Forget every unappetizing thing you’ve ever heard about sausage, especially the bits about, well, unappetizing bits.
Members of the Polidori family have been blending ground pork with just the right balance of salt and spices for more than 80 years.
They still take pride in the fact that their product is free of monosodium glutamate, preservatives, filler, gluten, soy, nitrates and artificial coloring: just choice cuts of nicely trimmed pork shoulder and carefully measured seasonings.
Ensconced in an unpretentious building that includes what was once the carriage house behind the old Coors Mansion in north Denver, Steve Polidori and his sister, Melodie Polidori Harris, are continuing a tradition launched in 1925, when their great-grandfather, Rocco, and his wife, Anna, opened Polidori’s Grocery and Meat Market. And it was there that Anna first prepared the sausage recipe she brought with her from Abruzzi, her hometown in Italy.
Anna came through Ellis Island and ended up in Utah, where she met and married Rocco, who was then a miner. After he fell victim to black lung disease they moved to Colorado for fresh air. Rocco’s brother owned a grocery store. In time Rocco and Anna bought the store. She became the butcher. From time to time she would make sausage for her husband and herself.
And what began as a taste of home became a thriving business.
“Customers would come in, smell the sausage cooking and ask for samples,” Harris says. “Before long, they were asking to buy it for their homes or their restaurants.”
When they could no longer run the store, their sons, Louis and Augie, took over and ran it for almost 40 years. In 1982 Anna died, and in 1988 black lung disease claimed Rocco’s life.
Until an auto accident in April, Louis Polidori, now 90, visited the plant regularly when not engaged in working with the Colorado History Museum or concentrating on his tai chi classes.
The brother-sister team (the son and daughter of Gary, an attorney, and Ruth Ann Polidori, a retired district court judge) represents the fourth generation to sustain the family business, carrying on in the highly seasoned spirit of their great-grandparents.
Today the Polidori twosome is also the collective brain behind Polidori Meat Processors, the family business that has grown its product line to include chorizo, breakfast sausage, bratwurst and meatballs, in addition to hot and mild Italian sausage.
Housed in buildings cobbled together over the years – a workroom here, an office there, a reception area here – a staff of 13 collaborate to make, pack, market and distribute the modest Polidori line.
Actually the word “modest” is misleading. Polidori sausages are now found in King Soopers stores, Spinelli’s Market and throughout the metro area, including Via in Lower Downtown; Cucina Colore in Cherry Creek; Carmine’s On Penn in the Washington Park neighborhood; Cafe Terracotta in Littleton and all Original Pancake House locations – not to mention Proto’s Pizza in the Platte River Valley and Spinelli’s Market in Park Hill.
Harris is currently negotiating with Safeway supermarkets to carry the sausages.
Jerry Spinelli says he’s used Polidori sausage the past 15 years, and sells roughly 150 pounds of it weekly.
“I grew up on Polidori sausage,” he says. “And I was a friend of their grandfather, Louis, when he had the grocery store. When I had my restaurant, I bought all of my meats and my sausage from him.”
Spinelli doesn’t just buy for local customers. “I have people I send it to in Las Vegas,” he says. “I freeze it in one-pound packages and fly it out to them. There are even a couple of people in Aspen who want it. Everybody loves the sausage they grew up on, especially Italians.”
However you don’t have to be Italian to appreciate Polidori sausage. Alex Kaulbach, one of Terracotta’s owners, appreciates the Polidori product as much as their conscientiousness.
“We chose Polidori for a number of reasons, but primarily because they are local and family-owned,” Kaulbach says. “From a restaurant standpoint, we like them because the quality of their product is impeccable.
“This is a very people-oriented business and we depend on the reliability of our purveyors to help us best serve customers. Polidori has definitely showed consistence in quality and customer service.”
To drive home his point, Kaulbach cites a recent incident.
“I know for a fact that a while back Zing (a local specialty food distributor) was looking for someone to make a 400-pound special order of sodium-free sausage for Project Angel Heart,” he says. “A larger company, a competitor to Polidori, had declined. (Project Angel Heart is a Denver-based organization that provides meals to people living with HIV/AIDS and cancer.)
“Polidori not only took the order and filled it in less than 48 hours, Mel also discounted it because it was for Project Angel Heart. I love that kind of customer service and attention to the community.”
Just as you don’t have to be Italian to appreciate spicy sausage, you don’t have to be German to appreciate a fat, beer-boiled brat, or Latino to crave a breakfast burrito of chorizo and scrambled egg.
“So many people say they don’t like chorizo because of gristle and unappealing body parts, but we use pure meats,” says Steve Polidori, who manages the nuts and bolts end of the family operation.
He bought the business from his grandfather and is credited with updating a number of business practices that has led to a 20 percent increase in sales. He also oversees recipe development and proprietary protection for restaurants.
“There aren’t many people around anymore who eat the body parts our grandparents ate, so we make a chorizo that is pure pork shoulder. People these days just want what they’re used to. I mean, when was the last time you had pickled pig’s feet? My grandparents ate them; Me? Not so much.”
