There's an unwritten law that you've gotta have sausage at a tailgate party. Brats, hot Italian, Polish kielbasa, hot dogs... basically any meat in a casing you can cook over an open flame.

You can add some class to your next tailgate, and bring in some fall flavors, by firing up some game sausages at the game. MarxFoods.com has a seven-pound sampler box that comes with four links each of nine different varieties. Switch from your usual brat by grabbing a Wild Boar Beer Bratwurst. Or try a Buffalo sausage with chipotle chilies, which beats the hell out of a hot dog.

Rounding out the sampler are: Venison sausage with merlot and blueberries, lamb merguez, duck sausage with foie gras & sauterne wine, duck sausage with orange liquor, rabbit sausage with white wine, wild boar sausage with cranberries and shiraz, and smoked duck sausage with apple brandy. Almost makes you feel underdressed in your stained jersey.

And in case you've got a girl coming over, and you want to do more than just grill some links, here are two recipes that look and sound a lot more complex than they are. Just check to see if she's ok biting into some wild boar.

Pasta with Wild Boar Sausage, Garlic & Broccoli Rabe
Serves 4
1 lb. (4 links) Wild Boar Sausage from MarxFoods.com
1 lb. fresh dried wide pasta such as tagliatelli or fettucine
1 bunch broccoli rabe (aka: rapini)
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
Grapseed Oil (or other high heat oil)
Truffle Oil (optional)
Flor de sal (optional)
Salt & Pepper

Cook pasta according to the instructions on the package. Set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, in a medium sauté pan, add a few tablespoons of oil on high heat. Once hot, add sliced onions. Stir occasionally, allowing the onions to brown, but not burn. Once browned, add garlic and brown lightly. Wash broccoli rabe, chop in large bite-size pieces, and add wet to the pan with a pinch of salt and fresh-cracked black pepper (the water will help to steam the broccoli rabe). Cover and cook for about four minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the vegetables are cooking, grill or pan sauté the wild boar sausage over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side. When finished, slice wild boar sausage diagonally in 1/2 inch pieces.

Toss wild boar sausage with vegetables. Then, toss vegetables and wild boar sausage with pasta. Plate. Sprinkle flor de sal and drizzle lightly with truffle oil (optional).


Syrah-Poached Dried Fig and Sausage Skewer
Makes 32 Dried Fig and Sausage Skewer Appetizers
1 1/2 cup syrah, or other red wine
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
16 dried black mission figs, halved (I leave them whole)
1 pound (4 links) wild boar sausage
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup picked watercress leaves
1/2 cup crushed hazelnuts (I use walnuts)
small bamboo skewers

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, bring the wine, sugar, and pepper to a simmer. Add the figs, and simmer for 15 minutes. The figs will absorb some of the wine, but not become too soft. Remove the figs from the wine mixture and let cool completely on a plate.

In a pan, cook the sausage in vegetable oil until done (or grill on the BBQ for 10 minutes), let cool to room temperature and cut each sausage into 8 pieces.

Push a skewer into a fig half, then through a watercress leaf, and then into a sausage piece. When all the sausage and figs are skewered, sprinkle the crushed nuts on a serving platter, and serve the skewers on top.

www.marxfoods.com