Parson's Old English sausage

[Franco]

Parson,

I have just made 10 lbs of sausage using your Old English recipe. The results were ok but I changed it slightly to my taste.

10% more mace
1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp mustard seeds
more parsley.
The parsley and mustard seeds were added in the final mix and gave it a nice appearance.


Franco

[Parson Snows]

Franco

You wrote

I have just made 10 lbs of sausage using your Old English recipe. The results were ok but I changed it slightly to my taste.

10% more mace
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp mustard seeds
more parsley.
The parsley and mustard seeds were added in the final mix and gave it a nice appearance.

As I mentioned when I emailed it to you, it was one that worked well for our customers, by all means change it to suit your taste.

1) Did you add the 1 tspn of black pepper to the white pepper already listed in the recipe? If you like a peppery sausage then try the Lincolnshire.
2) How much more parsley did you add?
3) Did you use ground spices/herbs? I ask this as I�ve always found that the amounts of Dried rubbed sage (not ground), Dried Marjoram leaves (not ground) and Dried parsley leaves in the recipe give a nice mottled/speckled effect to the sausage.

Kind regards

Parson Snows

[Franco]

Parson,

I have just tasted them again this morning and they have improved overnight.

The black pepper was added in addition to the white pepper.
I added double the quantity of dried parsley adding equal measures before and after the first mix. The spices were ground but the herbs were rubbed which I think gives a better overall apperance to the sausage.

This is my version of your recipe.

Old English Sausage.

Makesapprox 12 pounds sausage

10 lb pork
1 lb rusk (or breadcrumbs)
3 oz salt
1 oz white pepper
1 oz sage
1/2 oz marjoram
2 teaspoon paprika
4 teaspoon parsley
1 oz dextrose
2 teaspoon mace
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoon MSG (optional)
2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 table spoon black pepper.
half pint iced water

3 ounce salt

1.Minced meat on coarse plate
2.Mix all dry ingredients except half of the parsley to the mince.
3.mince again through fine plate
4,Mix the parsley with half a pint of iced water and mix with the meat.
4.stuff into natural casings, I used 30mm hog but I would probably use small bore sheep next time as this is ideally a breakfast type sausage.

Franco

[Parson Snows]

Franco

sausages are like curries, stews, and soups etc. they all taste better if they have had time to let the flavours amalgamate/infuse.

I have taken the liberty of posting the one that I emailed you so that the forum members can compare the two.




kind regards

Parson Snows

PS you are right about it being a mild breakfast style sausage

[Bob]

sausages are like curries, stews, and soups etc. they all taste better if they have had time to let the flavours amalgamate/infuse.

I always give my sausage an overnight in the refrig, sometimes several days.

I have taken the liberty of posting the one that I emailed you so that the forum members can compare the two.

I would like to try that recipe, but I do not know how to do the breadcrumbs. I can buy Plain Bread Crumbs in a packaged form. Would that work and how much would I use? And then there's that sodium phosphate - what's that for? I also notice the use of dextrose. We use sucrose - any problem?

[Parson Snows]

Bob

You wrote

I would like to try that recipe, but I do not know how to do the breadcrumbs. I can buy Plain Bread Crumbs in a packaged form. Would that work and how much would I use?

Purchased plain breadcrumbs can be used if required, though I would suggest that you get a loaf of white bread and break it up into � inch (1.27 cm) size pieces. Place this into a food processor fitted with the cutting blade and process until crumbs form. Do not over process. Sprinkle onto a tray, spreading out evenly and allow to dry � uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. Use as mentioned in the recipe. Note : if you use breadcrumbs reduce the water from 370 ml to 270 ml.

You wrote

And then there's that sodium phosphate - what's that for?

It is used to bind water to the proteins in the meat making the meat tender, and can be left out if required.

You wrote

I also notice the use of dextrose. We use sucrose - any problem?

You can basically use any sugar though dextrose/glucose is the best for sausage making. If you use sucrose (common refined sugar) increase the amount used by 1.43 (ie if 2 Tbslpns of dextrose/glucose are mentioned replace this with 1.43 � 2 = 2.86 Tblspns of sucrose)

Hope that this answers your questions

Kind regards

Parson Snows

[Bob]

Hope that this answers your questions

Yes, thanks.

I have dextrose left over from my days of homebrewing, so now I can put it to good use.

As far as breadcrumbs go, I have a rule about home cooking - keep it as simple as possible. IOW, I tend to shun involved procedures if I can cut corners acceptably.

I make sausage for fun but mainly because the crap on the market is intolerable. Even the specialty sausage shops sell crap. That's because of so many govt laws on processing food for public sale.

Also, commercial sausage is getting rather pricey even if it were good, which it is not. The average junk costs around $3 to $4 per pound and is 20% water. It's also full of bone and gristle.

I can buy pork butt for as little as $0.75 per pound on sale. I get pork trimmings for $0.49 per pound from the butcher at Kroger - and that is about 40% lean because it comes off pork loins. I have to trim off the lean to get an accurate measure of lean and fat for my 40% mixture.

