16 January, 2012 
Today, I have been mainly making sausages. Lots and lots of sausages.
Fennel, garlic and chilli sausage
- 2.5kg coarsely minced pork (mix of belly and shoulder)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tbsp fennel seeds
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp dried mild chillies, crushed
- 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
Mix well and stuff in sausage casings. Don’t be tempted to make this into a spicy sausage—the fennel/garlic/chilli combination works best when the chilli is hinted at and doesn’t dominate.
Bangers
- 2.5kg coarsely minced pork (mix of belly and shoulder)
- 400g breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh sage, finely minced (halve quantity if using dried)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely minced (halve quantity if using dried)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
Mix well and stuff in sausage casings. These work best with fresh sage and thyme. The flavours should be robust.
Mixed spice sausages (aka The Taste of Christmas)
- 2kg coarsely minced pork (mix of belly and shoulder)
- 2tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp cracked blacked pepper
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp of each of cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, ground cloves and thyme
Mix well and stuff in casings. Hang the sausages in a refrigerator, with a drip tray/bowl below, for 4-6 hours to allow excess moisture to drain away. Then use or freeze. The spices shouldn’t be overpowering—this is supposed to be a subtle sausage. They work best poached in simmering, not boiling, water or stock for 20-25 minutes. On first tasting these sausages, the boys dubbed them “The Taste of Christmas Sausages”.
Allspice and chilli sausages (pictured)
- 2kg coarsely minced pork
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp allspice
- 2 tsp dried chillies, crushed
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
Mix well and stuff in sausage casings. These are robust, spicy sausages—intended to last people awake at breakfast.
Garlic sausages
- 2.5kg coarsely minced pork (mix of belly and shoulder)
- 250ml dry white wine
- 1 bay leaf, minced
- 1 tsp thyme, minced
- 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
- 1 head of garlic, broken into cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
Steep the bay leaf and thyme in the white wine overnight. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well and stuff in casings. Hang the sausages in a refrigerator, with a drip tray/bowl below, for 4-6 hours to allow excess moisture to drain away. Then use or freeze. These are another robustly flavoured sausage. If poached, the stock makes an excellent base for soup—skim the fat off first.
And last but not least, a batch of our Vaguely Cajun sausages.
Related articles
- Salami and Chorizo (asmallholding.blogspot.com)
- Alicia’s Italian Sausage Recipe (katseasykitchen.com)
God they look delicious…but I fear alas they’re verbotten!
Mainly making manly sausages?
pork and black pudding are to die for from our local butchers
Sounds good. We like black pudding crumbled, mixed with a little sausage forcemeat, fried, made into gravy with flour and milk, and then poured over toast. Perfect for Saturday breakfast before heading out for rugby.