6 Southern Chefs On Why They Love Conecuh Sausage—And You Should, Too

FOOD Amine 01 Jan , 2023 0

div>That’s why this hickory-smoked meat has been an Alabama staple for 75 years.

Kaitlyn Bensel.Food Styling: Tori Cox

Ask any Alabama about Conecuh sausage and they’ll tell you their favorite way to eat it. There’s no wrong way to devour this juicy, smoky sausage. I love it.

Uniquely balanced flavors have a lot to do with it, but so does the story. The company was founded in his 1947 in Evergreen, a small town in the heart of Connecoe County in southern Alabama. Still family-owned and operated, the gift shop attracts travelers with the smell of the car.

“When you go down Interstate 65, you can see hickory smoke dancing across the interstate and into Evergreen,” says Brody Olive, executive chef at Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach. . “75 years in business deserves a big round of applause for doing it right and continuing their legacy.”

No longer Alabama’s best-kept secret, Conecuh sausage can now be found in grocery stores nationwide. It’s raw. Run to the supermarket immediately and collect the links.

add great flavor to pastries

Georgia native Kristen Hall, owner of Bandit Patisserie in Birmingham, had never heard of Konek until she moved to Alabama. “I was at a summer backyard party and someone put some on the grill. I remember [eating] Ask some and what I had now,” she says.

One of Conecuh’s Hall’s favorite uses is her flavorful English cream scones. To make them, Hall bakes the sausages in the oven, cools them down, then chops them up in a food processor before adding them to the scone dough along with aged cheddar cheese, cracked black pepper, and herbs. “Conecuh has a very robust flavor and goes well with savory pastries,” she says.

Kristen Hall

” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/9qrD2D9OxK5CK2FTOtdw7Q–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk2MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/southern_living_806/f768c80a6b975ca698bb2a559292ace92ace57″

Affinity with barbecue is outstanding

In 2009, Jonathan “Rusty” Tucker of Rusty’s Bar-BQ in Leeds, Alabama came across Conecuh while looking for a great local sausage to accompany his barbecue menu.

“We are passionate about our community, and it was important to me to celebrate Alabama cuisine,” he says. “Conecuh has a real depth of flavor that you just can’t get with mass-produced brands… [it] It tastes like Alabama. ”

At Rusty’s, customers eat it as a side on barbecue plates with dishes like collard greens and turkey and sausage gumbo. Tucker says he also loves it in place of red bean and rice or jambalaya andouille sausage cut into rounds, or crunched and diced into biscuits and omelettes.

Rusty’s BBQ

” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/dMOmLZuLSfILbuJGQoVEAQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTk0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/southern_living_806/5cbd7d64175d76c9869db686d6″/>be686d67

Flavorful Gumbo’s Secret Weapon

When Sedesh Boodram moved to Alabama from New York City and couldn’t find the andouille sausage he was looking for at the grocery store, he substituted Conecuh.

“I fell in love,” recalls the chef of The Anvil Pub & Grill in Birmingham. He now loves using Conecuh as one of his secret ingredients in gumbo, BBQ he shrimp, hash he also uses in puppies, crawfish boil and duck cassoulet. The oil squeezed from the sausage is also used as a finishing oil for the baked sweet potato soup.

“The difference is in flavor,” says Conecuh’s Booodram. “It’s the perfect balance of heat and spice that melts into the dish without being overpowering.” Boodram recommends grilling it.

Grilled Courtesy of The Anvil Pub &

” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/BUZmaolP3BIpY7g0TVXZqQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTk2MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/southern_living_806/b4a1a191ba61c323d4a2d712dd”/>7712″ad

Courtesy of Anvil Pub & Grill

A breakfast staple worth getting up early for

From breakfast corn dogs to sausage gravy to British “toads” (a popover-like dish), according to Steven Gough, executive chef at Asheville’s Tastee Diner, Conecuh should be added to any morning dish. Nothing gets better. NC His Alabama Hangout His Music After being introduced to sausage at his festival, he now uses sausage in every conceivable way.

“I love Conecuh because it holds the snap better than any other breakfast sausage I’ve used,” he says, because it’s perfectly cooked and very difficult to overcook. , added that it is an ingredient that home cooks can easily play with. For a basic but tasty breakfast, try Gough’s favorites.

offered by Tastee Diner

” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/zL3Y6IBSsWuDvQleiWfK0Q–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/southern_living_806/1a511565e7a4ee44fcd1ae21e4/>”098e21e4/>

Great addition to cheese board

Perdido Beach Resort’s Olive says he was first introduced to the “Conecuh legacy” by fellow chefs after moving to Birmingham from Charleston, South Carolina. Since then, he’s found this sausage to be a crowd pleaser, and has used it in a variety of ways throughout the hotel, from action stations at Shrimp and Grits to Kolash at his Coffee Shop. Conecuh is so good in its own right that one of the best ways he serves it is simply cooked, sliced and served with yellow mustard on a cheese board. The balance stands up to many culinary creations, says Olive, adding that Thanksgiving corn cue fillings are fun variations on holiday classics.

Kaitlyn Bensel.Food Styling: Torie Cox

” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/DIBSLmdZ1rPyWhDoJ9TGnA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/southern_living_806/1a2b184848aa3281a44dfeaf2257″/>7eaf2107

Kaitlyn Bensel.Food Styling: Tori Cox

It’s a good alternative to hot dogs

Once you’ve tried Executive Chef James Balster’s Pepper and Onion-laden Konekoo Dog at The Lodge at Gulf State Park’s Pool Grill in Gulf Shores, you’ll never go back to a regular hot dog. Oscar his Meyer doesn’t compare to the rich, smoky, slightly spicy yet well-balanced flavor of Konekoo. Can’t make it to The Lodge? It’s easy to recreate at home, Balster says.

For more Southern Living news, sign up for our newsletter.

Read the original article on Southern Living.

SHARE

Facebook

Twitter