Diann wrote
I speeded off to the butchers and got the hog casings. I asked them to snip me off a few bits. They wouldn't play, and made me watch while they yanked this stuff out! Urkle!!.
From your reaction,
are we talking �fresh casings� ie unsalted, untreated straight from a hog carcass?. If so you won�t be making sausages today, or if you did�
1) don�t eat them
2) don�t give them to any animal � dispose off them immediately
*** I'M NOT JOKING get back to me on this ***
as you wrote
then charged me $45 a kilo.
This price seems about right for salted casings.
You then asked
So tell me why I have to have pork belly and shoulder please, on account of I have to report back to the butcher.
To achieve a 25 % fat content. If the �butcher� makes his own �snags� ask him what he uses for meat and watch him really get bolshi and uptight.
You commented that
He got a bit snarky about cutting the bones out of everything but I pointed out that he was the butcher and that was what he was supposed to do.
You�re perfectly correct, though often some people forget what their job is. I�m sure that he charged you for the boning process and also charged you for the meat with the weight of the bone in.
You lastly wrote
I made the rusks and I think they're OK. Who knows?
If you followed my recipe (and haven�t lost your oven manual) then at least one thing will turn out ok.
kind regards
Parson Snows