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Basic sausages
This is our first attempt at making sausages. It is not necessarily cheaper to make your own, but at least you know what has gone into them! This recipe is for a British style breakfast sausage, minus the chemicals and with much more meat.
Ingredients
- 1kg shoulder of pork, minced
- 200g pork fat, minced
- 5g black pepper, ground
- 5g sea salt, ground
- 1-2 tablespoons dried herbs
- 100g rusk
- 150ml water
- 2 metres sheep casings
Method
- Mix the pork and fat together - if mincing your own, add bits of fat to the pork as you mince.
- In a large bowl, mix the pepper, salt, herbs, rusk and water.
- Add the pork and fat and mix thoroughly using your hands.
- Stuff into the casings, using a sausage stuffer, linking, if desired, as you go.
- Keep in a container in the fridge for 24 hours before consumption, or freeze immediately.
- If you are making a Cumberland style sausage, form into a coil as illustrated and bake in the oven at 180° C (350° F - gas 4), rather than fry.
Variations
Add any herbs and/or spices to taste. Try with finely chopped spring onion or garlic.
Chef's notes
Good hygene is essential! Sterlise all of your equipment and your work surface. Plastic equipment can be sterlised in Milton, but metal items should be boiled for at least 20 minutes. We also wore shower caps on our heads and latex gloves.
You can link your sausages after you have stuffed the casings, but I would recommend that to start with, you link as you go in case (like us) you overstuff and then cause the casing to burst whilst linking.
Follow the RSPCA Think Pig Checklist to make sure that your pork has come from pigs that have been reared to higher welfare standards.
