Franco's Sausage Mixes

[Ianinfrance]

Hi,

I had a rush of blood to the head, and without ever trying any of them, bought four of Franco's mixes. I can work out how to use the Cumberland Sausages (in fact we've nearly finished them) and the Thuringer Bratwurst Mix, but can anyone give any hints on how to use the 2 kilos of Chorizo sausages we've made.

Oh.. and I also bought a packet of Franco's favourite Thai mix, only to find that there are no instructions for use. So, if anyone had used it, could you give me a hint. An dea of how you use them once made would be nice too.

Thanks in advance - my first post here - but not my last.

[TJ Buffalo]

Hi Ianinfrance
Welcome to the forum. Chorizo is a fairly spicy sausage, so usually it goes well into dishes with beans, potatoes, etc. I like spicy sausage so I often eat it grilled, but here's a recipe that I've tried with that has the chorizo cut up and mixed in with beans (you could also just remove it from the casings and crumble it up before cooking it). I'd watch out on the hot peppers and just do them to taste.
If you want, you can search for "cooking with chorizo" on the web to see what else is around.

Spicy Pinto Bean Chili with Chorizo Recipe

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 pound fresh chorizo sausage
1 sweet white onion, diced
1-1/2 Tbsp ancho chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 tsp aniseed (anise seed)
1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 (16-ounces) can tomatoes in puree
2 cups cooked pinto beans or rattlesnake beans
1 yellow bell pepper, trimmed and diced (or red or green bell pepper)
2 jalapeno peppers, or more to taste, seeded and minced
Salt
Hot ground red pepper
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

Instructions
Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chorizo and cook, turning often, until well browned and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove with tongs and let drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, cut into thin slices.

Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, bay leaf, aniseed, and coriander. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and beans, reserved sausage, bell pepper, and jalapenos, season to taste with salt and ground red pepper.

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon, for 30 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve, with additional cilantro as a garnish if desired.

Yield: 4 servings as a main course

[dougal]

Hi Ian, and welcome!

Chorizo is like a spanish, pork, cousin of merguez...

[Ianinfrance]

Hi TJ and Dougal,

Thanks very much for such swift replies. As I said earlier, I made up some of Franco's chorizo recipe sausages and ate them tonight. - when compared to "cooking chorizos" that I've bought elsewhere, these are very much "English style" chorizos. That's not bad, far from it, but my opinion is, that I should more or less cook them as if they were regular bangers, though perhaps making sure I've got some beans around, as TJ suggests.

We also made some Thuringer bratwurst and they're delightful as well. We're having a great time trying them all out!

Now then... any ideas about the Thai mix?

[vinner]

As respects the chorizos, hot smoking them and using them sparingly in fish stews, paellas and the such are nice techniques.

[Spuddy]

Welcome to the forum Ian

I think I know what you mean. The Spanish "cooking" chorizos (i.e. NOT dried) that I have tried are however still slightly dried and are also lightly cured. I'm not sure if Franco's mix has any cure in it.
You mention it was a bit "banger" like; did you put rusk in or is there rusk in the mix? There isn't any in a genuine chorizo.
I would allow them to dry for a couple of days (if you can keep your hands off them) to see if the texture improves. If you can be certain there is some cure in them (and no rusk) then 5-7 days hanging in your cellar (or somewhere cool and dark) will produce the authentic effect you're looking for.

[Ianinfrance]

Hi Spuddy,

Welcome to the forum Ian

You mention it was a bit "banger" like; did you put rusk in or is there rusk in the mix? There isn't any in a genuine chorizo.

The recipe on the mix called for (from memory) 850 gms of pork, 50 gms of rusk, 100 gms of water and 26 gms of mix. So that's the proportions I used. I was fairly sure that a spanish style cooking (ie not fully cured) chorizo wouldn't have had any rusk, but to be honest, this really is my first attempt at using Franco's mixes so I thought I should stick closely to what he said. Up until now, I've made my own "english" sausages, using pork and my own seasonings, but felt that they weren't quite right. That's why I'm trying some recipes with rusk. What amazes me, to be honest, is the dramatic difference a relatively small proportion (5%) of rusk can make to the texture. I suppose I should also count the water as part of the "addition" but even then.

When we've eaten the 12 remaining pounds of sausages (which will be no hardship) I think I'll try making up my own mix as before, but adding say 5% of rusk/water mix and mincing more finely.

Thanks for the Chorizo tips. We bought some in Borough market, and since then, I've had this hankering!

[Ianinfrance]

Hi
People with a good memory ( ) may remember me asking this question.

Hi,
Oh.. and I also bought a packet of Franco's favourite Thai mix, only to find that there are no instructions for use. So, if anyone had used it, could you give me a hint. An idea of how you use them once made would be nice too.

Well, a PM and email later, I got a very nice apologetic email from Steph, with instructions and a suggested recipe. If anyone else is in my shoes and got the packet without the instructions, here they are.

Chiang mai Thai Seasoning. 250g

Usage rate 2.5 % i.e. 25 grammes of seasoning per kilo of meat/rusk.

Recipe suggestion:

750 grammes pork (shoulder is ideal)
100 grammes rusk.
150 grammes water.
25 grammes Chiang mai thai seasoning.


1. Mix pork, water and seasoning.
2. Mince.
3. Add rusk to mix.
4. Mince again.
5. Stuff into natural or collagen casings.

As you can imagine, I was curious, partly to try it out and partly to put into practice what I've been reading here. So I bought 500 gms of fairly lean belly, and 500 gms of throat, which is very fatty, cut them into smallish cubes and stuffed the lot in the freezer for half an hour.

While I was waiting, I weighed out the mix, assembled the mincer and so on. When they came out, I mixed them up with the seasoning, (thought I'd try without rusk or water) and then passed them through the Kenwood with mincer attachment twice on fine, before popping back in the fridge to ripen. As there was only a kilo, I couldn't be fagged to stuff them, and we had them as "sausagemeat patties", as I've frequently had them in the USA.

Very interesting. As before the seasoning was very much to my taste. The texture, having been minced twice very cold, was excellent, though not as juicy as cased sausages would have been. Quite a lot of the fat ran out, which again wouldn't have happened if cases/with rusk.

Wonderful flavouring mix, which I'd be happy to recommend. A nice little bite of chilli, with very thai flavours. Thanks to Steph for sending me the recipe.

[saucisson]

I may well get some haggis mix in for christmas so I'm tempted to put some of that on the order, thanks Ian!

Dave