One morning, Penny Brogden, my longtime friend and coworker at Pig-by-the Tail, came dancing into the kitchen, exclaiming, “I did the Polish sausages for dinner last night the best way ever! I glazed them with honey and baked them.” We tried the same preparation on the spot, and she was right. It was a fabulous way to give the ordinary a new polish. We advised customers who purchased Polish sausage to make the dish, too, and it was included in American Charcuterie, my book of recipes from Pig-by-the-Tail. If you are not set up for stuffing the sausage into hog casing, form it into links, wrap the links in cheesecloth, and refrigerate overnight (see page 154).
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 2
To cook the sausages, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the sausages (don’t unwrap them if they are in cheesecloth) and parboil until firm, 5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Unwrap the cheesecloth and place the sausages side by side in a baking dish. Pour the honey over them and turn to coat all around. Place in the oven and bake, basting two or three times, until bronze colored, 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, cook the apples. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the apples and cook, turning often, until deep gold on the outside and soft all the way through, 30 minutes or so, depending on the size of the pan and the type of apple.
Step 4
Transfer the sausages and apples to a platter and serve.
