sausage question

Dawnraider

Well-Known Member
I am going to have a go at some sausages,will be using roe meat and I've ordered some hog skins and some sheep skins and a few different mixes as well but believe I need to also include some pork fat into the mix,do I just get pork belly and at what ratio should I use it,also going to try my hand at some burgers do I need to add pork fat to these as well.
 
Hi
If you have a tame butcher he MIGHT sell you some pork back fat for next to nothing - Belly Pork is good however, and I would try about 20% and see how you get on.
Fat in sausages helps to keep them moist , helps the texture and, of course, the taste - don't let the health Police talk you out of it. Good Luck - let us know how you get on
Ed
 
I normally add a third pork belly to two thirds venison, mix with your hands and you can sort of feel if it needs more fat or moisture, and fry a little piece before you stuff your skins as a taste tester. That will give you some idea, I like my taster piece to sizzle as it fries, not to be dry in texture but not to leak fat into the pan if that makes sense.

As for burgers I never add any fat or egg, just some herbs and garlic maybe.

The beauty of making your own sausages and burgers is you can tweak them to suit your tastes. Get yourself a notebook, write down what recipe you used an then ideas for next time
 
Cheers Ed i'll try and get some back fat then,our local butcher is pretty good but he does knock a few sausages out so I will give him a go thanks.
 
Thanks jubnut I wouldn't have thought of doing a tester makes sense,i'll try the burgers as it comes then with some seasoning thank you.
 
DAVID 1976 put a recipe up using lamb flank instead of pork bellies , I ran some of these off recently and can thoroughly recommend them... Check out recipies
 
Other alternatives to belly pork that we have used are pork cheeks and bacon offcuts, we have tried pork fat but the results were not as good, the bacon seems to work best. atb Tim
 
Thanks again guys for the tips,looks like a bit of experimentation is needed depending on what I can get hold of,got to say I think i'd probably prefer the lamb option myself,looking forward to rekindling my culinary skills.:lol:
 
Pork fat is the softest of the fats to use and will eat the best cold.
Personally work between 25% for pure back fat or up to 33% if you are using Pork belly.
The leaner the the venison the more fat you will need to keep it moist.
 
Remember not to ***** the sausages.
​You will let the fat out which will dry the sausage and the pressure in non pricked ones helps to cook it.

The starred word was P R I C K the forum obviously doesnt like that and asterix it away :D
 
Try 20% belly or shoulder, depending on personal preference. Also depends how health conscious you are, I like to use some nice rare breed pork. For me my favourite is wild boar when I have some in the fridge. Make your own stock with a pigs head, trotters, deer bones and every vegetable you can find, simmer for 24hr, filter bones, particles and reduce by 50%. Leave in the fridge to cool, what remains should be jelly like in texture and brown ish in colour. This makes the difference between a good sausage and an amazing one. Ive been a little vague, if you would like me to be more specific, give me a shout. Oh don't forget your rusk for a good texture. Try it and let me know how you get on.

Regards

Joel
 
Thanks again guys, all the gear from weschenfelder turned up yesterday and friday is going to be my first attempt,iv'e got all the family round Saturday for a bbq to experiment on, not going to tell em what they're eating till afterwards.I got a cranberry mix and a wild mushroom mix,probably give one of those a try first, also instead of the rusk I got some organic bread crumbs so I hope it's just as good, the mixes already have the rusk in, just need to get the fat side sorted out, depends what I can get my hands on but I quite fancy a go with the bacon mis-shapes.
 
Thanks again for the help guys,i made the sausages using 8lb of roe meat 1kg of bacon mis-shapes and one packet of weschenfelders wild mushroom mix and have got to say they were probably the best sausages I've ever had and the burgers I made with weshenfelders royal venison burger mix using 8lb of roe to 1 packet of mix and although they came out very well for me it was just too much seasoning although some people including my son who's a chef thought they were great,just need to get myself a decent sausage stuffer now the kenwood chef was bloody hopeless.
Cheers Neil.
 
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