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FORAGER | CHEF

Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Prickly Ash Sausage

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Wild prickly ash or Szechuan peppercorn sausage recipeIf you harvest your own prickly ash berries (Xanthoxylum/Szechuan peppercorns) sausage should be on your list of things to make. 

I love the bright, citrusy flavor and gentle numbing quality that prickly ash adds to a dish, but it can be difficult to incorporate them into foods and have them taste coherent if you’re not versed in how the spice is traditionally used in Chinese and Japanese cuisine (I’m not an expert by any means).

Sausage is a nice blank canvas though, and the recipe here is another good example of how you can steer flavors in a direction that will make sense on your palette. 

Wild prickly ash or Szechuan peppercorn wontons (6)

Wild prickly ash berries are easy to spot in the fall, they’re widespread and invasive in Minnesota and Wisconsin. To my knowledge they’re the only plant in the citrus (Rue) family cold-hearty enough to withstand our winters. 

DIY prickly Ash vs Commercial 

Dried wild prickly ash is a little different than the dried Szechuan peppercorns you might buy in a store. My jars of wild prickly ash are usually brown to black in color after drying, since I wait for the husk to dry on the plant which allows the gritty black seed to fall out, doing the work of winnowing and separating the seeds from the husk for me.

Wild Szechuan Peppercorns or Zanthoxylum Berries

My dried prickly ash berries may not be as colorful as the ones from the store, but they still pack a ton of flavor.

The flavor is a bit more muted than commercial Szechuan peppercorns that are often harvested while they’re still red (they’re harvested green as well for other products). Since dried, crunchy black seed husks don’t make for the most exciting mouthfeel, I take a cue from Chinese cuisine and often grind my dried prickly ash into powder in a spice grinder before using it, which releases the aroma, and transforms it into a  rough powder that won’t add any noticeable texture to the finished product. 

Wild prickly ash or Szechuan peppercorn wontons (6)

I usually harvest the berries after the seeds have fallen, you lose a bit of flavor, but there’s no winnowing.

As for the sausage itself, it’s easy—no casing and meat stuffer required, meaning that it’s great for stuffing into wonton wrappers and making dumplings, or just frying up as is and adding to stir fry or a bowl of noodle soup. 

Prickly Ash sausage wontons (13)
The sausage makes fantastic dumplings and wontons.
Prickly Ash sausage wontons (13)
Blanched and fried crispy, yes please.

Prickly ash sausage potstickers

Supporting flavors 

Fish sauce

This forms a component of the salt, but not all of the salt, since it also adds water—just a little bit adds those umami-rich glutamates that helps make people say “This is so good, what’s in it?!” . Red Boat brand fish sauce is the gold standard in restaurants, if you don’t have some, I highly recommend it. Fun intro video from their homepage. 

Hot chili

Szechuan peppercorns are one of the key components of the flavor Mala flavor combination in Szechuan cuisine, which translates to “hot-numb”. Literally hot and numbing at the same time, it’s a fascinating combination that makes your mouth water, sometimes profusely when used with a heavy hand. I’m addicted to it. 

Fresh Grated Ginger 

I love adding grated fresh ginger to sausages, it adds a tiny amount heat, and a more floral quality than powdered. You’ll want a microplane grater to do this. It’s also a great way to incorporate garlic into dish without making the cutting board smell. 

Fresh herbs

Cilantro, culantro, and rau ram are perfect compliments here.

Touch of sugar 

Just a little sweetness helps add a nice undertone and balance the fish sauce. 

Spices

Just a little bit of spices help add interest. Wild spice bush berries and ground cloves both made excellent versions. 

Prickly Ash sausage wontons

Use the sausage to make some wontons and thank me later.

Wild prickly ash or Szechuan peppercorn sausage recipe
Print Recipe
5 from 5 votes

Prickly Ash Sausage

A rich sausage flavored with ground prickly ash berries, spices and herbs. Makes a pound, which is a good test batch to make sure you like it. You can scale this up as needed, but adjust the salt down, aiming for about 1 % of the total weight of the meat when making larger batches (a great reason to have a kitchen scale).
Prep Time5 mins
Course: Charcuterie, Snack
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Keyword: Prickly Ash, Sausage, Szechuan peppercorn
Servings: 5

