This story is from David Mann, submitted as part of our Wisdom From Our Elders collection of self-sufficient tales from yesteryear.
My grandfather came to Minnesota from Sweden around 1900 and eventually owned a farm near Milaca. Before World War II, my time on the farm was a magical memory of vegetable gardens, farm animals, walleye pike, and Swedish potatiskorv, or potato sausage. The sausage was mixed in a 6-gallon crock, stuffed by hand, and cooked on a woodstove.
10 pounds potatoes
2½ pounds lean beef
2½ pounds lean pork
4 pounds onions
7½ tbsp salt
3½ tsp pepper
Medium- or coarse-grind potatoes and onions; mix well with ground meat and seasoning. Stuff gently in 12-inch segments of salted pork casings (well rinsed and softened in warm water). Cover with mildly salted water and bring to a gentle boil for one hour, pricking skins at 2-inch intervals to vent pressure and prevent bursting. Makes about 20 lbs.
If you do not wish to use the exact recipe above, follow these ratios.
2/3 potatoes
1/3 meat (1/2 beef, 1/2 unseasoned pork)
2 pounds onions per 5 pounds of potatoes
Seasoning:
1½ tbsp salt per pound of meat
3/4 scant tsp pepper per pound of meat
Photo Credit: Fotolia/Springfield Gallery
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