Field Trip: Sausage & Beer Dinner at Stone Barns

We probably eat sausage more often than any other meat product... and why not? You can make sausage out of any kind or cut of meat- as long as you have a good meat-to-fat ratio (70/30)- by adding just a couple of spices (or whatever else suits your fancy) and like magic you have a rich piece of meat that's easy to cook. Plus sausage tastes great with anything;  tomato sauce, polenta, beans, on a bun, with onions and peppers, or in a soup. Sausage is the unsung hero of the dinner table.

The beverage equivalent to sausage would have to be beer. It is ubiquitous and associated with quotidian eating. And like sausage it is made from just a few simple ingredients- hops, barley, water- and becomes incredibly complex and exciting. And just like sausage, beer pairs with and can elevate almost anything.

So it was with great pleasure and excitement that we attended, with our friends Kristen and Mark, the 7th Annual Blue Hill at Stone Barns Sausage and Beer Dinner. It was an amazing night of locally crafted beers - some of which were made exclusively for the dinner - and amazing plays on classic sausage dishes, like cassoulet and merguez. Just as exciting as tasting the food was hearing from the dinner's honored guests. Representing the pig portion were some of our good pals: Mike and Jen of Flying Pigs, and Blue Hill Farm's (and B&B favorite) farmer Sean Stanton, along with Stone Barn’s animal husbandry genius Craig Haney. On the beer end were some of our favorite local brewers: The Defiant Brewing Co., Kelso of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Brewery, Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project, and Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. 

By the end of the 5-hour marathon of eating, drinking, and talking eats and drinks, we could barely move! But it was SO worth it. It was a wonderful event and we have to thank all the purveyors, chefs, and especially Kristen and Mark!