how much fat?

[Oddley]

Fatman have you ever had chips in france off one of their stalls they serve it with maonnaise eeuk.

[Parson Snows]

Fatman

You are right about Harry Ramsden, as to everything else it's much more detailed/confusing than that. I'll post you a PM covering a part of my book that has been reviewed by The National Federation of Fish Fryers. The first recognised Fish'n Chip shop was infact Malin's in London, they still exist though not in the original spot.

As to the mayonnaise, they do they same in Holland, in paper drinking fountain style cones. When I first worked there I queued up for 20 minutes on a hot day thinking it was an ice cream van, after waiting that long I thought "well go for it". The mayonnaise is fresh not from a jar, and is really quite nice.

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Oddley]

When I was a boy I used to buy 6d worth of chips and smother them with vinegar and salt when I finished with the chips I used to drink the remaining vinegar Ah fond memories.

[Fatman]

Ahh pommites weiss, chips with mayo to you and me, a strange thought but you get to like it , also you have mayo with Blutenwurst ( blood sausage ) black pudding to us.

Fatman

[Parson Snows]

YOU WERE LUCKY...! when I was a boy I used to save up for weeks to buy a 6d bag of "batter bits", the left over batter kernels from the fried fish. I still remember them.

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Franco]

In Lancashire these are called scraps and are still available free!

[Oddley]

You were lucky.

We were so poor we used to use a substitute for margarine . . .

In school I took algebra, history, and overcoats . . .

We didn't have a TV set, we used to sit around and watch the mirror.

When I was ten, my folk bought half a cake
and put five candles on it and then put it in front of the mirror.

[porkpal]

thanks for the money saving tip my kid turns 6 next year

[Parson Snows]

CANDLES ? you had Candles ... you were lucky and as to the cake. We had a half a picture of a lit cake that was placed against the mirror to make it appear as a whole cake. Really, as Dave Barry would say .. I'm not making this up. You were LUCKY.

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Oddley]

No you were Lucky

we were so poor the rats used to bring us food...

The dogs showed us where they buried their bones...

we couldn't afford shoes so I used to have my feet resoled..

The neighbours used to bring us round their used toilet paper so we could dry and use it.

[Parson Snows]

Oddley

I've continued this under "Chattter"

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Johnniem]

Hi - new to the site but very impressed with the level of comment - I've got a lot to learn!

Quick questions (awaiting sausage attachment for Kenwood from Mr Claus but have procured back fat, pork shoulder and hog skins - very excited!):

1) Should I grind the back fat and shoulder on the first grind at the same time or should I grind them separately and then mix together for second grind?

2) Should I add any spices, garlic, chilli etc. during the grinding process or add them to the sausage meat later

3) Showing my ignorance here on a grand scale but....should I fill the whole skin and make them into links after - I read the comment from the poor chap who was having problems with overfilling / breaking and wasn't clear if I understood the most appropraite way of making nice link and avoiding this potential problem.

Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Oddley]

Welcome to the forum Johnniem

You would have been better to have made a new topic with this question so more people could have seen it rather than bury it here. Oh well!

1) Should I grind the back fat and shoulder on the first grind at the same time or should I grind them separately and then mix together for second grind?

I normally put the meat in the bottom of the fridge to make sure its really cold. When I take it out I cut the fat and meat up into manageable pieces and grind them together. I normally only grind once with the 3/8 in plate

2) Should I add any spices, garlic, chilli etc. during the grinding process or add them to the sausage meat later

I then massage in any filler and spices. Sort of like kneading bread.

3) Showing my ignorance here on a grand scale but....should I fill the whole skin and make them into links after - I read the comment from the poor chap who was having problems with overfilling / breaking and wasn't clear if I understood the most appropraite way of making nice link and avoiding this potential problem.

This is the most difficult bit and is only learnt with experience. I would suggest you link them as you go along to start with until you get the feel of the thing. Then you can judge how full the skins are and perhaps later be confident enough to link them after filling.

Good luck and tell us how you got on.

[Parson Snows]

First of all welcome to the forum.

I would suggest that you don't attempt anything too fancy to begin with, just start simple, get the basics sorted out and then start experimenting.