So when I include the cost of spices, I can make excellent (for me) pork sausage for $0.75 per pound. I can get chuck for about $1.50 to $2.50 per pound, trim out the short rib for BBQ and use the rest in beef sausage. The fat ratio is just right after I take the short rib out.

I also use ground chuck to make jerky - the kind you extrude out of a Nesco Jerky Gun. For that I use 1 T. McCormick Fajita Seasoning and 1 t. Morton Tender Quick curing salt per pound of ground chuck. Then I dehydrate it on a Nesco electric food dehydrator. I make it with pure beef for 1/4 the cost of commercial ground meat jerky.

Any comments would be appreciated. I always look for ways to improve sausage making.

[Parson Snows]

Bob

glad to be of some help. As to the water content being included at 20 %US standards limit water in Fresh sausages at a rate of 3 % though for cooked sausages and hotdogs the limit is higher.

hope that this information is of some use to you.

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Bob]

Bob
glad to be of some help. As to the water content being included at 20 %US standards limit water in Fresh sausages at a rate of 3 % though for cooked sausages and hotdogs the limit is higher.
hope that this information is of some use to you.
kind regards
Parson Snows

I really do not know what the water content of commercial sausage is - I was exaggerating for emphasis. But it is getting out of hand. You buy a smoked ham and it says "water added" on the label. You open it and get half a cup of liquid all over the place. That's mighty expensive water at $5 per pound.

I can tell you that after cooking commercial sausage, the frying pan has more water in it than you would expect. The butchers do the same thing with ground meat - load it up with water. After pan frying a hamburger, your skillet contains half water.

It is nice to have a hobby that provides three things:

1) Fun
2) Economy
3) Nutrition

[Parson Snows]

in the US the regulations state

For Frankfurters, Vienna sausages, Bologna and similar cooked sausages that the finished products shall not contain more than 30 % fat. Water or ice, or both, may be used to facilitate chopping or mixing or to dissolve the curing ingredients but the sausage shall contain no more than 40 % of a combination of fat and added water.

As to smoked hams, buy one that doesn't mention " X % water added"

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Bob]

in the US the regulations state

For Frankfurters, Vienna sausages, Bologna and similar cooked sausages that the finished products shall not contain more than 30 % fat. Water or ice, or both, may be used to facilitate chopping or mixing or to dissolve the curing ingredients but the sausage shall contain no more than 40 % of a combination of fat and added water.

Where did you get those figures from? Are they for export purposes? The figures seem awefully low.

A packaged version of ordinary ground chuck (called a "chub pack") at one of the major grocery chains (Kroger) is rated at 53% fat on the label. There is no mention of water content on the label but when you render it in a pot (e.g., to make chili), the renderings sure look like a lot of it is water. And then there is the excess steam coming off it when it is being rendered.

As to smoked hams, buy one that doesn't mention " X % water added"

Yes, but they cost a lot more.

[Parson Snows]

Bob

As it was to do with Hotdogs and not English sausage I have posted the info under "Recipes/Frankfurter/weiner recipes"

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Bob]

As it was to do with Hotdogs and not English sausage I have posted the info under "Recipes/Frankfurter/weiner recipes"

Thanks, I looked at it and sure enough, the limit is 30% fat. That's small compared to sausage in general which I rate by eyesight at over 50%.

I have nothing against fat as long as it is edible, like bacon fat. But when half the product renders out when cooked, plus water along with it, I object.

On another matter, I made the Garlic Pork Bangers recipe (with 1 lb. pork) with breadcrumbs (2.5 T. breadcrumbs + 5 T. water) and it is delicious. I added 1/2 t. red pepper flakes, otherwise I followed the recipe. My wife is not a sausage person, but she said it was exceptionally tasty.

I fried it for an egg sandwich and then stuffed the rest and poached it in sauerkraut. Both ways were very delicious.

It looks like we are going to be making a lot of English/Cumberland style sausage from now on. It has a taste that lingers in the memory. In fact I am getting hungry just thinking about it. I saved some of both kinds (Fatman Sausage and Garlic Pork Bangers) for lunch.

Next I am going to try the English Sausage recipe you posted since I feel comfortable with using breadcrumbs. Now all I need is a pint of bitter and some Stilton cheese.

[Parson Snows]

Bob

I'm glad that you like the Garlic and Pork Sausages, it's one of my favourites also. I'll pass on your comments to their creator UK butcher Charles Harris of Cornwall.

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Bob]

Bob
Purchased plain breadcrumbs can be used

In your recipe for English sausage, you mention "rusk, pinhead or medium grade" which sounds a lot like "burghul" used in Lebanese kibbe. Is it essentially the same thing?

If you use breadcrumbs reduce the water from 370 ml to 270 ml.

I used 2.5 T. breadcrumbs soaked in 5 T. water for 1 lb. pork meat. That seemed to work.