The first thing you need to do if you plan to be in the vicinity of the massive vat of sausage at Mr. Prime Beef is suit up in a white coat and a hard hat. The coat protects against blood spatters and cross-contamination. The hat protects the brain in case of any unfortunate run-in with a giant freezer door or a shelf full of lamb legs.
The second thing you need to do, at least on andouille day, is hold your breath. Andouille is a Cajun-style smoked sausage made with pork butt and fat. It packs a lot of heat. When George Elmore, the shop's grinder, poured the andouille spices into the bowl of his meat mixer, a fine powder of red and black pepper puffed into the air and acted a little like Mace. I breathed through my scarf while I watched him, trying to stifle a coughing fit.
"You get used to it," he told me.
His eyes were watering.
Tuesdays and Thursdays lately have been sausage-making days at the 37-year-old meat shop on the Old Seward Highway, one of the oldest and largest retail butchers in Anchorage. The andouille recipe comes from Mr. Prime Beef himself, Gordon "Gordy" Larson. He founded the shop and ran it until his death in 2005. His sister, Pat Muzzana, took over with the help of her children and grandchildren.
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