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground goat lamb or pork
  • 2 teaspoons ground dried prickly ash berries or Szechuan peppercorns Use half this amount if using commercial Szechuan peppercorns or if your peppercorns are very aromatic or red in color.
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce preferably Red Boat brand
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste, depending on your heat tolerance
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground cloves or 1/2 teaspoon ground spicebush berries
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger finely grated
  • 1 small clove garlic finely grated (about ½ teaspoon)
  • 1 teaspoon maple sugar or other sugar
  • Small handful of chopped fresh cilantro, culantro, or rau ram

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl, combine the meat mix with the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly, then allow to rest overnight, which will allow the salt time to bond and activate the myosin in the meat which helps keep it moist.
  • The sausage will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Wild prickly ash sausage wontons
Print Recipe
5 from 5 votes

Prickly Ash Sausage Postickers

Crispy fried dumplings filled with prickly ash sausage. Great dipped in a little soy or ponzu sauce.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Keyword: Prickly Ash, Wontons
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Prickly Ash Sausage See recipe
  • 1 package pre-made wonton wrappers Look in the vegetable section of the grocery store near the tofu.
  • Water, for brushing the wrappers
  • Soy sauce, or another condiment like ponzu, for serving

Instructions

  • Lay out the wonton wrappers, brush lightly with water, then put a generous teaspoon of sausage in the middle of each one.
  • Close the wontons to make triangular packets, seal, and repeat until all the sausage is used.
  • Unused wonton wrappers will keep in the fridge for weeks.
  • To cook the wontons, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add the dumplings and cook for 30 seconds or so, just until they float, then immediately remove with a strainer or slotted spoon to drain.
  • From here, ideally you'll cook the dumplings straight-away, but you can toss them with oil and keep them in the fridge for a day or two, separated with parchment or on a cookie sheet, not touching to prevent them sticking.
  • To finish and serve, brown the blanched dumplings in a pan with some flavorless cooking oil until browned (one side only is fine) then serve. They can also be deep or shallow fried.

Related

Previous Post: « Pine Pollen and Honey Shortbread Cookies
Next Post: Hackberry Bonet »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carla Beaudet

    March 16, 2021 at 11:59 am

    5 stars
    I made these last night; unfortunately I had no foraged prickly ash berries, but 1 tsp. of Szechuan peppercorns was fine. I was tempted to use 2 tsps. with my 1 lb. of ground pork, but glad I exercised restraint and followed your guidelines. The result, just as you wrote it, is a really well-balanced symphony of flavor. I made the wontons, and there is just one thing I would change about that recipe. For folks like me who don’t make potstickers all that often and forget how badly these things like to stick together, in step 5 of the instructions, where you say “toss the dumplings with oil and keep them in the fridge”, could you change that to “toss the dumplings with oil and keep them in the fridge in single layers separated by parchment or wax paper”? For some reason, I hoped against hope that the oil would be enough, and let them pile up in the storage container. So sad after all that work to watch the wrappers tear as you separate them.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      March 16, 2021 at 12:04 pm

      Oh Carla I’m so sorry. Yes, when I say keep them in the fridge, separated is what I meant, but didn’t type. I changed that. Thanks for letting me know. The devils in the details.

      Reply
  2. Kathryn Teresa

    March 16, 2021 at 4:54 pm

    5 stars
    I grew up in Minnesota and remember sitting out in the fall sunshine sucking on prickly ash berries. I have never forgotten the numbness on my lips and the biting flavor. I had no idea that Szechuan pepper was a Xanthoxylum sp. What a flood of memories this brings.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      March 16, 2021 at 5:18 pm

      Yes, It’s fascinating. We have X. americanum, the most widely used(sold) Asiatic species I know of is X. bungeanum.

      Reply
  3. Jake Daws

    August 12, 2021 at 1:08 pm

    5 stars
    Would beef work in this recipe?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      August 13, 2021 at 10:17 am

      Hi Jake, yes, but I would consider cooking it medium-medium rare as most ground beef is quite lean.

      Reply

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Alan Bergo
Milkweed buds are the second-best edible part of t Milkweed buds are the second-best edible part of the plant, besides the pods in my opinion. They need to be cooked to be edible. 

I only pick from common milkweed in areas where there’s very large colonies. 

I leave some buds to flower on each plant, I also avoid any tops that have insects or monarch caterpillars. Plenty of food to go around. 

#milkweedisafoodplant #foraging #milkweedbuds #asclepiassyriaca
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
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