I don’t write much about fresh sausage, mainly because we generally stick to the two recipes I’ve already put online: my Thurlaston sausage and Lincolnshire sausage. However, I thought I’d do something different for a change and chose to make Pork and Apple sausages.
Now I’ve tried these before and wasn’t happy with the results, so I trawled the web to see what I could plagiarise from other people! The results received rave reviews from the family, so here’s my recipe, with thanks to Welsh Wizard and Parson Snows from the now-defunct sausagemaking.org forum, on whose recipes it’s loosely based:
It’s great to get back to doing some real sausage making. We’re fast running out of ham, bacon and sausage from my last mammoth session, so it’s time to clear all the frozen meat out of the freezer to make way for the next lot.
Given that the meat’s been frozen, it shouldn’t then be refrozen unless it’s been cooked – making fresh sausage is, therefore, a no, no. I was going to make hot dogs but the weather looked a bit iffy and I’m very much a fair-weather smoker, so that left a choice of the many and various other cooked sausages/luncheon meats.
When I started making my latest batch of ASDA clone chorizo it was my intention to photograph everything and create a sort of mini-tutorial. Needless to say when I got involved with making them I forgot to take most of the photos!
I started off with a big chunk of pork collar, also known as shoulder spare rib (US-Boston Butt), and cut it into strips. If you have a small mincer/grinder, you will have to cut it smaller. I prefer strips to chunks, as the screw in the mincer pulls them through with very little need to use the pusher.
The meat with plenty of fat attached was cooled right down and then minced through an 8mm mincer plate.
When I came across a sausage called the “Far-Famed Cambridge Sausage” in a 1938 ‘Handy Guide for Pork Butchers’, I couldn’t resist making it? But what type of sausage was it?
I’m guessing that it was far better known in those days: I’d only ever heard of it in passing. A quick online search told me that the best know brand was Palethorpe’s ‘Royal Cambridge sausages’, though they were made in Shropshire, and that there were 2,500lbs of them were aboard the Titanic when she sailed on her maiden voyage!
This sausage formulation was posted on the sausagemaking.org forum. It has had a slight alteration by me. It was developed from a recipe that was originally supplied by the butcher Phil Groth to forum member Parson Snows with some adaption by another forum member, Oddley.
Stock photo
I have since been informed that the only herbs and spices in a ‘true’ Lincolnshire sausage are sage, salt, and pepper. This was supported by The Lincolnshire Sausage Association’s (failed) application for EU PGI status. So, this recipe is ‘technically’ not a true Lincolnshire. It is, however, a great recipe and a Lincolnshire sausage in spirit.
This is the everyday Pork Sausage that I make for Pauline. She prefers thin sausage in sheep’s casings. Sheep’s casings are harder to use than hogs as they split more easily but the extra care needed is worth it as the delicate casings make for great eating.
This sausage is an amended version of the Every Day Pork Sausage that I posted a while ago. The first version is a nice peppery sausage that we all like a lot. The family, however, thinks this one is even better. Less peppery and with a more rounded flavour.
Most British sausage contains some form of binder. Prior to WWII this was usually in the form of breadcrumbs but following the introduction of modern bread baking methods, most producers changed to using rusk. Good breadcrumbs from well-cooked homemade bread can still, of course, be used, or rusk can be bought online from suppliers such as Scobies or Weschenfelder.
Alternatively, you can make your own using this recipe which was posted by Parson Snows on the sausagemaking.org forum:
Rusk 500 g plain/all-purpose flour or bread/strong flour pinch of salt 20g baking powder 250g water (approx)
Method Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder together. Mix it to a smooth, pliable dough using only enough of the water to do so. Roll it out lightly to approximately ½” (12 mm) thick, then place it on a lightly greased tray. Keep it so that it only takes up half of the tray. Use two trays if necessary. Place the tray into the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 10 minutes at 450°F (230°C). Remove it from the oven and, using the tines of a fork or a large knife, split it in half horizontally along it. Place it back on the tray with the opened faces upwards. – that’s why it could only take up half the tray before! Return it to the oven. Reduce the heat to 375°F (190°C) and bake it for a further 10 minutes, or more, until it seems dry. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool a little on a wire rack. Whilst it is still warm, grind it in a food processor and then dry it further on trays until really dry. Store it in an airtight container and use it as required.
I’ve posted before about making faggots but they were the type you buy in gravy from the shops. This recipe is for the more traditional faggot that you get from a good butcher’s shop. I know most people reheat them and serve them with gravy; I like them sliced up in thick slices and fried.
The recipe is an adaption of one posted by ‘Somerset Lad’ on the River Cottage Forum. In the original, the meat is cooked in liquid before being ground and mixed. Around here, it is normal to mince/grind the meat and shape the faggots before cooking. I also prefer a higher ratio of pork meat to liver than in his recipe.
Other ingredients as a percentage of the total meat weight:
Fresh Breadcrumbs 16.66% Dried Sage 0.24% Parsley 0.16% Onion 10.00% White Pepper 0.28% Black Pepper 0.15% Salt 1.60%
Method
Mince the meats then mix in the dry ingredients. Leave it to stand for about an hour – it will firm up. Shape into the size faggots you want; wet hands make this easier, put them into a dish and fill it to about a third of the way up the faggots with stock or water. Cook in a 190°C oven (170°C fan) for about 40 minutes. Cover with foil if the tops are getting too brown
If using caul, soak it in tepid water for about an hour, then wrap a piece around each faggot before cooking.
I used this recipe by Antony Worrall Thompson. Unlike many others, it doesn’t boil the meat before mincing. I amended the recipe slightly adding more sage, and parsley instead of chives. The gravy was made using stock, tomato puree, and soy sauce for colour thickened with a roux – my wife cannot have anything with wine in it.
I’m pleased with the end result and Emma, my younger daughter loves them – better than Brains dad! Not that that would be difficult! They are very much the ‘faggot and gravy’ type rather than the firmer faggots many local butchers prepare. I like that type sliced and fried.
Next time I’d add even more sage and cover them in the later stages of cooking, but all in all, I’m very satisfied.
