Confit Sausages with Espelette Pepper

Confit sausages with espelette pepper brings the Basque Country to your table.

The Basque people have long used the confit method of preservation. These pork sausages are made with locally sourced pork, then slowly cooked in pork and duck fat until they’re meltingly tender. The sausages are then tinned with the fat to preserve them.

Before cooking, remove as much fat as you can from the sausages with a spoon or spatula. Save this fat in a sealed container – you can use it to make crispy and flavourful roast potatoes. Heat the sausages in a frying pan until they’re hot all the way through, then serve with garlic & herb new potatoes, or with a bean and tomato stew.

Maison Arostéguy is a Basque institution. The Arostéguy family opened a unique grocery store in Biarritz in 1875, importing goods from all over the world. In the 1930s, their reputation for high-quality products even attracted famous musicians and actors. Photographs and keepsakes are still on display in the store today.

As a family of spice grinders, they also created their own spice blends. Current owner, Pierre Arostéguy, travels the globe looking for inspiration and rare ingredients. He is also passionate about promoting his native Basque food culture. Pierre sums up Maison Arostéguy’s philosophy with the following phrase: ‘For us, no table is good without generosity, creativity & conviviality’.

Ingredients: pork lean and fat, pork and duck fat, salt, pepper, garlic, espelette pepper, natural pork guts.