Today I talk with Joe Furnari, best known for his hand-made sausage from Furnari Sausage Co., but we learn about some of his other interests and talents, too. (Special thanks to Sophia Miller, anewscafe.com’s first photo intern, for the incredible photographs. Great work, Sophia!)
Picture by Sophia Miller, photo intern.
Q: Joe, thank you so much for popping by anewscafe.com today to chat with us. You’ve been making sausage for a while, and I’ve wanted to write about you for years. First, can you tell us how you got into the sausage-making business?
I have been around sausage-making all my life.
My family made it for special occasions like Christmas, Easter and birthdays. So we had Italian sausage around our kitchen most of the time. We used a hand-crank stuffer and I was in charge of twisting the sausage into links.
I moved to Redding in 1977 to work in construction. In 1981, with my wife Patti and another couple, we sold sausage sandwiches at the Mother’s Day Shasta Fiddlers Fair. We did that for 11 years straight!
We put on crab feeds, and other functions that always involved food. After a year recovery from rotator cuff surgery in 2006, I realized that I would not be able to go back to construction. The timing was just right. I opened Furnari Sausage Co., had a booth at Market Fest, and I was approached about a kitchen for lease inside Leatherby’s.
This all happened that summer of 2007. I set up my shop inside Leatherby’s and I’ve been there ever since.
Picture by Sophia Miller, photo intern.
Q: Dare I stereotype, but did your heritage influence your interest in food?
Yes, in my big Sicilian family food was always a big part of our social gatherings. The family looked forward to Pasta Sundays. We were all expected to help out … aunts, uncles and cousins, everyone. We were all in the kitchen. Everyone was talking at the same time! Just like in the movies!
Picture by Sophia Miller, photo intern.
Q: That sounds like my idea of heaven. Well, if your family can’t adopt me, can you at least tell me what sausage varieties you make?
We make about 13 different kinds of sausage. I use pork, turkey, chicken, beef, and I even make a vegetarian roll. Chef Pat Miller has helped me create some of my newer recipes.
Picture by Sophia Miller, photo intern.
Q: Chef Pat Miller is a pro, so that guarantees a delicious product. And I didn’t know you made a vegetarian sausage. I’ll have to try it. Personally, I’m partial to your Sicilian sausage. But I also have some if your bulk Italian sausage in the freezer right now. What are some other customer favorites?
The Sicilian, Italian and Andouille are my biggest sellers, although the Bratwurst, Herb Chicken, Country, Irish and Chorizo are also big hits. Customers say they’re happy that I don’t add nitrates or preservatives to any of the sausage I make.
Q: That’s an excellent point about nitrates and preservatives. So your sausage is about as healthy as sausage can be. Now, forgive me for bringing this up, but surely you’ve heard all the jokes about sausage-making … that it’s not something one wants to watch. Is that true?
That’s not true in my kitchen. I’d invite anyone to watch me make sausage. Maybe in the olden days it wasn’t so pleasant because they would stuff anything — including lots of fat — into a hog or sheep casing. The only pork I use in sausage is the pork butt. Funny name since it comes from the upper shoulder of the hog. Our sausage is leaner than most commercial sausage. So the main thing I tell my customers is, “Don’t over cook it.”
Picture by Sophia Miller, photo intern.
Q: OK, I’m taking notes. Don’t overcook. Well, would you mind taking us through the basic process? How do you make sausage?
I start by cutting up all the pork into chunks and then I grind it. Next I mix in all the different spices for the sausage I am making. Then I mix everything together and stuff the mix into the casings. I twist the sausage into 6 inch lengths. Last but not least, I package and label each bag. It’s lots of work. The big boys have all the big machines to make sausage a lot faster, but they don’t have the quality control that I have.
Picture by Sophia Miller, photo intern.
Q: I’ll choose your small-operation quality over the big boys’ mass-produced stuff any time. But I know it can’t be easy. What’s the most challenging part?
Making sausage is the easy part. My mission is customer satisfaction, quality product and connecting family values in building this small business.
Q: I think you’ve hit the mark on those missions, Joe. Now, I’ve noticed you make other foods, too, right?
Yes, we cater. We can create a menu that fits any budget. We do much more than Italian food. We’ve done German parties, Hawaiian luaus, Mexican … If you don’t see it on the menu, just ask. We do small luncheon menus, wedding, and everything in between.
Q: Wow. I didn’t know you catered. Writing that down, too. But back to sausage, do you and your family still enjoy your sausage, or is it like, “Oh, no! Please, NOT sausage again!”
I try to bring different ones home to test out, but we do have our favorites, of which we never grow tired.
Q: Aside from just pan-frying your sausage, and serving it as a meat course, what other ways do you suggest people prepare and use your sausage?
All the sausages are great with eggs. People wonder if sell a breakfast sausage. I tell them, “I’ve eaten them all for breakfast!” You can use sausage in sauces, soups, meatballs and mixed with veggies. You can get creative when cooking with sausage.
Q: I might add that this time of year your sausage are delicious barbecued served with some assorted mustards and sauces. For an Octoberfest I’ve grilled them on curved skewers, too, which fit nicely on a plate.
No segue, but I’ve been in your business kitchen – impressively clean and spotless, I might add – which was way in the back, behind what used to be Leatherby’s. But you’re still making sausage there, even though Leatherby’s is gone, because there’s a new restaurant in that space, right? Other than on Placer Street, what other ways can customers find your sausage?
That’s right. Furnari Sausage is still making sausage in the same place, but it has a different name out front, Senor Rosa’s.
Plus, we are at Farmers Market every Saturday at the City Hall in Redding where I have a booth with each of my varieties, meals to-go, and fresh homemade sauces. I also am at the Farmers Market in the Anderson Outlets on Thursday mornings. Holiday Quality Food Markets have a limited variety, as does R&R Meats. Some restaurants and pizza parlors in the area carry Furnari Sausage, and I exclusively developed the Bangers served at Shameless O’Leary’s.
Q: That’s a lot of sausage, Joe. Do you ever get a break?
Well, I am a one-man show. I work hard, and love what I do. Balance in life leads to exceptional sausage.
Q: There must be some times you aren’t cooking, that you just relax, right?
Yes, we have a boat that we keep at Whiskeytown. We live in Old Shasta so we can be on the water in about 10 minutes. You can be anywhere in the world when you are on that lake. That’s our getaway. We also love working in the garden at our house. My wife is a yoga instructor at GOA, so she keep me busy with that, too, and it’s fun and healthy.
Q: Well, thank you, Joe, we’ve learned a lot. Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I just want to thank my wife Patti and our three boys. Without their support this business would have never been a reality. We welcome our Redding community to our Furnari Sausage family. Visit us at www.furnarisausage.com and “like” us on Facebook for great sausage recipes.
My shop is located at 1440 Placer Street, just north of the Cascade Theater, inside the new Senior Rosas.
Q: Count on use to stop by, Joe. We’ll see you there.
Independent online journalist Doni Chamberlain founded what’s now known as anewscafe.com in 2007 with her son, Joe Domke of the Czech Republic. Prior to 2007 Chamberlain was an award-winning newspaper opinion columnist, feature and food writer recognized by the Associated Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and E.W. Scripps. She lives in Redding, CA.
