I have often thought about getting a sausage-making kit. We love sausages in our family, and I do like to know exactly what goes into my food. Even buying the highest-quality sausages that I can find is not quite the same as making them from scratch from just a few basic ingredients. I decided to buy a sausage-maker from Lakeland, and went for the above model with an integrated mincer.
I did a basic mixture of 500g pork loin, incorporating a small amount of fat from the joint. I added about 50g breadcrumbs, one grated apple and also 100g haggis. I just happened to have some haggis in the freezer, and thought that this would make a nice addition to the mix. Apart from that I mixed in some rosemary and oregano, as well as a few fennel seeds and plenty of black pepper and sea salt. I put everything through the mincer. You then have to attach the sausage skin and feed the mince mixture back through. The idea is that it fills the skin and you end up with one long sausage which you can twist into individual sausages.
Three points to note here: it is actually impossible to feed the mixture through and keep hold of the sausage skin at the same time! You would need to be an octopus! So I called Paul down to help me. Secondly, it really did not work trying to make one, long sausage; it kept breaking off and the skin splitting. So we just made individual sausages. Thirdly, I could not get the sausage-making gadget to stick to the worktop, as it is supposed to do. Probably just my awkward worktop though! We managed 8 sausages from that quantity of mixture, although there was enough mince left to make at least one more – it does get more difficult to feed a smaller amount of mixture through the machine.
The resulting sausages were delicious. I cooked them right away, even though the instructions on the recipe I found advised leaving them over-night before cooking. The sausages stayed intact and did not split when cooking. Interestingly though, the second batch I cooked after resting the mixture did taste better, with the flavours being more developed.
I would definitely advise experimenting with flavours, and making a note of quantities of herbs and spices that work well. Obviously with raw meat you cannot check the seasoning as you go! Keen sausage-makers could though cook a small amount of mincemeat before forming into sausages to check the flavourings. I would also say that this is not a gadget for anybody in a hurry or in the least bit impatient! By the way, I was not joking when I said that you really need two people to work this machine!
I think that next time I would be a bit more generous with the amount of fat I included in my sausages. I am going to try using pork belly next time.
See my photos below of my first batch of sausages, which I served with some quickly-made baked beans: a can of cannellini beans mixed with a can of chopped tomatoes, a dollop of treacle, some smoked paprika, a tablespoon of home-made apple jelly and a dash of tabasco. I have never liked canned baked beans, but love home-made ones!
Mincing the meat
Mince mixture ready
Feeding the mince into the sausage skin
Sausages complete (various sizes!)
A lovely plate of sausages ready to cook
Making the quick baked beans
Home-made sausages and beans for lunch
