Summer’s coming to a glorious end. If you’re a meat eater, perhaps you’ve had a chance to enjoy at least one barbecue, if not many more. One of my favorite things to grill, and I’m guessing they’re also one of yours, are sausages. But which kind? What flavor? There are so many types and combinations, we better investigate. 

What’s in a sausage? Well, lots of stuff. They are a pretty classic food maximization situation: crafty cooks using up the remaining meat and other ingredients they’ve got on hand (pork, beef, lamb, chicken, oatmeal, etc.), preparing it a way that gives it a long shelf life (the word sausage comes from the Old French “saussiche,” meaning salted), and encasing it in a convenient form for eating (usually animal intestines). Most regions of the world have a traditional take on sausage, which adds up to a lot of choice. Let’s look at a few of the best known.

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Chorizo

Chorizo is everywhere these days—on pizza, in soups, at picnics—and for good reason: It’s flavorful and delicious. Originally from Spain, chorizo is a traditionally made from pork, and often flavored with smoked dried red peppers, which gives it its red color and distinct smoky flavor. Often, chorizo is fermented, cured and smoked, so it can be sliced and eaten without cooking. There are many fantastic ways to enjoy it, either on its own, or in Luvo’s own Chicken Chorizo Chili.

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Merguez

North Africa is known for merguez, a spicy red sausage made of lamb or beef, seasoned with chili, harissa and cumin, and packed in a lamb intestine casing. Also popular in France, merguez is typically a fresh sausage, meaning it needs to be cooked before eating. They are often used in tagines, sandwiches, or eaten on their own with couscous, like this.

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Stornaway Black Pudding

This is a type of sausage made on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, consisting of beef, oatmeal, sheep, cow or pig’s blood and a few other ingredients. To bear the name, the sausage must be free from artificial colors, preservatives or flavors. The addition of oatmeal gives SBP a unique moist-but-crumbly texture that goes great on toast or really with anything.

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Kielbasa

Kielbasa is a general term for sausage of Polish origin. It is a staple throughout Central Europe and beyond, and comes in many forms, from the common smoked pork version (Polska Kielbasa Wędzona) to kabsnosy, a thinner pork variation seasoned with caraway seeds. Often eaten sliced, as an appetizer, or added to soups or stews. Here’s a tasty and simple recipe for potato kielbasa skillet you might want to try tonight.

What’s your favorite kind of sausage? Spicy or not? Cooked or fresh? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter at @luvoinc.