Gourmet Gloucestershire sausages

[Vernon Smith]

Just tried some of the 10 kg of Gloucestershire sausages I made on Sunday. Absolutely outstanding. I can't remember where I got the seasoning recipe but here it is:

60g salt
30g white pepper
45g sage
15g nutmeg
25g thyme
25g marjoram

This was just the right amount for the 10 kg shoulder meat and fat that I had minced. I don't like too much salt so 20g seasoning per kg mince is perfect for me. I added 500g bread and 500g oatmeal then 1 kg stock that I made from the shoulder bones, into which I dissolved 2g KNO3 when cool. I then put everything through the mincer again before stuffing into natural hog casings. The sausages were returned to the refrigerator for 36 hours to mature and for the KNO3 to get to work. The concentration is 200ppm in the meat or 166ppm overall, just enough to keep the sausages pink when cooked. I hate grey sausages. This level of nitrate is advisable here in the tropics, especially in view of the intermittent local power supply and hence the uncertain temperature of my refrigerator. The power went off again in the early hours between 01.00 and 06.00 this morning by which time the fridge had risen to 16 deg C.

Anyway, 500g sausage gently fried until golden on both sides were the best I have ever tasted. If the author of the recipe reads this posting, congratulations, your seasoning is light years better than all the others I have tried. You have made me a very happy sausage maker.
All the best,
Vernon

[TonyE]

Hi Vernon


Read your recipe for Gormet Gloucestershire sausages, and thought must give them a try. I have a couple of questions, could you clarify them please, appologies if I am being a bit thick!!! but I would like to try your recipe.

1) You have used 10Kg Shoulder, with 160g seasoning, that is 1Kg/16gm
in your text you say there is 20gm seasoning per 1Kg mince. Is that a discrepancy????

2) You used 500gm Bread and 500gm Oatmeal, was the bread stale, and did you make it into breadcrumbs.

3) Lastly can you remind me what is KNO3 I presume that is either Praque Powder 1 or 2.

I would like to follow you recipe exactly as you have done, and would like to get it right first time.


Regards - Tony Edwards

[TonyE]

Hi Vernon


Correction to my earlier mail can you substitute 170 gms seasoning and not 160gms as I wrote.

Tony Edwards

[Ianinfrance]

I'm not Vernon, but I can answer one question you asked. KNO3 is potassium nitrate. Although prague power /cure #1 etc do contain it, they also contain nitrite, and salt to avoid having to weigh 2 gm quantities of nitrate and even less nitrite.

I'd like to add a couple of extra questions to Vernon ...

In your mix, you specify Sage, thyme and marjoram. Am I right in thinking that these are all dried herbs? (I grow all three, so my instinct is always to use fresh herbs when I can, but I also know that most dried herbs are 3 times as strong as the fresh ones).

[Vernon Smith]

Tony,

Sorry to appear smug but 60+30+45+15+25+25 = 200g. That's what I used in 10kg minced pork and fat, i.e. 20g/kg.

The bread was a fresh sliced square tin loaf. I simply trimmed off the crusts and cut the slices into small squares. No need to make breadcrumbs. The bread blends in when the mixture is minced for a second time. If that concerns you blend the stock and KNO3 with the bread first to make a paste then mix with the sausage meat and other ingredients before mincing for a second time.

KNO3 is Potassium Nitrate (Saltpetre). It's very potent stuff. Prague #1 is salt with 6.25% KNO2 (Potassium Nitrite) and Prague #2 is salt with 6.25% KNO2 and 4% KNO3. You can use either but you must caclulate the total amount of nitrITE and nitrATE you add to make sure you don't exceed 200ppm. I use 200ppm here in the tropics but back in the UK 100ppm should be sufficient. Also, make sure to subtract the salt content of the Prague Powder from the amount of salt that you initially weigh out for your seasoning mixture. As KNO2 gets to work quicker and dissipates easily with cooking you might prefer Prague #1. If you use #1 in 10kg of sausage meat, adding 16g of the Cure will give you 1g KNO2 (100ppm) and 15g salt. If you don't deduct the 15g, the sausages might be much too salt and you won't taste all the other subtle flavours. I hope I have explained that clearly. If that's all too much hassle use KNO3 but be extremely careful not to exceed the above-mentioned limits.
Let me know how you get on. I will gladly help if you have any further queries.

