Chef John has his Cayenne... Nothing wrong with that!

Anonymous said...

I need to know what kind of spread that is, is it garlic butter?!!!!!! it looks so good, and that bun OMgggggg

cookinmom said...

Gotta go get my sausage out of the freezer...bye!

Unknown said...

I've seen this spiral-cutting technique before, but wooden skewers were used so there was no worry about wrecking a good knife. The guy used a long knife and could roll them across the board and cut them in about a second.

Estoy_Listo said...

Does Anthony Weiner know about this?

Ed the house chef said...

Thanks Chef, this were great. I served them on a garlic toasted bun with some purple cabbage. Delish.

PJ said...

I completely screwed this up by using turkey sausage. The recipe and the method would have worked fine, but I quickly discovered turkey doesn't hold together or swell up like pork sausage. Not to worry it is a long weekend; I have lots of charcoal; and there are plenty of pork sausages at the store.

Aaron said...

I tried this last night with sausages from Lockeford Meat & Sausage. My homemade BBQ sauce paired surprisingly well with them. They were not the Italian variety so I was a bit worried. A buddy of mine demanded that I prepare them this way from now on. Because the sausages were already smoked and fairly firm, I was able to skip the par-boil phase.

Thanks Chef John!

Unknown said...

Nice tip on slicing the sausages for more surface area. I am going to order your wife's SFQ sauce online ASAP.

Chef John said...

Thanks! Enjoy!

Mark said...

Hey Chef John,
Greetings from Israel, I love your recipes, I love cooking and you've introduced me to many dishes I wouldn't otherwise have tried...

I'm no stranger to cooking, but I'm making my first steps into the scary world of Yeast Dough.
So far made a fantastic pizza via your dough recipe, and of course the Ciabatta...mmm...

I'm interested in making my own hamburger buns, do you have a go-to recipe that you can link to, or even better make my foodwish video come true? :)

Thanks in advance,
Mark.

Unknown said...

Hey Chef from Toronto!

This recipe got my attention because I had assumed you called these Curly Q sausages because of the slicing technique used by Curly!

Just thought I'd let you know that you are entitled to some extra awesomeness-points for the first culinary Three Stooges reference!

Cheers!

Unknown said...

This is a very interesting technique and I like the visual it creates. But being from Wisconsin it is almost considered a sin to break open a sausage.

Anonymous said...

So as a German, I cried a little when I saw what you did to the sausage. I thought it would just dry it out completely.

I didn't want to hastily judge, so I bought some Bratwurst to try it with (clearly superior to Italian, sorry) and used a sauce based on German curry ketchup and it was delightful. Not too dry, but not super juicy, kind of in a sweet spot were it doesn't run everywhere, just in your mouth.
I did use wood skewers, because I didn't want to risk ruining my knife ;)

Unknown said...

Chef,

I don't want to sound redundant, but I'm wondering when you are going to demonstrate the Ragu alla Bolognese http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwyCUOijLeE recipe. You already did the American Meat Sauce one, so it's time to do the continental version.

Cheers & keep those delicious recipe coming for many years.

P.S. I was sad when you took down the BEKRI MEZE video since I consider it your ultimate recipe that I could make perfectly each time. It is so easy & delicious at the same time.

cookinmom said...

Chef!! Can I (sorry...gotta ask)do this with hot dogs??

Chef John said...

Yes! Please refer to first paragraph!

Unknown said...

Chef John - love watching your videos. You've really helped me improve my inventory of recipes and skills. I credit you to my family and friends for the meals I make that they like. 2 questions:

1. I've heard pros/cons about putting hot food into the fridge. You mentioned it on this video. Explain?

2. My (too expensive) gas grill took a couple of big tumbles this year in nasty storms. Lots of broken parts. Debating spending big $$ for another gas grill or going back to something like a Weber kettle wood/charcoal grill. Thoughts?

Thanks.

(amatuer) Chef Tom

Chef John said...

Putting a pot of hot food in the fridge can raise the temp to unsafe levels. Not a big danger, but could. I prefer charcoal personally. I use a Weber Q

Mike said...

Jim Rose funny. Doing sound funny.

Take care of your biz, and hurry back.

cookinmom said...

Oops, sorry...I'm one of those that jumps to the video in a hurry and didn't go back to look at the body.(I usally do, honest!) Got an "F" on this one!

Jvo said...

Chef John,

Can you do a recipe where you make something with red pork like you find with Chinese spare ribs?

Unknown said...

Piet Huisentruyt (Belgian tv chef) learned me how to cook, but chef John learned me how to be awesome!

Michele Cryan said...

When people we really love get sick it's so awful. We worry so much. And this proves how very lucky we are to have them in the first place. I don't agree with the way life takes these people from us (and us from others) eventually but as of yet I haven't figured a way around it. If I do I'll be sure to start my own blog. :)

Take care Chef,
Michele & Andy in Courtice

Chef John said...

This is a technique. There are no ingredients! I used a jarred BBQ sauce.

Johnny Sundance said...

I'm from Texas, is it okay for me to buy BBQ sauce made in San Francisco?

Josieinmo said...

I surprised my husband with this recipe. It was so easy and turned out great. The basil mayo recipe wasn't posted so I found a very simple recipe (1 cup prepared mayo,1/4 cup basil, 1 tsp lemon zest and 1 tsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt) It was a lovely combo. I will try your basil mayonnaise recipe but I still have horrible flashbacks from the last time I attempted from scratch mayo. I enjoy your videos and appreciate your desire to make us all better cooks no matter what our skill level is. Keep up the great work

Unknown said...

If you score them only 1/4" or about half as deep they don't need the skewer and they work just as well. Works with almost any kind of sausage or hot dog. Not too well with loose sausages like Mexican chorizo.

turdherder said...

If you go to any major city in Canada the cart vendors have been doing this forever. It allows you to take a sausage or kielbasa that has a natural curve to it and allows it to lay flat on the grille no matter which way you roll it. It also expedites the cooking time.Bubba' right, a 1/4" is plenty deep. The shallower the cut the more apt it is to stay juicy.

dana said...

I've been doing this with Italian sausage and also with Johnsonville brats. I use a mustard/apricot jelly glaze on both. I have to limit myself to once every few weeks of my brain would explode!

Thanks, Chef John, for putting this awesome technique out there.

Dale Blanding said...

The Canadian street vendors have been doing the spiral cut sausage trick for ever. It works quite well. They don't do the wooden skewer trick which is a pretty good idea for keeping them straight when your trying to do a bunch of them at the same time.

Santiago Castañeda said...

Great recipe Chef!

What ingredients do you use on the bread? Is it mayo?

Than you!

Santiago Castañeda said...

Great technique Chef! Love it!

What did you used to spread the bread?

Than you!

Chef John said...

Just basil mayo!