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Snagging a traditional treat

STEVE BAIN gets a little messy at the butcher's block and shows us the basics of home sausage making.

This month we look at the basics of using the meat mincer to make home-made bangers.

There’s not much difference between making mince patties and sausages — with just some mince, seasoning, herbs and/or spices, you'll have the foundation for a home-made sausage.

You can make your own mince, which we'll do step-by-step, and if you like you can add a few extras. Typical extras include grated carrot, apple (it will clean the grinder at the end of the mincing process) and bread/breadcrumbs.

There are two major differences between sausages and burger patties/rissoles. Firstly, and most obviously the casings (I get mine from the local butcher).

And secondly, because of the casing, the mince mixture can have more fluid in it if you prefer.

The components of a sausage mixture do not have to bind together as much as if you are making a rissole.

For small scale sausage production, a hand-mincer with sausage stuffer nozzle attachment is certainly sufficient.

We often do enough sausages for just one meal — for example up to two bangers per person. The fluid can be either water, dairy (milk or cream), or a flavoured drink such as fruit juice or wine/beer.

In regard to the meats and fats, it is common to use pork fat because it aids in sticking the mixture together as well as reducing the risk of the sausage drying out while cooking.

In addition to the fat, any meat of your choosing can be the main ingredient of your mixture. Beef or pork are two of the most common options.

You’ll find that if you add speck (salted and smoked pork) to the meat mixture, you’ll be adding both flavouring and fat to your recipe.

As can be seen on one of the photos, I add the speck as a ‘stick of speck’; in this way the stick can be used to push the meat through the ‘auger/screw’ of the mincer.

Most modern recipes reduce the amount of fat and increase the other flavouring ingredients (such as herbs and spices). As always, “use the spices that you like best” is an appropriate adage.

The spice paprika goes well with pork because it is complementary to the flavour of pork and adds flavour depth to the meat mixture.

INGREDIENTS

Makes up to four small sausages

Note: this mixture has a very prominent bacon/speck flavour to it ... which is ideal for a hearty breakfast. You can adjust the ratios if you want less ‘punch’ and more subtlety.

400g pork (belly strips)

200g speck

150g pork shoulder/back fat (ratio of 4:1 ie. 20 per cent are ideal)

Salt and/or cracked black pepper (to taste)

1 tbsp fresh sage

A couple of heaped teaspoons paprika (again ‘heap’ to your preferred taste)

Sausage casings

250ml fluid (water in this example)

A splash of vinegar in the water (if you like)

Step 1: Cut the fat and the meat into pieces, (hint: you can remove some of the sinew, ie the tough stuff, or you can dice the meat into very small pieces — the aim is to not have long pieces of sinew that will bind your hand-mincer up like rope in a propellor). Roughly chop the sage leaves.
Step 2: In a bowl combine the meat, fat and herbs/spices as well as a little of the fluid/vinegar blend. After mixing the ingredients together, put the mixture into the fridge to cool (again). Note: You are unlikely to use all of the water, but it doesn't hurt to have some handy.
Step 3: Firstly, let's set up the sausage maker, which in this example is a hand-mincer with a white-plastic nozzle attachment. Onto the nozzle, thread your 'sleeve' of sausage casings.
Step 4: Most grinders will come with an option of two or three grind plates — choose coarse or fine to your preference — I suggest the coarse option to start with (it makes sausage processing easier).
Step 5: A close-up of the sausage casings threaded onto the nozzle. A little warm water on the start of the casings may help you thread them onto the nozzle. Each set-up will be different. In the case of this sausage nozzle, I can only get enough casing onto the nozzle to do a couple of sausages. This makes processing a little fiddly (you can read that as ‘messy’), however, I only use this portable set-up for small batches of up to eight sausages.
Step 6: Once you’ve loaded up the nozzle with as much of the casing as it can cope with; cut the casing and tie a knot in its end — make sure the knot is secure, otherwise the meat mixture will shoot out of the end ... now that is messy (don't ask me how I know ... but in my defence it may not have been me that tied the knot?).
Step 7: All dressed up and ready to go.
Step 8: Now stuff the mixture into the top of the mincer and turn the handle. Make sure you turn the handle in the correct direction. The mincer will do the rest.

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Step 9: In no time at all the mixture should exit the end of the nozzle and commence filling the sausage casing. A little hand support (and resistance) under the casing, if needed, will ensure that the casing fills nicely and evenly with meat mixture.
Step 10: The finished sausage. You don't have to do them one at a time like this, but I advise the one-at-a-time approach when you are learning the ropes/links. Once you have a sausage to the length you require, cut the casing through with a pair of scissors to separate it from the nozzle and then tie a knot into the sausage. Note: You will need twice as much casing length as you think in order to tie off this end; be generous. The sausages are now ready for the fridge before cooking your ‘Toad in the Hole’.

Steve Bain