As he discusses the family business, sausage maker Tim Ryan is feeding sausage into casings, pinching off six-inch sausage links, using only the index, middle and forefingers of his left hand.
“We can make them any length, actually,” Ryan says without missing a beat. “You want a 12-inch sausage we can make that. You want a 1-inch one, we can make that, too.”
When the batch is finished, it will be sent offsite to be cooked. As the afternoon winds down, Steve and Melodie Polidori relax in their unpretentious offices. Melodie misses her grandfather’s presence and says he’ll be proud to hear the company won “Best Italian Sausage” for the second year from Andiamo, the Denver-area Italian newspaper.
Louis Polidori still has a desk in an office whose walls are hung with family photographs. A 1925 Atwater Kent radio sits on a shelf behind the desk, and a floor model 1937 Majestic, once known as “the mighty monarch of the air,” stands just beyond it.
The red 100-year-old coffee grinder great-grandmother Anna used for grinding spices is there too.
“We keep saying we’re going to modernize and get new furniture, but it’s like her spirit, hers and Rocco’s, are still here as long as we keep their things,” Melodie says as she rubs her hand gently over the radio’s 4-foot-tall cabinet.
“We even thought about moving at one point, but now that the neighborhood is coming back, we might just stay. I can’t help but think they’d like that.”
Staff writer Ellen Sweets can be reached at 303-954-1284 or esweets@denverpost.com.
Where to find Polidori sausages
- Cafe Terracotta, 5649 S. Curtice St., Littleton, 303-794-6054
- Carmine’s on Penn, 92 S. Pennsylvania St., 303-777-6443 (Washington Park neighborhood)
- Cucina Colore, 3041 E. 3rd Ave., 303-393-6917 (Cherry Creek North)
- King Soopers stores
- Original Pancake House locations
- Proto’s Pizza, 2401 15th St. (entrance on Platte Street), 720-855-9400, Boulder, Longmont,
- Lafayette and Boise
- Spinelli’s Market, 4621 E. 23rd Ave., 303-329-8143 (Park Hill)
- Via, 1801 Wynkoop St., 303-295-1488 (Lower downtown)
-Ellen Sweets
Black Bean and Polidori Chorizo Soup
Adapted from a recipe on polidorimeats.com. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces chorizo sausage
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- Chopped hard-cooked egg for garnish (optional)
- Chopped cilantro (optional)
Directions
Cook chorizo, onion, garlic, cumin and oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add broth and beans and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes.
To thicken, remove 2 cups of beans and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Purée in a processor or blender and stir back into the soup.
Garnish with a teaspoon of hard-cooked egg and sprinkle with cilantro.
Penne with Sausage and Tomatoes
Adapted from a recipe on polidorimeats.com. A simple green salad rounds out this dish. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage (or links, casing removed)
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added purée
- 8 ounces penne pasta
- Freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Directions
Heat oil in large saucepan. Add onion, cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Add Polidori sausage and cook until no longer pink, breaking up with fork, about 6 minutes. Mix in crushed tomatoes. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes.
Cook penne in large pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain well. Return penne to pot. Add half sauce and stir to coat. Transfer to large bowl and serve with cheese.
Toulouse Sausage
Adapted from “Bruce Aidell’s Complete Book of Pork.” Of all the French sausages, this is the most basic, just fresh pork seasoned with salt, pepper, and a bit of curing salt. The sausages are then allowed to age a couple of days to let their flavors mature and develop.
This approach is fine if you have access to some of the wonderful pork sold in France (look for Niman Ranch or Long Family Farms pork in specialty stores and farmers markets). To achieve a more aged flavor, Aidell adds a bit of pancetta and white wine, fresh thyme, and a special blend called fine epices. Grind pork through a coarse plate, about 3/8 inch, but switch to the 1/8-inch plate for fat and pancetta. Makes about 3 1/2 pounds.
Note: Savory Spice shops sell Homestead Blend for pork that consists of kosher salt, sugar, garlic, Hungarian sweet paprika, black pepper, ground coriander, mild yellow mustard powder, sweet Spanish smoked paprika, shallots, parsley, onion and honey powder that can be used instead of fines epices.
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 Boston butt, cut into 3/4-inch-wide strips
- 7 ounces pork fat back, cut into 3/4-wide strips
- 3 ounces pancetta, cut into 3/4-inch-wide strips
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Insta Cure No. 1 (optional, also known as Prague Powder No. 1 or Modern Cure, sold at butcher stores and online)
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon fines epices (below right)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- Medium pork casings (about 16 feet)
Directions
Using a meat grinder fitted with a 3/8-inch plate, grind the pork shoulder into a large bowl and refrigerate. Change the plate to a 1/8-inch and grind fat and pancetta. Combine with the ground pork. Add salt, Insta Cure if using, fine epices, white wine, thyme and mix everything well with your hands, squeezing, kneading and folding to blend well. Do not overmix to the point that fat begins to melt. Make a small patty with the mixture and cook it in a small pan. Refrigerate the rest. Taste the patty and adjust seasonings as necessary.
