The Craft & Co is all about sausages. All types and styles, and we aim to celebrate the lot! A sausage is a food usually made from minced meat, most often pork or beef along with salt and various spices. Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made from intestine, but sometimes it doesn’t – like a sausage roll which is encased in pastry or Kofta which has no casing at all. Sausages can be cooked in many ways, including pan-frying, grilling, boiling or barbecuing,  depending on what suits it best or preference. The art of sausage making is traditionally a food preservation technique, where they may be preserved by curing, drying (often in association with fermentation or culturing, which can contribute to preservation), smoking or freezing.

The trick to making a perfect sausage is to start with good ingredients. Be it pork, beef or lamb, ensure it is the right cut for sausage making, i.e shoulder of pork makes the best pork sausages (secondary cuts are king!). Then its about the spices and seasonings. A good balance of salt is crucial – as a rule of thumb use the guide of 15g-18g to a kilo of meat. The spices should always compliment the final dish. Fennel compliments pork really well, and rosemary and garlic work quite well with both beef or lamb. The combinations are infinite, but the best advice it to try keep it simple!

Below is a basic recipe for one of our classic sausages on the menu;

Pork and Fennel Sausages

To start with;

80% pork

20% pork fat

38mm sausage casings

Per kg of pork add;

18g salt

4g pepper

3g nutmeg

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

6g fennel seeds

8 large sage leaves finely chopped

¼ bunch of Parsley finely chopped

Basic instructions;

Dice pork shoulder and fat into 3cm pieces.

Grind all the spices and herbs together.

Mix all ingredients together.

Pass through a meat mincer fitted with a 12mm cutting plate.

Mix thoroughly until meat is extremely tacky and feels bound together.

Using a sausage filler feed the meat through into the sausage skin. 38mm sausage casings are a good size in this case.  Tie into desired sized sausages. Note: The word “banger” came from the way sausages burst open as they hit a hot grill. This is not a good thing when it comes to sausage making as this means the mixture was not mixed or filled into the casing properly. To ensure your sausages don’t “bang”, mix the meat thoroughly, enough so that the meat gets really tacky and sticky. Also don’t fill the casings too tight, like anything that gets hot it expands. Never cook sausages on a grill that is too hot this can be a cause of “banging” as well. Sausages are usually best grilled on a medium heat.

Cook and ENJOY!

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For more info on sausage making equipment and supplies (including mincers, fillers, casings and spices), please contact the specialists at Home Make It