Pork Pesto Sausage: Two Recipes
 | Author:
Eileen Clarke - Rifles and Recipes
Author: Rifles and Recipes |
Pork Pesto Sausage: Two Recipes, Lots of Options
Eileen Clarke
Rifles and Recipes
I was in the middle of testing a new sausage recipe and, given the scarcity of wild turkey and pig meat in our freezer, I started with commercial meat. (That's the routine. I don't use wild meat until the recipe is pretty close to perfect.) Well, this time the first try was spectacular, so I decided to share that with our non-hunting friends and neighbors while adding further details for the wild turkey and pig versions.
The sausage part of this recipe makes 20 meatballs. I only used half for this dish, the other half spiced up a pasta dinner the next night. It’s pretty easy with your favorite bottled marinara sauce, adding the meatballs to heat them together in the microwave. Each meal served two generously, which just fit our family. For bigger families, double the veggie portion of the recipe here and use all 20 meatballs.
Have mild-tasting wild turkey thighs, breasts or wild pig in the freezer, just grind it up and mix ½ pound of each--wild white meat and ground store-bought pork roast.
Pork Pesto Sausage and Veggies
Serves 2-3
For the meatballs:
1 pound ground pork roast (store-bought, not wild)
¾ cup pesto*
1 large egg
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
*I used RAO’S® bottled ‘homemade’ pesto (from Walmart) which is different from my homemade pesto in two ways: first, my pesto has no salt; second mine has ¼ the oil, or less, than RAO’S. Why? So you could easily reproduce this recipe without worrying how different your pesto is from my homemade. Besides, the 6.7 ounce jar holds ¾ cup, so the size was perfect.
Sausage Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the pesto, egg, grated Parmesan and ground pork in a large bowl. Mix it by hand, or pulse 8-10 times in a food processor until well mixed.
2. Shape the pork mixture into 20 medium-sized meatballs, about 1¾ inch in diameter, place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Set them aside while you sauté the veggies.
For the veggies:
2 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
1 ½ cups sliced red and orange sweet peppers
1 ripe tomato, coarsely chopped
Grated Parmesan at the table
Cooking:
1. Start a large saucepan on medium heat, adding the oil and red pepper flakes and black pepper to the pan. Test the pan with a chunk of onion: if it sizzles, it’s ready. Add the rest of the veggies to the pan, including the tomato.
2. Stir the veggies often, on medium heat, for about 5 minutes, then add half the meatballs to the mixture, lower the pan to medium-low, but still sizzling. Stir the veggies gently into the meatballs, and cook another 5 minutes. The meatballs should be hot and the veggies soft but not browned. Browning the meatballs a bit is optional, but not necessary.
3. Serve with more grated Parmesan. Toast some garlic bread too, if you’re missing the carbs. My Dad always paired Italian food with a cold Miller’s High Life, Mom a bit of red wine. I’m ambidextrous, but it’s your choice.
There are 75 flavor choices in Eileen’s Sausage Season. Whether you use wild or farm-raised meat to make sausage it should fit your personal taste--whether those tastes range to more or less red pepper and salt, or a Tex-Mex with no cilantro or believe cracked fennel is de rigueur for Italian—100% control is a good thing. Check out Sausage Season. https://www.riflesandrecipes.com/406-521-0273.
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Image 1 Caption: Pork Pesto Sausage
Photo Credits: Eileen Clarke
