Chicken Sausage

So, I was having a debate as to which picture to post for this recipe. Do I post the raw chicken with the spices mixed in, the cooked chicken or just the spices? I couldn't see posting a picture of raw chicken, and the cooked didn't do much for me, so the spice blend it is. It's a little more eye appealing than the others.

I got this recipe from my beloved Joy of Cooking book, it's kind of like the white bible of cooking, for me anyway. I don't know what caused me to search for a homemade sausage blend but I'm so glad I did. This is so much better than store bought and much better for you. Sausage can be like the mystery meat that you don't know exactly what's in it; that kind of grosses me out. This way you know exactly what goes into it so you can feel good about eating it.

You can buy already ground chicken but I like to grind, and when I say grind I mean put it in the food processor to chop up into tiny pieces, the chicken myself so I can trim the meat how I want. You can also use pork.

Make a bunch at a time and freeze some as patties for breakfast or portion out bits to brown up and throw into your favorite pasta dish. Either way, you'll find this sausage is very versatile.

Chicken Sausage
2 lbs. ground chicken
1 1/2 ounces dried apples (about 1/2 cup chopped up)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and squeeze the mixture with your hands until well blended. Mixture is very sticky.

There are several options for cooking and storing.  For cooking, you could crumble and brown it all up for immediate use.  You could cook it all up then divide it and freeze it.  You could make patties for cooking and/or freezing as well.  For freezing, you can divide uncooked meat mixture into half-pound or 1-pound portions and place each in a zip-loc freezer bag; then just thaw before use.
Freeze for up to 2 months!

SOURCE:The Joy of Cooking