Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage

Making homemade sausage is easier than you think!  Mix your own sausage and it can be free of preservatives that are found in processed foods.  To cut the fat, these sweet and savory sausages can be made with ground chicken or turkey.
You can easily make these into patties - but if you get a bit more ambitious, you can have the traditional shaped sausage without using any casings.

Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage
1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 Gala or Honeycrisp apple, grated 1/2 cup grated sweet onion 1 clove garlic, minced 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped 1 tsp. poultry seasoning 1/2 tsp. thyme leaves 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds, ground Dash of paprkia 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper 1 lb. ground chicken
Directions:
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat.  Add apple and onion.  Cook about 2 minutes or until apple and onion begin to release their juices, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.  Set aside to cool.
If you are grinding your own chicken, cut boneless, skinless pieces into one-inch cubes.  Place in food processor in batches.  Cover and pulse until the ground meat holds together.  Do not over process.
In a medium bowl, place chicken, cooled apple and onion mixture, parsley, poultry seasoning, thyme leaves, ground fennel, paprika and salt and pepper.  Mix well with your hands, just to combine.  Refrigerate one hour for flavors to blend.
To make sausage:
Place one piece of plastic wrap, approximately 12 x 16 on counter top.  Place 1/3 cup of sausage mixture in the center.  Fold over plastic wrap and mold into a cylinder.  Twist ends in the opposite direction and tie ends.  Cut off any excess plastic wrap.

Fill a medium saute pan about 2/3 cup filled water water.  Bring to a low simmer.  Lower sausages into barely simmering water.  Cover and poach until cooked, about 10 minutes.

Remove from simmering water and let cool enough to handle.  At this point you can refrigerate or freeze.

All the juices are trapped inside these little bundles.
Remove water from skillet.  Dry with a paper towel and add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter and heat over medium heat.  Cut end of sausage casing with scissors and squeeze out sausage (along with the juices) into saute pan.  Saute until most of the liquid evaporates and sausage are nicely browned on all sides.

Serve warm with a drizzle of maple syrup and a stack of pancakes or waffles.  This makes a great "breakfast for dinner" meal.
Enjoy!