sausage making course

[col]

Hello
I have just purchased a sausage making starter kit and have make some sausages and cured some bacon with mixed results and I must say a big thank you to this site it has been a great help, especially Paul Kribs his web site is a great help.

But I need a course in basic sausage making and bacon curing I have seen courses advertised but they are in the south and I live in the north I am willing to pay a profesional or gifted amature for 2 days training in the basics if you are able to help please contact me on 01724 330966.

thanks

Col

[welsh wizard]

Hi Col

I was interested in your request for some tutorial in the art of sausage making and curing. Personally I have learnt as I have gone along using this site as a A1 reference to all things meaty. As an intrim measure before finding a course it would interesting to hear your exploits thus far that have given you mixed results. There is a wealth of knowledge on this site and I am sure people like Paul, Aris, Sausagemaker etc etc can guide you through the problems you are facing.

On the flip side however if you do track a course down then it may be good to post names, addresses etc and your experiences of the couple of days.

Cheers WW

[Paul Kribs]

col

As Welsh Wizard says, you learn as you go along. I feel that maybe you are a little apprehensive and this is understandable when starting out. We've all been there. If you start out using Franco's sausage mixes and Bacon cures sold on this site, and follow the turorials on my site, you will have no problems. Keep it simple to start off with and when you are confident you can then start to experiment a bit using different recipes posted here and eventually devise your own recipes.
The 'search' facility on this forum is a very useful tool, it's just a case of time spent browsing through. If you have any concerns just post here and request some help. Advice given on this forum is generally very good, as I have found out when starting out.

Good luck.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[col]

Thanks WW
As I said I have had mixed results and the thing is I am in a bit of a hurry I have a holiday property in Bulgaria which I am visiting in may, Bulgaria is now a major tourist destination for British tourists and it is impossible to buy british sausages or bacon.

My neighbours rear pigs as well as growing tomatoes for a living so I think there is the possibility of starting a business parnership with them to supply hotels with sausages and bacon.

Col

[welsh wizard]

Hi Col

If you are thinking of starting up selling the old sausage you will find (if you havent already) it is a mine field in relation to the rules and regs of producing food in a processed meat form. However power to your elbow if you go ahead.

Cheers WW

PS as Paul has already said, Francos mixes are very self explanatory and you should be able to produce a more than passable sausage in a short space of time.

[col]

Thanks for the advice regarding the regulations in Bulgaria they will not be as strict as uk ,Paul I have followed your tutorials and I must say they are one of the best things on this site, but for what I need I think i need to spend some time with someone who I can learn from and ask all the questions I need to answers to and then come home and try to put it in to practice.

Col

[aris]

Sounds like you will be producing large-ish volumes. I'd speak to your local butcher and see if you can pay him for some of his time as an apprentice.

[col]

Hi
I think you could be right about the volume ,but like most people I shop at supermarkets so do not have a relationship with a butcher on a regular basis, that is why I thought I would post on here and hope I would get someone willing to give a bit of there time for payment.

col

[Wohoki]

For what it's worth, don't underestimate the value of trial and error. If you work with good ingredients, and follow good recipes you won't go far wrong (you won't make any bad bangers, at worst you might make some that you can improve upon.) If you study with a commercial producer, all you'll learn is how to make sausage the same as everyone else. If you go DIY you WILL make something new and interesting, and with practice, a lot better. Even small village butchers have commercial constraints that they can't work around, but if you specialise you can charge a premium for a great product.

Keep a notebook.

(Incidentaly, I did a day with my local butcher, and learned more about what I didn't want to do with my bangers than what I did. I haven't bought any sausage from him since )

[col]

Hello Wohoki
you are right about the fact that you can not make any really bad sausage making them your self ,but what I have made so far have tasted ok but there has been room for improvment and what I want to try and acheive is consistancy and learn the techniques and which cuts of meat to use ,but as I have said before I only have a limited time before I go over to Bulgaria in may.

thanks

colin

[Wohoki]

I think you're a lot more likely to find good profesional pork-butchers in Bugaria than you are in the UK, and (having been there) I'd bet quids that they'd be more than happy to show to what to do, if you show an interest.

As to seasonings, Franco's site provides a great sevice and great ingredients.

Best of luck, and post any good recipes (I love Eastern European food, so include some dumpling recipes, and I'm always open to a new saurkraut )

[col]

Thanks for that I intend to purchase some profesional equipment and seasonings from Franco"s and have them shipped over there after I come back from this trip ,this trip is just about making contacts and doing some samples for customers to try to see if the market is there.

col