In Sunday's Inside Scoop section, the Chronicle Food & Wine staff asked an interesting question: What's the quickest way to become terrified of sausage? We're paraphrasing a bit, but the answer, of course, is to shove four dozen of them in your gullet one right after the next. But the Chronicle's sausagefest wasn't just a psychological experiment — the paper of record's valiant team of tubesteak tasters actually set out to find the Bay Area's best house-made sausage at 24 local markets and butcher shops.
What the Chronicle's carnal connoisseurs found, basically, was that sausages can come in various shapes and sizes. Some highlights from their sausage roundup include: The boudin blanc cajun-style sausage from Taylor's in Oakland, a "peachy" bourbon chicken sausage from Schaub's in Stanford and local grocery Mollie Stone's "fennel powerhouse" mild Italian links. Lamb is also "in" this year, if you're the sort of backyard chef who likes to serve something trendy at your Fourth of July Barbecue.
For more highlights from the rooftop barbecue the Chronicle staff neglected to invite us to, plus handy advice on whether it's better to pan-fry or poach, follow this link (get it? You get it.)
