Hard to make just a little bit of homade sausage. Here's something to do with extra:
Peel and dice 3/4# (2 links or 1/2 ring) of smoked sausage (ring bologna, mettwurst, smoked kielbasa, etc.), 1 large turnip, 1 large carrot, 1 stem celery, and 1 medium red or gold potato.
Put in large saucepan. Barely cover with water. Heat to a boil, simmer until vegetables are no longer hard, 15 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, make pastry:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Proceeding as for biscuits, cut 2 tbsp rendered bacon fat into 1 c self rising flour until mixture is like cornmeal. Mix in 1/3 c buttermilk or milk. Knead a little bit.
When vegetable/sausage mix is cooked, drain, reserving liquid. Put mix into 9" deep pie pan. Measure liquid and if necessary, add water to make 1 c total. Proceeding as for gravy, put back in saucepan. Add 1/2 tsp beef stock paste. Blend 3tbsp flour with 1/4 c milk until smooth. Stir into liquid. Heat until boiling and thick, stirring as it heats.
Pour gravy over sausage/vegetable mixture. Roll pastry to slightly larger than pan. Cover pan with pastry, trimming edge. Prick pastry through in a decorative pattern. If desired, use scraps to make decorations for top of pie: Sausage shapes would be appropriate. Brush crust with buttermilk or milk.
Bake at 350F until crust is golden, about 30-40 minutes.
Notes: If sausage is very salty, it may be wise to parblanch by boiling the diced sausage in a little water for a minute or so, then discarding the water and adding the vegetables and fresh water.
Conversion for self rising flour: Add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt to just under 1 c flour.
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