In what is perhaps the most unlikely career switch imaginable, serious MIT graduate Stanley Feder, of McLean, gave up his analyst’s job at the CIA in the late 1990s and later his consulting practice to pursue a totally new and offbeat venture — making sausages. If that puzzles his friends and acquaintances, it’s a move he can easily explain: “I started because I have always wanted to be in the food business,” he says. “And I have a passion for cooking in particular. I had always planned to be a professional, but as I was nearing retirement age, I thought that if I wanted to get into it, now is the time.”
After making several trips to France and Italy, he completed two short apprenticeships with a European-trained master of sausage-making. “After that,” he says, “I decided to make really good sausages.”
Feder contacted Jonathan Krinn, chef/owner of the upscale 2941 restaurant in Falls Church, where Feder made sausages for the restaurant Thursdays and Fridays.
“Krinn was very impressed by the amount of flavor,” says Feder. “I took great care to get the best spices, and to use fresh seasonal herbs and fresh shallots and garlic, and I ground them all myself,” adding that he loves the aroma of the spices as he grinds them. Also impressive: Feder made French North African merguez and a saucisse brétonne (Brittany sausage) that he now calls “French Country Recipe,” not the usual links that Krinn found around town.
But Feder had his eye on a bigger enterprise: In September 2005, he opened his own sausage “factory,” Simply Sausage in Landover. A year later, Feder has two employees and works five or six days a week. And how many sausages does he make a day? “Like this morning,” says Feder, “I made 2,400 sausages, and that was a slow day. Two weeks ago, I made 750 pounds, or about 3,000 sausages in one day.”
Of the dozen or so Simply Sausage varieties, Feder says the French country recipe with fresh shallots and tarragon is the most popular, but the spicy merguez made with lamb, beef, Hungarian and Spanish paprikas, garlic, shallots and cilantro runs a close second.
“I use only top-quality ingredients,” he adds. He also keeps his links on the lean side, averaging about 20 to 26 percent fat. He also uses no preservatives or coloring agents.
Fortunately, Feder is a sausage fan himself and never tires of eating them, admitting that he could enjoy them at three meals a day. “Each one is different,” he says. “We make a mushroom butifarra that is terrific, but I love the French country sausage, and the loukanika that I make for Zaytinya.”
Adding, almost apologetically, that he has to keep tasting the sausages, since the flavors vary from season to season.
Where to buy
Though most of his production goes to restaurants, Feder does have some retail outlets: Look for them at Arrowine on Lee Highway in Arlington, Finewine.com in the Washington Center (Rio) in Gaithersburg, Ceciles Finewine.com in the Salona Village Shopping Center in McLean, Brookville Market on Connecticut Ave. NW. Also check out www.simply-sausage.com.
In Feder’s own words
How did you get started cooking? I like to eat well, and in college, the dorm food wasn’t any good, so I started cooking for myself with an electric hot plate and an electric frying pan.
Favorite cuisine? It is eating very fresh, locally produced fruits, vegetables, meats and herbs. Really local and full of flavor. Also, food that is simply cooked.
Who cooks at home? I do, and have since we got married.
Favorite ingredients? High-quality fresh spices and herbs. I like everything to be really fresh and flavorful, so I always use fresh shallots and garlic, but some dried herbs, such as oregano and tarragon, are fine too.
Your comfort food? Sausages, cooked in many different ways, depending on the sausage. Grilled, baked, sautéed. I like the garlic sausage with braised red cabbage. And the French country sausage with lentils, warm potato salad, and a good baguette.
Wines? I don’t drink wine for breakfast or lunch, but at dinner, my tastes are eclectic. For everyday drinking, I like good but inexpensive wines from the Loire Valley, the south of France, Spain or Italy, especially lighter red wines. For special occasions, I like good Bordeaux, Rhones, brunellos and Burgundies. (Among Feder’s favorite wines is Saumur from France, pictured at left.)
Indispensable utensils: A good knife, such as a Forschner. My favorite knife was made by Mac, a Japanese company, which I boughtin San Francisco 25 years ago (pictured above). In the factory, we can’t do without the German stuffing machine made by Frey.
Where do you like eating out? I don’t go out often, but I like ethnic restaurants, and also I like to try what the best chefs are doing, such as at Komi, Palena, Indique Heights and 2941.
French Country Sausage Braised with Shallots and Peas
1 lb. Simply Sausage French country sausage
1 tsp. olive oil or butter
2 shallots, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1. In a sauté pan, brown the sausages in oil or butter over medium heat. When browned, reduce the heat and sauté the diced shallots until slightly softened.
2. Add the peas and 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low or medium-low heat until the peas are cooked, about 10 minutes. Sausages should be cooked by then, but check with an instant-read thermometer that they have reached an internal temperature of 140°F.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
