By Amanda Rall
“Come Lord Jesus,” this begins the prayer said before all our family meals, “be our guest and let these gifts, to us, be blessed. Amen.” As Lutherans we are taught to welcome the Lord to our table and be grateful for the blessings that He has bestowed on us.
For my grandparents, gratitude meant being aware of even the smallest of pleasures. My paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Heintze, lived through troubled times, however embedded deep into her memories are simple indulgences.
Grandma Lizzy grew up near a small town called Sharp, Texas. (By the way, she hates being called Lizzy.) She was 10 when the Depression struck the country. However, my grandma said she didn’t even realize the rest of the country was in a depression because her family was so poor.
Ten children to feed during Depression
My grandmother had 9 siblings. The German upbringing of my great-grandmother gave her the ability to feed her children, husband, and herself for pennies per meal by utilizing every resource made available to her.
All the children worked on the family farm, picking cotton. They lived off the harvest of their crops, livestock they raised, and robust structure of family.
Their innovative use of the entire stock of corn is remarkable. After the stalk of corn had grown, produced an ear and pollinated, the kids would walk the rows and chop the stalk from the ear up. This portion was used to feed their cattle while the corn was still maturing. When it was time for harvest the corn would be either sold, kept for next years crop, or milled for the families own use. The cobs were saved and used in the winter to burn and heat their home. The livestock would graze on what was left still standing in the field.
Efficiency was crucial to their family’s survival. They would slaughter their livestock during the coldest months. This would allow the meat to last for as long as possible. The best of the meat was eaten first and the worst was used to make sausage.
Using the whole hog
The family would grind up all the excess pork and beef they were unable preserve and season it. The day before the slaughter the sow was not fed. After the slaughter, the intestine was removed, washed, and used as a casing for the sausage. For days, the sausage was smoked by smoldering mesquite wood. This initiated the preservation process.
Fat from the pig was rendered into lard. The sausage was stored in a large tin can covered by the lard which preserved it for many months without the use of refrigeration. When it was time to eat the sausage, the casing would be removed and many times my grandmother said, they would barbeque over an open fire they made in a hole in their yard.
My grandmother undoubtedly learned the meaning of hard work at a young age. Nonetheless, the simple joys of her childhood are fresh in her mind. “Saturdays must have been the day my father would go to town and restock the icebox with ice,” my grandmother states, reminiscing, “because on Saturdays we made ice cream.”
Mesquite Smoked Sausage
From Katie Webb
5 pounds pork
5 pounds beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 glove garlic, minced
6 feet hog intestine
When butchering a hot, remove the intestine. Turn the intestine inside out and using a knife scrape the insides out of the intestine. Wash then turn the casing right side out. Place in cool water. Set aside.
Using a meat grinder, pulverize the pork and beef together. Slowly add in the salt, pepper, and garlic. Take cleaned casing and tie one end. Using a funnel, slowly push the meat mixture through to the end of the casing. Continue until casing is full with no air bubbles. Hang sausage and smoke using mesquite wood for at least 24 hours.
Note: To preserve, store sausage in lard.