Cut open the pork shoulder and estimate the amount of fat (%) that is present. If you can�t see any fat then their will still be approx 8 % fat present. I suggest that you aim for 25 % fat in your sausages, though some people prefer 30 %. Typical figures for fat are as follows

Lean Pork Shoulder 8.8 % fat #
Pork Shoulder (90 vl) 16.8 % fat #
Pork Shoulder (85 vl) 23.5 % fat #
Pork Shoulder (80 vl) 28.0 % fat
Shoulder Trimmings, Lean 18.65 % fat *
Shoulder Trimmings, Fat 41.05 % fat *
Pork Back Fat 78.6 % fat #

vl = visual/visible lean
* = after Moulton


For example

Assumed data
If you are planning to make 3 kg of sausage (25 % fat) you�re looking at a 750 g fat content.
10 % rusk/breadcrumbs
10 % water (iced)
3.0 % spice
77 % meat and fat (Pork Shoulder/90 vl)

Meat and Fat breakdown
1 725 g Pork Shoulder (90 vl)
585 g Hard Pork Back Fat
2 310 Total Meat and Fat Content (750 g fat content)

You can see from the figures above that if you are using a Pork Shoulder of 80 vl then you wouldn�t need to add any backfat as there is already a fat content of 28.0 %. In fact you may have to trim off some of the fat.

Method
1) Chill the meat and fat (if used) down to 1 �C (30 �F) prior to mincing/grinding.
2) Decide on what texture/coarseness of sausage you want to make



3) Cut the meat across the grain into strips approx. � inch to 1 inch (1.25 cm to 2.5 cm) wide. Make sure that all sinews etc. are removed otherwise they will clog the plate and you will have to remove the plate and clean it out.
4) Cut the fat (if used) into small pieces approximately � inch to 1 inch (1.25 cm to 2.5 cm) square. MAKE SURE THAT ALL SKIN, GRISTLE HAS BEEN REMOVED.
5) Run/pass the meat and fat through the mincer/grinder the first time into a meat lug or similar.
6) Mix spices (for applicable recipe) thoroughly together and sprinkle EVENLY over the surface of the meat mixture. DO NOT MIX IN YET.
7) Immediately after add the rusk, again evenly distributed, and lightly though thoroughly hand mix into the meat/fat mixture. Use rubber gloves if you want.
8) Gradually add the iced water and thoroughly though again lightly mix in until the mixture feels moist and slightly sticky.
9) Change mincer/grinder plate (if necessary)
10) Add sausage attachment and place rinsed casing onto end of stuffing nozzle making sure that it is not all pushed to the back of the nozzle. Typically for a normal sized sausage, 1 metre (3 ft) of 32 mm skin is required per 500 g (1 lb) of sausage.
11) Run/pass the mixture through the mincer/grinder the second time. You need to use two hands to do this, one supporting the sausage as it comes off of the nozzle and the other to feed the casing forward. DO NOT OVERFILL THE CASINGS, only practice will get this part right. Take care that the filled casings are not left to hang unsupported from the nozzle as the weight can weaken the casing causing it to burst whilst linking. When all of the meat/fat mixture has been added to the grinder put in a piece of white bread into the mincer/grinder, this will force out the remaining meat stuck along the spindle.



AS YOU CAN SEE MAKING SAUSAGES ON A MACHINE LIKE THIS REALLY TAKES TWO PEOPLE

12) Take the filled casing into your hands and using the thumb and index finger of your right hand lightly squeeze the meat out of the casing at the length that your want your sausages to be. Twist the first link away from you then repeat the process twisting the next link towards you. Continue until all of the casing/sausage meat is used up.
13) Allow to stand (on a wire rack it possible) at room temperature for approx 20 minutes to allow the casings to dry.
14) Store covered at between 1 to 4 �C (35 to 40 �F )

Hope that this is of some use to you

Kind regards

Parson Snows

[Johnniem]

Oddley / Parson snows - thanks both for your extremely helpful hints / tips etc. I now feel thoroughly 'idiot proofed' however I'm sure it will turn into a steep if enjoyable learning curve for me and whichever poor soul I end up dragooning into being my helper - an excellent tip incidentally.

Unfortunately Electronicshop.com have made an absolute horlicks of my grinder / maker order i.e they took the order (which included some other cooking kit), despite the fact that they didn't have it in stock and didn't tell me until postie turned up yesterday with the bad news! It now looks as if it'll be the New Year before I lose my cherry.

So it's a case of keeping the powder dry and off to the freezer with the ingredients. I will of course post on my experience as soon as possible.

Thanks again.