Breakfast Stew - Head 'Em Straight

Sausage:*

1 pound pork shoulder

¼ pound pork fat

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1-2 teaspoons grapeseed oil

1 cup chopped onion

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes

1 ½ cups Queso Blanco

2 tablespoons loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped or torn

4 large eggs (prepare as sunny-side up, basted, or poached)

Garnish:

Fresh Cilantro leaves

Suggested Sides:

Toasted sourdough bread slab slices.

Procedure:

Sausage:

Cut pork shoulder and fat into chunks.

Grind meat and fat together, with a 3/16″ medium grind disc, into a bowl.

Use a fork to combine meat, cumin, garlic, black pepper, cayenne and ginger in a bowl.

Cover.

Store sausage meat in the ice box overnight.

One half hour before cooking, remove the sausage meat from the icebox.

Form sausage meat into teaspoon-sized balls.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat (Do not use a cast iron skillet as this recipe contains tomatoes and the cast iron will impart a tinny flavor.).

When the frying pan is hot, add the oil.

When the oil shimmers, add the sausage.

Fry sausage pieces until well browned on all sides. Remove sausage to a bowl and reserve.

If necessary, add a small amount of oil to the frying pan.

Add onions to frying pan. sprinkle onions with salt and saute until translucent and soft.

Add the tomatoes to the frying pan.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the liquid thickens (3-5 minutes).

Add sausage and heat through.

While the stew is heating, prepare the eggs in the chosen style.

Plate the stew and sprinkle the Queso blanco evenly over the top of the stew.

Place an egg atop each serving.

Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Serve.

*or substitute one pound of your favorite breakfast sausage. It is suggested that a picant, rather than a sweet, style of sausage is utilized.