Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Seafood Sausage – Behold, the Rarest of All the Sausages

This seafood sausage recipe is one of those dishes you learn in culinary school, and then never make in a restaurant, the rest of your career. Unlike your more common meat-based sausages, which are made from assorted scraps, and you really don’t want to know, these seafood sausages need pristine product to shine, thereby eliminating the money-saving incentive of making sausage.

However, despite their lack of popularity, these really are a great way to take less than thrilling seafood, like some sleepy sole, and previously frozen salmon, and make something that seems far more special. The flavor is lovely, and the texture is similar to a boudin blanc, or white hot dog, if you prefer.

If you want something with a courser texture, simply make the sausage mixture as shown, but then fold in a few handfuls of chopped shrimp, scallop, or any other seafood. Once cooked, and sliced, you’ll see pieces of whatever you added studding the link. I actually prefer the smooth style, but it’s fun to experiment. Either way, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 Seafood Sausages:
8 ounces boneless, skinless sole or other white fish
4 ounces boneless, skinless salmon
4 ounces peeled, deveined shrimp
2 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs
4 large egg whites
1 large whole egg
2 teaspoons kosher salt (or maybe 1 1/4 teaspoon fine salt)
cayenne to taste
2 tablespoons sautéed shallots
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons water
1 juicy lemon
2 tablespoons cold butter
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
salt to taste

43 comments:

VIrginia said...

Very hesitant about this recipe but also intrigued

Chef Todd said...

Pénis de la Mer. Sounds pretty good in French.

forkboy said...

I was watching some recipes from the pre-remodel era foodwishes, and I realized what bothers me a little about the post remodel, YouTube food mogul food wishes era recipes: I feel light CJ is reading me a children’s book. Seriously go watch the potato gnocchi recipe and tell me the tone doesn’t make you feel as though you’re hanging out with him in his kitchen while he microwaves the one potato he found in the pantry. I’ve accepted the new tone, but I really liked the old one more.

Anonymous said...

This'll be the next one I'll try. BTW, any chance of a beef rending demo? I had it once at an Indonesian/ Malaysian restaurant and loved it. I'd like to make one myself sometime. You're my gourmet GOD CJ!

Anonymous said...

I'll try this one next for sure. BTW, any chance of a beef rending demo soon? I had some at an Indonesian/Malaysian restaurant and would love to try making it.

Tom_MacIver said...

You should call it "Chef John's Sea Dogs"

Unknown said...

Looks delicious, can't wait to try it.

Tom_MacIver said...

Hmm, or perhaps a variation of what we used to ask girls out to a dinner date at "Theodore's by the Sea", which was Ted's Red Hots in Buffalo, by Lake Erie?

Anonymous said...

"The sausage of Neptune" would translate to "salsiccia di Nettuno," which sounds classy.

"wiener di Nettuno" not so much.

"il pene di Nettuno" is probably out of the question.

Kayla Kellett said...

Could this recipe be used to create fish cakes?

dove_song1 said...

Say you have a sous vide machine, what would be a good temperature to reach prior to browning?

Unknown said...

What can i use instead of shrimp?
Thank you

Himmin said...

Gorgeous recipe again, Chef John! Can't wait to try it!

Unknown said...

How would this recipe change if I wanted to use a meat grinder instead of a food processor?

dandelion said...

salsiccia di mare sounds good either way.

Unknown said...

Lomo Saltado and the green and yellow sauce, this is my greatest food wish!

Lisa said...

Yay! The freakishly small wooden spoon made a cameo! :D

tim said...

isn't that a quenelle?

tim said...

quenelle?

Unknown said...

Hello chef, long time watcher first time poster. Was curious about substitutions for sole as it's not available to me and if a short marinade in wine would be okay. Thanks in advance.

Chris said...

bangers and mash, whet could be better?
fascinating recipe, I'll get back when I've had a go.

Evaline said...

This looks amazing!!! Thanks for the detailed instructions.

Unknown said...

