Bean Sausage

At Christmas time, we had a ham. When we were done with the ham, I used the bones and scraps to make 2 pots of black beans. I portioned the beans out and froze them, making about 6 meals worth of beans for future uses. We like black beans but the preparation has made them not so convienent. Freezing them gave us more access and boy have we had beans. It's almost time to do it again except I don't have a ham but that's not a problem.
Anyway, I was reading through the Hillbilly Housewife when I came across a recipe for Pea Sausage. Her recipe called for Black Eyed Peas but I was sure this would work with black beans. I passed the recipe on to my husband who thought this was the coolest thing he had ever seen.
Last night we had black bean sausage with fried eggs on biscuits. I got to tell you, aside from them being a bit drier you couldn't tell we weren't eating sausage. The flavor and texture was so nice that this will easily become a family favorite.
They are drier due to the lack of grease so take care when you fry them. They might bake well but we haven't tried them.
These are a great addition to anyone's diet but especially those who are avoiding/reducing their meat consumption or for those who can't have all the extra fat. I'm thinking we might try these for other recipes - imagine black bean sausage in italian dishes -mmm. I have polenta on the list for meals this coming month, maybe we'll serve it with black bean sausage and a hearty vegetable tomato sauce.
How did he make them?
He pureed about 2 cups of cooked (frozen then thawed) black beans in a blender. Added an egg, some flour and sage. You just need a few spoonfuls of flour to bind it all together and the sage is what gives it that sausage flavor. Mash it into patties and fry in the skillet. He used the cast iron with just enough oil to keep them from sticking.