Meat + Poultry - February 2016 - 31

S

ausage plays a popular role at high-end
restaurants throughout the US. Not
only is it occasionally featured on the
center of the plate, but more often it is used
as a flavor ingredient or component of both
appetizers and entrees. Sausage is used to
provide textural contrast and interest to the
other ingredients on plates and menus.
While very few high-end restaurants
purchase sausage from outside vendors, there
is a glaring sales opportunity for sausage
processors who understand restaurant
operators' culinary needs and are able to
address their challenges.

HITTING ON THE TRENDS
Many food trends begin at restaurants and
trickle down through the food chain to retail
shoppers. This is how my own business began
more than 30 years ago when I began selling
authentic Louisiana-style andouille sausage
to a few of my chef friends who wanted to
reproduce the very popular Louisiana dishes
they were reading about in the national press.
Andouille started appearing in dishes such
as gumbo and jambalaya, and more creative
dishes such as stuffed fish and sauces for fish
and poultry.
At the time, andouille was mostly produced
in Louisiana in state-inspected processing
plants, which were prohibited to sell out
of state. My andouille was made locally in
San Francisco in a US Dept. of Agricultureinspected facility, so I could legally sell it
anywhere. At that time, many foodservice
customers were making their fresh sausage in
house, but few had the facility or wherewithal
to cold smoke, which is an essential step in
the production of authentic andouille. Soon, I
was selling to many of the high-end restaurants
in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of these
restaurants received a lot of media attention
and often the andouille was mentioned as well.
Furthermore, as more diners learned
about and enjoyed the andouille they ate, they
often asked where it could be purchased. So
as I began to sell it to retailers, I already had
an enthusiastic audience, especially when
we offered tastes to shoppers. Eventually
andouille became a recognized flavor
nationally, and today is found in many grocery
stores and is produced by many companies
around the country.

Food trends that begin at a restaurant and
trickle down to become well known don't
always begin as a sausage flavor. Buffalo
chicken wings, which originated at the
Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY, was a chicken
wing preparation served with blue cheese
dressing. Several sausage companies have
adapted this flavor profile (hot peppers,
vinegar and spices) to produce Buffalo-style
flavored sausage. Some companies, such as
Bilinski's in Cohoes, NY, have even added
blue cheese to the blend. Several years
ago my former company, Aidells Sausage,
introduced a Buffalo-style sausage as well
but it was not enthusiastically accepted and
was terminated. I don't believe the Buffalostyle sausage will find a market with high-end
restaurant chefs.
Some ingredients that have gained traction
at high-end restaurants have a Korean
origin. Black garlic and Korean chili paste
(Gochujang) have worked their way into some
house-produced sausages in the last year.
Peruvian herbs, called Black Mint (Huchatay),
have a uniquely sharp and fruity flavor and
could also find their way into sausage.

CHEFS AND SAUSAGE
Many high-end restaurants produce their
own sausage and don't buy from vendors. A
reason for that is economics, considering the
restaurants often have trim or underused cuts
that need to find a home to contribute to profits
and not end up in the trash. This is particularly
important if the restaurant is purchasing
expensive meats like heirloom pork, game
meats and expensive poultry like duck, quail
and squab.
Another reason chefs make their own
sausages is that many have become very
interested in charcuterie and have a passion
to learn about sausage making. The result
is a desire to experiment and produce their
own sausage as a fun activity, providing these
would-be sausage makers with pride and a
sense of joy as well as bragging fodder when
chefs gather with other chefs. Finally, the
idea of house-made sausage fits well with
the current trend of farm to table that many
high-end restaurants endorse and practice.
My biggest challenge 33 years ago when
selling my sausage to chefs was the chefs
who made their own sausage. But there was a

I have always
been a believer
that many
food trends
begin at
restaurants
and trickle
down
throughout
the food chain
to ultimately
reach retail
shoppers.

Chef Dana Younkin, like
many other chefs of her
generation, is always
looking for new and
exciting ingredients to
inspire new dishes at
Boulevard Restaurant
in San Francisco. Photo:
Stuart Brinin Photography

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