O!M!G!
Chef John ! Thank you Thank you ! I just made this for tonight. It is so good ever before ! I can't believe it !
I am Japanese living in US 30 years now.
This recipe reminds me similar we call " KAMABOKO" in Japanese. Fish cake.
But this is more tasty with Lemon butter sauce !!
Definitely my repeating recipe ever ! Thank you so much !!

doraima29 said...

Wow, this is a recipe that I didn't expect but will try it. Seafood sausage - you are one of the recipes that I was dreaming, and you came to life at 2018. Yummy!

had2beAmom said...

What about using a traditional meat grinder for a corser texture? Would you mix in the other ingredients after grinding?

Anthony Vaiana said...

Would these hold up on a grill?

Josh P. said...

I'd like to see a lot of these recipes with out so much wasteful plastic and foil.

Rick said...

If done by Sous Vide, I'd recommend 135 F.

Chef John said...

Josh P. You sound like a real pill. I'm sure there are many other video recipe producers that use less. Go watch them.

Unknown said...

🤭🤭🤭 pill lol love CJ!

Hawkdoc said...

These taste awesome! I used sage and tarragon instead of parsley.

Mine expanded quite a bit, and didn't stay in the plastic wrap. Too many air pockets, maybe? Or maybe I put in too much bread crumb? When I pulled one of the sausages out of the boiling water, one end of the tin foil unfolded, and with a mighty 'floof!' half the sausage launched out of the tin tube like a fishy cannonball from a pirate's cannon, leaving a trail of savory meat fragments across the counter and the nearby fruit basket. The unintentional weaponization of herby sea puree would have struck terror into the heart of Neptune himself!

As a side note, these are good on apples.

BrunoSix said...

After blending this mixture, I folded in two diced medium scallops. Because I am the Seafood Wonk of by Boudain Blanc.

FishFan said...

These sound great, but my wife is allergic to egg whites. Any way of making the sausages with a different binder?

Unknown said...

I tried the same thing but with dill instead of parsley.. it was awesome.
I also tried a version half beef - half bacon which ended up being quite good! :)

Anonymous said...

I must admit - I have never tried making homemade sausages, Chef John! And while this will be my first time, I am excited to give your recipe a shot. Fingers-crossed I can get the same outcome as yours, if not close. It looks so enticing and worth the effort so I will definitely try making these!

Unknown said...

This was very easy to make. Enjoy the seafood sausage will make again.

Unknown said...

Looks easy to make, I will try this for my daughter soon. thanks for sharing the lovely ideas.

Unknown said...

These have become a favorite for us. I've used all kinds of fish and both shrimp and scallops and they always turn out well. My first batch may have exploded a little (they still tasted wonderful) but I have since learned to be firm with the mixture when shaping and wrapping the sausages. We like these with pureed cauliflower and some sliced tomatoes. Thank you Chef John.

mwhitcraft said...

Yes, they will explode indeed. Afterwords, the texture is a little bit off but they still taste excellent. Be forewarned the salmon certainly takes the front seat and this recipe.

mwhitcraft said...

Yes, they will explode indeed. Afterwords, the texture is a little bit off but they still taste excellent. Be forewarned the salmon certainly takes the front seat and this recipe.

Unknown said...

Chef John, tried your Sea Food Sausage, and I was very surprised on its flavor and texture. I decided to call it "Salsiccia di Nettuno" That way my friends are impressed when they ask, what is it called!

To end this little note, all I can say is "ENJOY"

Jeana said...

Has anyone tried freezing these?

Unknown said...

I've made seafood sausage before using natural casing and had excellent results. So I couldn't wait to try this one out. It was as expected .. AMAZING! I mixed in a half of a scotch bonnet pepper (seeded and finely chopped) and some fresh mango to add a little sweet acidity to it. For the fish I used mahi-mahi, salmon and lobster. It has become a favorite by all of our group that motor our boats to the sandbar for sunset cruises here in Miami. A pureed mango chutney serves as a dipping sauce and as a side dish I offer a simple Korean slaw.