All the best
Vernon

[TonyE]

Hi Vernon


Oooppppss 'User Head Space Error' on my part - for some reason I missed the 30gm White pepper

As long as I do not forget to add white pepper when I make these sausages I should be o/k - Many thanks for your very quick reply.

kind Regards - Tony

[Vernon Smith]

Ian,

Yes, my herbs are all dried. I have to import catering packs from Australia. I would love to try fresh but they wouldn't grow here. I guess a good starting point for you would be to triple the weight of these three herbs. Best of luck with the recipe. I'm still waiting for someone to claim the receipe as his/her own. Perhaps they're too modest.

BTW. You got the composition of Prague #1 & Prague #2 a bit confused. I posted the respective formulae a short while ago. I hope it is useful. Knowing the correct formulae you can now poision the in-laws and claim it was a mistake.

Cheers,
Vernon

[Ianinfrance]

Hi Vernon,

Yes, my herbs are all dried.

Thanks very much. I've just dried some marjoram sprigs, so I may use that and thyme dried, and fresh sage. I am running low on sossidges, so we may well be trying some soon. Especially with the bloomin cold weather we're having here. 4 days of hot sun, and now overnight temperatures of around 12C. That said the weather forecase is promising us 22C for tomorrow afternoon - in hot weather we usually have nearer 32C. GRR - or is it BRR. Anyway, it's good sossidge weather.

BTW. You got the composition of Prague #1 & Prague #2 a bit confused.

I did? Oh yes... I thought they both contained nitrate as well as nitrite. Ta. I should have kept my answer to what I knew about.

[Ken Boy]

Hi Vernon,
Have tried out the recipe you posted
I made up a sample batch of 500 grms at the moment waiting for them to bloom up in the chiller Before I taste them I will let you know the results of the tasting

[Vernon Smith]

Ken Boy,
My goodness, you must be using apothacaries scales to weigh out the ingredients for a 500g batch. Best of luck anyway. I hope this flavouring turns out as well for you as it has for me. Keep in touch. If you think the recipe needs a bit of fine tuning please let me know. Although it's the best I've come across it doesn't mean it cannot be improved.
All the best
Vernon

[Nafe]

in regards to ko2 and ko3 does sulphos on this site contain any?

Ta


Nafe

[Vernon Smith]

Nafe,

Sorry to appear dim, I don't understand your question.

You mention KO2 & KO3 but I assume you mean NO2 & NO3. OK?

I am lost with "sulphos on this site". Please explain what this means and I might be able to help.

Vernon

[Ken Boy]

Hi Vernon
The mix is fine as good as any you would buy. I noted from your recipe that you added a stock.
With the amount that I made up I omitted it.
What would be the advantage of adding this Stock in a larger amount

[Vernon Smith]

Ken Boy,
Remember, I raise and slaughter my own pigs so I always have bones. Simmering them for stock just saves wasting anything at all from the carcass. It adds a bit more flavour (if you wish) and obviously increases the protein content of the sausage but neither are really important. If I didn't have bones to utilise I wouldn't bother with stock I'd just use water.
BTW. Do you know what Nate means by "sulphos"?
Vernon

[Ken Boy]

Hi Vernon
Thank you for the information on the stock
I Must admit I have put a search in for the product of Sulphos it came back with Nothing found
Please have a look a Gordons post in the chatter part of the forum under Nafes original post HELP TO MUCH SULPHOS that is the nearest possible answer that I can find.