what type of pork?

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what type of pork?

Postby Spicy » Mon Sep 26, 2005 1:58 pm

Hi all, have brought the sausage makeing kit and have warned the wife. I need to buy the meat for the weekend and was wondering what's the ideal cut of pork ?

It'll be the first time so not overly fussed, just want to have some fun.

cheers
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Postby Platypus » Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:20 pm

Hi Spicy, welcome to the forum.

I generally use pork shoulder for my bangers, but will also use a bit of belly if I need more fat content.
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Postby TobyB » Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:23 pm

Hi there, for a first attempt I'd suggest using 50% lean pork (any cut) and 50% belly pork (fatty and cheap). Cut off the rind before you mince ( I roast my rind to make pork scratchings which I mix with the dogs' biscuits. They love it (mind you I tend to nick the odd bit for myself too))!

Good Luck with it!

Let us know how you get on and welcome

Toby :D
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Postby welsh wizard » Tue Sep 27, 2005 3:49 pm

Hi Spicy and welcome

Dont limit yourself to pork, I use quite a bit of beef in my bangers as well as a variety of game. But on the pork front I agree Tobyb and Platypus, shoulder and belly are the cuts.

Good luck, Cheers WW
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Postby Erikht » Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:05 pm

And try some mutton. Treat it like game. Very good.
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Postby Hobbitfeet » Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:03 pm

Search out Erikht's venison and "cassis" recipe...top sausage!
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Salty beginner

Postby Spicy » Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:33 am

Since it was my first time I took the suggestions and went for 50/50 shoulder/belly pork - added the spices provided and went for it.
Soaked the casings for 4 hours - more by accident than anything else.

Got the hang of using the stuffer and went for the mid size loader. They came out wonderfully and obviously practise was going to make it easier and more uniform.I cooked them in the oven and had to hold back the children.

The only thing I noticed was that the sausages were saltier than I expected. Not unbearably salty but I on tasting prior stuffing I decided that we needed some mash and beans to dilute the saltiness.

Any clues ?
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Postby welsh wizard » Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:56 am

Hi Spicy

Well done on the bangers, I always try to get a few in the deep freeze but like you, the children tend to devour quite a number before the freezer door even opens. Re salt levels, you dont mention what spices / mixes and salt levels you used. I am sure if you post the recipe advice will come post haste.

Cheers WW.
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Postby Spicy » Tue Oct 04, 2005 7:20 am

Thanks Welsh Wizard - the Recipe/seasoning came premade with the sausage making kit I had brought from the website - It seemed to be the standard English (breakfast) seasoning - (cant get to the sachet now)
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Postby welsh wizard » Tue Oct 04, 2005 12:02 pm

I must admit I have used the Old English seasoning in the past and have not found the end result too salty but there are a number of items on this site regarding ensuring you mix the ingredients well with the minced meat . If a good mix is not achieved, and I have found this out the hard way, it can result in what can only be described as sausage roulette where different intensities of flavourings are unevenly distributed throughout the mix. Franco suggusted I mix the seasonings with 1/2 a pint of water before I mixed it into the minced pork, and that has seemed to work well for me.

Keep on keeping on, it gets better and more interesting.........

Cheers WW
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Postby aris » Tue Oct 04, 2005 12:09 pm

That is the problem with pre-made mixes - you can't choose your salt levels. Franco - you may want to consider selling your mixes WITHOUT salt, or package the salt separately so one can choose the mount of salt.

Personally, I like extra spice, but only 1% salt.
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Postby Hobbitfeet » Tue Oct 04, 2005 1:51 pm

Good suggestion, Aris; it would lead to smaller packaging too. Though I could see that the cures would still have to be 'salted' in order to ensure the correct proportion of nitrates, etc.
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Postby sausagemaker » Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:41 pm

The problem with the removal of salt is going to be the cost as this is the cheapest ingredient & helps keep the cost to a minimum.

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Postby Oddley » Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:52 pm

Guys that's the beauty of this forum, most of the spice mixes have been posted, or the links to similar spice mixes.

For instance, Welsh Wizard was talking about Franco's Old English spice mix. Franco has posted a very near recipe (Originally posted by Parson Snows)

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... 77&start=0

With a little adjustment the recipe is a clone of Franco's mix. This means you can adjust the salt levels.

I'm not trying to put you off buying Franco's mixes. But if you are having trouble with salt levels I suppose make the spice mix yourself is the only way out.
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