Ask Southern meals lovers to call an Alabama-made smoked sausage, and most will point out the Conecuh brand.
It’s offered in most main groceries in Alabama and is commonly name-checked by cooks and residential cooks alike on menus and in printed recipes. Conecuh Sausage even has a Fb fan membership.
However just a few different meat homes within the southern a part of the state produce sausages that greater than maintain their very own with their better-known counterpart.
These hyperlinks come from an 80-mile stretch that we’ll name the Decrease Alabama Smoked Sausage Path. Begin within the city of Beatrice at Monroe Sausage, reduce south to U.S. 84 and head east towards Conecuh in Evergreen, Snowden’s in Andalusia, and eventually Kelley’s simply off the freeway in Elba.
The opposite manufacturers usually are not as extensively accessible as Conecuh however could be present in native markets specializing in state-made merchandise. To analysis this story, I purchased packages of all 4 at my native Piggly Wiggly.
For a listing of shops the place you should buy them—in addition to recipe concepts—try the producers’ web sites.
Grilling is, hands-down, the most well-liked method to put together these sausages, making them good for tailgates and cookouts. However in addition they can star in gumbos, rice dishes, and pots of beans. Smaller-sized rope sausages make nice smoky substitutes for warm canines and pigs in a blanket.
Be a part of me as we journey the Decrease Alabama Smoked Sausage Path, swapping their tales and sampling their major merchandise.
Monroe Sausage
Initially generally known as Monroe Meat and Storage, the corporate was bought in 1952 by Jimmy McMillan and Invoice Causey. They began tinkering with a hickory smoked sausage recipe, perfecting it for business sale in 1959. As the salesperson, McMillan was so related to the product that clients simply referred to as it “Jimmy’s sausage.”
An worker, Jeff Kircharr, purchased the corporate when McMillan and Causey retired within the Nineteen Eighties. However the plant was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, forcing the corporate to close down. David Steele and traders revived the model in 2007 in a brand new facility in Beatrice.
Unique hyperlink sausage: Floor coarse sufficient to indicate totally different cuts of meat, the dense sausage is flavor-packed with noticeable smoke and a spice combination dominated by garlic. The black pepper taste builds with every chunk. The hog casing is a bit chewy.
Different sausages: Unique Rope, Scott Scorching
Location: Alabama Freeway 21, Beatrice
Conecuh Sausage
Owned and operated by generations of the Periods household, Conecuh began in 1947 as a meat locker, offering storage for native hunters and farmers. The household quickly began making hickory-smoked sausage and different cured meats like bacon and hams. Its large retail retailer and present store off Interstate 65 (Exit 96) sells all of Conecuh’s meats, plus branded swag and even seasoning for seafood boils. Conecuh merchandise are distributed all through the southeast and Texas, and in components of Michigan, Ohio, and New York.
Unique smoked hyperlink sausage: Deep-smoked, the flavour is barely candy with an undercurrent of black pepper. The grind could be very meaty, and the sheep casing is pleasantly chewy.
Different sausages: Unique Hickory Smoked, Spicy and Scorching, Cajun, Cracked Black Pepper, All Pure (no MSG)
Location: Industrial Park Highway, Evergreen
Snowden’s Sausage
The Snowden household has made this distinctive smoked sausage within the Andalusia space for the reason that Nineteen Thirties. Randy Snowden, the present president and co-owner since 2008, nonetheless follows his grandparents’ authentic recipe. No water is added, simply pork and spices. It’s additionally distributed in components of Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida.
Malena Model gentle hyperlink sausage: Loosely packed and coarsely floor, it has a softer texture than the opposite sausages made alongside the path. Snowden’s is uniquely spiced and has a definite funkiness paying homage to air-dried cured meat.
Different sausages: Granny Malena’s Child Hyperlink, Malena Model Scorching, Snowden’s Cajun, Snowden’s Smoked Rooster
Location: U.S. 84, Andalusia
Kelley Foods Sausage
Based in 1957, Kelley Meals was family-operated for practically six many years till its buy in 2016 by a Texas firm. Its merchandise, nonetheless made in Elba, are also distributed in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Child Hyperlink sausage: “Hardwood smoked,” the label says, mysteriously assuring “No poultry added.” It’s, certainly, the smokiest hyperlink on this sausage path. The grind is meaty, with simply the suitable ratio of pork fats to meat. Along with water, the sausage is moistened and flavored with pork inventory. The skinny sheep casing has a pleasant chew.
Different sausages: Smoked hyperlink, Jalapeño Pepper, Rope, Child Rope, Scorching
Location: Decrease Curtis Highway, Elba
(Courtesy of SoulGrown)
