What first time kit on a budget?

[Bangermuncher]

Hi all,I hope someone can offer me some advice,I've been noshing bangers at least 3 times a week for as long I can remember over 45 years and seek new tastes so finally I'm gonna start making my own and am collaborating with a friend who has a wheat and dairy intolerance,I don't,but it's the challenge of making the sausage anyone can eat.
I've read a lot of the posts but I'm going to start with a basic manual machine,on another site I looked at the Porkert #5 but it doesn't say what plates it comes with or if other sizes are extra,there are similar machines on this site that look like the Porkert #5 and #7 and are cheaper but no brand name is mentioned,also the other site only sell collagen casings and I want to use hog,can anyone enlighten me as there appears to be no contact number here?
I only want the basic kit and casings,maybe the book,but not rusks,spice mixes etc as I intend to experiment with my own and even the best butchers now mostly use bulk packs and all bangers are starting to taste the same if not worse.
I want the sausage as it used to taste like when I was a kid when I used to be able to watch the butcher making it,not one full of E numbers and sawdust.
I'm only making for home use so I don't mind the extra work in making sausages manually.
I've been making great burgers for years using my own recipes such as Lamb rosemary and redcurrant,Pork apple leek and cheese,and some very nice Bacon burgers which I have a taste for but sadly my old hand mincer is now kaput,it is an ex mincer,retired.
So I'm looking at Porkert or similar to get me on the road to the elusive perfect sausage.
Any tips on mincing chicken?
My friend told me today it clogged her mincer when she tried,I'm guessing it should be part frozen first.
Thanks
Andy

[Oddley]

Hi Bangermuncher welcome to the forum.

Give sausagrmaking a ring they are usually helpful. The number is at the link below.

http://www.sausagemaking.org/acatalog/Contact_Us.html

[Franco]

Andy,

we sell the Porkert number 5 or number 10 which we call the heavy duty, we sell hog and collagen casings, if you order by phone ask for a sample of the collagen if you are buying the hog ones, I prefer to use the hog as do most people here on the forum.


Regards

Franco

[Bangermuncher]

Will do tomorrow,thanks for that,I couldn't find a contact link on the site but it's been a long day with not a single sausage consumed!
Before I buy I prefer to talk to someone and not just go on details on the net,I'm one of those that shop around for the best quality but it often mullers my budget as I end up buying all the add on,all singing all dancing bits I don't really need and my credit cards are in meltdown status
So now I'm budgeting and looking for a bargain.
BTW,I live virtually next door to a sausage factory in Rolvenden,Kent,a lovely little village and home of the "Hoads Korker" sausage that most of the county swear by,but in reality it is just a bog standard banger though far better than anything the supermarkets churn out.
I do,I admit,keep a supply in my freezer for emergencies and if I need a quick fix,but it's not a proper sausage and the locals need educating.
The butcher in the next village sells outstanding local meat but lacks imagination in the sausage department,he is after all about 93 and just takes the money while his sons make the sausages.
The sons of this gentleman appear to have lost the art of sausage making.
On the shelves in the shop you can see the bags of commercial mixes.
Not that I'm knocking it,and this site sells such mixes,but they detract from the individual sausage makers skill and imagination and are personally not for me.
I'm just fussy

[Bangermuncher]

Thank you Franco,
It looks like I'll be ordering from you and shall now reccomend my friend does the same,she'll probably go for #5 but I'm tempted by #10.
My only question is the mincing plates.
With either model do you just get the one size and have to order others?
For sausages I prefer a very coarse mince,my friend isn't really bothered but I am.
My ancient old Spong mincer had two plates,one was okay for faggots etc(messy)the other brilliant for coarse grinding.
I lost old Spong in a move and a Kenwood Chef when the ex left....she did leave me the cat!
I bought another mincer from a kitchen shop,plastic,useless,binned it.
I like the robust look of the Porkert and its simplicity,and it's not made of plastic.
Also,as a bit of a traditionalist,I appreciate manual tools that can't go wrong as modern electrical kit can.
I talk too much when I'm hungry

[Paul Kribs]

Bangermuncher

Welcome to the forum.

That's a nice part of Kent you live in, used to pass through on my way to the Rother for a spot of fishing.

I had the dilemma of trying to find a coarse grinder plate for my old Fleischwolf manual mincer. I did find such a supplier but the plate at �21 was more expensive than what I originally paid for the mincer. I opted for an electric one, but do still use the manual one for small batches and I find it gives a better texture of mince than the electric one.

I use Franco's mixes, but also make my own. I find the traditional mix is an excellent base to which I add my own ingredients.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Platypus]

Hi bangermuncher, and welcome.

I have the porkert #5 from Franco, it is a lovely "old style" hand mincer very solidly made, but I am starting to wish I'd gone for the bigger one.
Not sure about the #10 but the #5 only comes with one mincer plate, the hole size of which is approx 3/16". This may be a bit too fine if you like a coarse texture, but I believe Franco sells other plates to fit it.

Regards
Platypus

[Bangermuncher]

Thanks everyone for your replies,on Monday I shall phone order the Porkert #10 with an additional coarse grinding plate and all the other bits I need to begin my assault on the sausage despots of this world and gain domination of pork and other meats that can be stuffed into real casings,but I have to blitz my tiny kitchen first....it's kind of "unloved" at the moment.
Hey!....I live on my own,it's allowed.
I've already come up with several pretty mad recipes but I know I'm not gonna get it right first time so I'm looking forward to the challenge.
Paul,if you passed through my village on the way to the Rother I'm guessing you may have fished at Newenden by the bridge on the A28,you can reach it from the M20 or the A21.
I'm equally familiar with your neck of the woods as I'm originally from South Wimbledon and used to work in Hither Green years ago,I know the station well and have a soft spot for it still even though the site I worked on was the only one I ever got knocked on.....fortunately the equipment I liberated from the contractor was worth a little more than they owed me and they didn't argue
I enjoyed your site and I could natter about it for ages but it's off topic and this is a sausage site!
Speaking of which tonights dinner is sizzling in the pan with some onions and mushrooms to make the gravy