These local takes on sausage put some sizzle in one of our favorite breakfast meats.
Bourbon Street Barrel Room's andouille sausage, $3
This Creole classic feels right at home in a New Orleans-inspired kitchen. Executive chef Johnny Schulze uses sausages from the West Side Market's J and J Czuchraj Meats. The pork and beef blend is wood-smoked at their 110-year-old smokehouse a mile from the market for authentic andouille flavor. "You always hear sweet goes good with heat, so we top it off with cayenne pepper," says J and J co-owner Jerry Chucray. "The natural wood flavoring gets pulled out in the process." Sun. 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 2393 Professor Ave., Cleveland, 216-298-4400, bourbonstreetbarrelroom.com
Stonetown's gator sausage, $3.95
Travel south and you'll begin to see alligator pop up on menus all over town. But you don't need to take a weekend road trip to get a little adventurous — these gator loins and tails grinded in-house are a tasty souvenir. Mild with a slight seafood flavor, chef Tony Fortner gives the gator meat a kick with crushed red peppers, and Cajun and jerk seasoning. "The seasoning gives it an aromatic quality and takes it to the next level," he says. Sun. 10 a.m.-12:45 p.m., 627 Prospect Ave. E, Cleveland, 216-862-5772, stonetownusa.com
Urban Farmer's bourbon chicken cherry sausage, $6
Chicken is mixed with maple syrup, sage, parsley, oregano, garlic powder and chili flakes to add a little heat. But dried cherries and Old Crow bourbon are the star of the show. "Depending on how tart the cherries are, the sausage can be a little sweeter," says executive chef Vishwatej Nath. Sat. and Sun. 8 a.m.-3 p.m., 1325 E. Sixth St., Cleveland, 216-771-7707, urbanfarmercleveland.com
The Black Pig's beer sausage, $4
Executive chef Michael Nowak was working on a sausage for an event when he had the idea to emulsify the meat with beer instead of water. "I thought, It's Cleveland, so let's do something with beer," he says. He seasons pork with coriander, mace and nutmeg before adding beer. Sat. 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 2801 Bridge Ave., Cleveland, 216-862-7551, blackpigcle.com
Tremont Tap House's maple sausage, $5
Tremont Tap House has a sweet relationship with its sister restaurant Butcher and the Brewer. For its maple sausage, Ohio maple syrup is mixed with ginger and sage, and combined with pork. Then, it spends time in a smoker. "It's really just pointing back to the sausages we grew up eating first thing on a Sunday morning," says Jim Blevins, Butcher and the Brewer executive chef. Sun. 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 2572 Scranton Road, Cleveland, 216-298-4451, tremonttaphouse.com
Latitude 41 N.'s turkey sausage patties, $3.45
With a mix of cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, black pepper, sage, thyme, rosemary and Hungarian paprika, these patties have been a fixture on the menu since Latitude 41 n. opened in 2007. "The spice mixture is perfect because it leaves you with a little hotness on the end as it goes down," says owner Kathy Brown. Sun. 8 a.m.-3 p.m., 5712 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, 216-961-0000, eatatlatitude41n.com
