Grease. Usually comes standard with every order of sausage. However, Bondville UMC is serving up sausage that is far from that. I went out to Bondville last week for their annual sausage supper. First of all the church is kind of picturesque with its tall steeple silhouetted by the sunset. Inside, you’ll find a lot of wood, simple decorations, and ample space.
Every year the church sells tickets to their supper to raise money for the church. Admission prices were adults $10, children 5-12 $5, under 4 years old free. The supper ran from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The sausage is served with green beans, sauerkraut, dessert, and tea. You can also buy sausage to take home with you. If you want to try this wonder-sausage yourself, you’re going to have to talk to someone at the UMC, which is easy enough to do since they are so darn friendly.
I talked to John Rayburn (below, holding sausage) who I was told is the head-honcho for this event. I told him that and he bashfully said “I just get the sausage.” That is a big part of the event, yes, but as you can see there are a lot of other volunteers making it so this event can function.
I asked John what made the sausage so special. “It has very little grease. And that’s because I buy the sows.” I had to google the word “sow” and found out it meant a female pig. He went on, “They have very little fat but are still flavorful.” John was right. The sauage was tasty but without the grease. It was pretty mild as far as sausage flavors go. It was cooked on a grittle and so it had a bit of char around some of the edges.
As for the desserts, I did not sample any of the sweets. John went onto tell me that the sows were bought, butchered, and pattied from a hog farmer in Ivesdale (a small town about 15 minutes outside of Champaign). I moved back into the kitchen and talked to Ron Hursey. “We will cook about 2,000 patties tonight” he said.
If you can get your hands on some of this sausage, it is well worth trying. If you’re interested, email me and I’ll see if I can score you some. And if you can make it out to the church next year for the supper, you won’t be sorry.