by Olee Fowler
Indoor grilling was the theme at the second installment of the American Icon series at Macy’s hosted by Chat Chow TV. During the “Grillin’ & Chillin’” cooking demonstration guests got to learn how to create a stellar indoor cookout from Miami’s premiere artisan sausage maker, Freddy Kaufman of Proper Sausages.
Kaufman and his wife Danielle first got into the sausage making business two years ago when they realized there were no sausages being made in South Florida “properly,” meaning using only high quality product that maintained the integrity of the meat. They started off as a stand at local farmers markets but opened a brick and mortar store in late March 2013 where they serve not only an array of homemade sausages but steaks, burgers, and other locally sourced goods.
For the cooking demo Kaufman brought from his shop their pork “The Stout” sausage infused with Cigar City Beer, Waygu burgers and skirt steak, and showed the crowd how to easily make them from the comfort of their own kitchen. For the sausage he simply broiled them for 6 to 8 minutes per side until the sausage began changing in color to a more opaque tone and recommended this method over using a grilling pan since that would easily burn the sausage.
The burgers were made with ground brisket, using a special blend that Kaufman makes in house with 10 percent smoked meat to help give it that outdoors smokey flavor profile. Kaufman made sure to slightly flatten his burger patties before putting them on the grill pan and also advised the crowd not to cook them equally on each side, which will cause them to over cook.
Using the same grill pan, Kaufman also cooked up the skirt steak over a very high heat, which allowed for a quick cook and sear. He salted the meat two minutes before cooking it to bring out some of the meat’s moisture allowing it to brown nicely. However, he recommended on waiting until after the meat was cooked to add the pepper since it can burn easily.
A cookout wouldn’t be complete without some refreshing sides and Kaufman’s grilled radicchio with roasted corn “esquites” salad did just the trick. Kaufman put the sweet corn in the oven while he was also cooking the sausage allowing it to get a nice char. Once cooked, he removed the kernels from the cob and tossed them with lime juice, queso blanco and Mexican chili powder. Next, he quartered the radicchio, tossed them in balsamic vinegar and pepper, and put them on the grill pan until a char appeared on all the sides. He made sure to keep the core on the radicchio until serving, making it much easier to grill.
To wash down the meat-filled meal, guests got to sip on a cool Onli Beverage, a new line of flavored sparkling water that comes in unique flavors such as Green Tea Lemongrass Mango.
Make sure to save the date for the next American Icon series hosted by Chat Chow TV on Thursday, July 18! The events are free and open to the public when you RSVP on Macy’s Events page. See you then!
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