Soak the casings, which come packed in salt, in warm water in a large bowl for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Put one end of a casing over the end of a faucet and wash the inside with warm water. Change the water in the bowl and soak the casing again.
Introduce the chilled sausage meat to casings using either a pastry bag or the attachment on a stand mixer. If using a pastry bag, pull the entire length of the soaked casing over the end of the tip, gathering it up and leaving a little bit dangling.
Tie a knot in the dangling end of the casing and fill the pastry bag with chilled sausage meat. Squeeze bag with one hand to push the meat into the casing while you use your other hand to hold the casing on the metal tip. Fill the casing, but don’t pack it.
To form links, begin at the knotted end and pinch the casing between your fingers about 6 inches from the end. Twist the second 6-inch section and pinch again. Twist the second to make to make the first two links (twisting the link will twist both ends and seal both links. Proceed down the casing, twisting every other pinch to make links. When you reach the end, tie another knot. Let sausages mellow, uncovered and refrigerated, for 1-2 days before using.
Fines Epices
Ingredients
- 6 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon dry sage
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
Directions
Crumble bay leaves and toast them in a small skillet over medium heat until they become brittle and begin to smoke, about 2 minutes. Grind leaves to a powder in a spice grinder. Place toasted bay leaves in a lidded glass jar and add coriander, sage, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Seal jar and shake well to blend. Store in a dark place for up to 2-3 months.
Smoked Chorizo Pizza with Grilled Onions and Arugula
Pizza recipe from “Mastering the Grill,” by Andrew Schloss and David Joachim. Altitude-tested dough recipe from Kimberly Lord Stewart, a Longmont-based writer. Makes 4 small pizzas to serve 8 and as an appetizer or 4 as a main dish.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water (no higher than 100 degrees)
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
- 1 cup lukewarm water (no hotter than 100 degrees)
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Pizza:
- 1 1/3 cups tomato sauce
- 12 ounces Bel Paese or fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup grilled onion slices
- 4 ounces cured Spanish chorizo or Portuguese linguiça, thinly sliced
- 2 ounces baby arugula (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
In large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Stir until blended. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and sugar. In about 10 minutes, stir 1 cup flour mixture into yeast. Add olive oil, 1 cup water and 1 cup more flour. Stir until well-mixed. Add the rest of the flour in stages. Knead by hand until the dough is smooth and soft. The amount of flour and water you will need varies depending on the season, humidity level and altitude. Spread a bit of flour on a board. Drop the dough on the board and knead for about 10 minutes. Fold edges of the dough under to form a ball. Coat a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2-3 hours.
Heat grill to medium-high.
Cut four 12-inch squares of aluminum foil. Coat 1 piece with cooking spray oil. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Put 1 piece of dough on prepared foil, and cover other pieces. Press and stretch dough on foil into an 8- to 10-inch circle, 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick. No need to make a rim of crust. Spray top of dough with oil. Repeat with remaining dough and foil, oiling each dough-round well and stacking them up.
Brush grill grate and coat with oil. Invert each circle of dough onto grate over medium-high heat, carefully remvoing the foil. Do this in batches if the dough won’t all fit. Put down lid and cook each crust until bubbly on top and nicely marked on the bottom, 1-2 minutes.
For the toppings, invert crusts unto a cutting board so that the grilled side is up. Spread about 1/4 to 1/3 cup tomato sauce on top side of crust. Scatter cheese over, followed by onions, chorizo and arugula. Drizzle with olive oil.
Slide pizzas back onto grill over medium-low heat, put down lid and grill until cheese is melted and bottom is browned, about 5 minutes, watching carefully so pizza doesn’t burn.
Warm Sausage and Lentil Salad
From “Pork & Sons” by Stéphane Reynaud, serves 6.
Ingredients
Marinade:
- Scant 1/2 cup walnut oil
- 6 fresh chives, finely chopped
- 2 fresh tarragon sprigs, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped hazelnuts
Salad:
- 2 1/4 cups green lentils, preferably French Puy lentils
- 1 bouquet garni (a few sprigs fresh parsley, thyme and a bay leaf tied together with string or wrapped in cheesecloth)
- 2 uncooked link sausages, such as sweet Italian
- 1/3 cup smoked slab bacon, cut into thin strips (lardons)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Dash balsamic vinegar
- Scant 1/2 cup walnut oil
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 3 fresh tarragon sprigs
Directions
Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Place lentils, bouquet garni and sausage in a pan and cover with water. Simmer over low heat 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Spread bacon on a cookie sheet and broil, turning once, until golden. Make a vinaigrette by mixing mustard, balsamic vinegar, walnut oil and broiled bacon.
Remove sausage from pan and slice; keep warm. Discard bouquet garni. Drain and rinse lentils, place in a bowl and add vinaigrette, shallot and tarragon.
Place a dome of lentils in center of each serving plate, surround with warm sausage and coat with marinade. Serve immediately.
