seasonings feedback

[Franco]

Can anyone who has bought my premixed seasonings let me know what you think of them?

Franco

[Fatman]

Franco

I once had a sample pack of Bacon Cure (sweet) it was excellent in fact I would rate it as one of the better ones that I have tried. However I can obtain this product at trade price else where, not that I find your prices unfair , but I am in the trade , so I will always choose that route of profit.

Regards

Fatman

[Parson Snows]

Franco

I would suggest that a NEW topic be set up for this under the forum "Equipment & Supplies" this could be "Product Feedback".
Doing this would enable all forum members to post queries/concerns such as the "Reber saga" here and for you to get feedback on your products. This would all then be IN ONE PLACE.

just a suggestion

kind regards

Parson Snows

[robin]

Franco,

I've tried a number of your pre-mix products and have been pleased with them all.

Traditional Dry Cure Bacon- I've made several batches of this, some using belly and some using loin. They have all come out very well indeed. Certainly much better than the bacon I was previously using from the supermarket. I was a complete beginner and have so far managed to make this without any problems at all which shows how 'user friendly' this product is.

Black pudding- I liked this. Rather than have the mess of stuffing it into hog skins I used a loaf tin and cooked it in a bain- marie in a low oven. It turned out pretty well. I tried to spice my second batch up a bit so I added some paprika and substituted some cooked rice for some of the back fat to attempt a Spanish style version. Nice try- it was OK but I'll probably stick to the recipie next time.

Special Italian Sausage- My favourate sausage so far. Even my Italian in laws rated this. Loved the way the fennel and the chilli came through. We have this cooked in some pasata with pasta.

Sardinian- Nice, spicy, again great with pasta. Some Italian neighbours I gave some to told me it was excellent and much better than anything they had bought in the shops.

Chorizo- Again a nice spicy sausage. I think this one would be better dried. If I was a bit braver or had some better instructions on how to combine this with cure #2 I'd have a go at this. I had a look at the PDF file on the site on curing bacon and if something similar was available for drying sausage that would be very useful.

Cumberland- Maybe a little on the salty side ? but OK.

So far I've used no rusk in the Italian, Sardinian and Chorizo but used 5% in the cumberland. Would you recommend using some rusk in the continental mixes or not please?

I hope this feedback helps. I was a complete beginner only a few weeks ago and have managed to turn out some pretty good gear so far without any major disasters thanks largely it has t be said to this forum.

[Shaun]

Franco
I have also used several of your premix's and have enjoyed them all.
I have to say my favorites are the leek and stilton and the Franco's jalapeno special.
The black pudding mix is to die for a must for everyone to at least try once, and the smoked bacon cure is easy to use with perfect results. It makes you wonder what butchers to to their bacon to make it taste so rank.


Regards
Shaun

[welsh wizard]

Franco

I have tried the Old English which is realy good - Leek and Stilton, which although the sausage did have good flavour the stilton was very weak, so I grated some frozen stilton into the mix and the flavour is now there - Sun Dried Tom which is the best yet.

Cheers WW

PS very interested in a game mix if you have the time?

[Paul Kribs]

Franco

I now have almost all of the sausage mixes except the boerwoers which I am waiting for. I have tried quite a few and generally they are very good. In no way overpowering, letting the meat flavour through.

Traditional Sausage Mix
I have not tried this on it's own, although friends and family enjoy it. I normally use it as a base mix and add some of my own ingredients and have had good results. I have added a substantial quantity of very well cooked chopped mushrooms, which were very nice indeed. I have also used it as a base for Porkie Leekie, using lightly sweated chopped baby leeks. Also very nice.

Old English
The flavouring is spot on with this one. Everybody who has tried it enjoys it. I don't add any other flavourings to it. I have even made half a dozen 1/2 pounder sausages with this mix (gutbusters I call them) and they are reserved for me.

Goan Vindaloo
I used this mix with 3 minced legs of lamb, a rather expensive sausage but found the flavour very fragrant with a slight touch of background heat. Not what I was expecting but again very enjoyable.

Garlic & Herb
Brilliant flavour, one of my favourites. Everybody who has tried them agrees.

Basil & Sundried Tomato
Yet again, the taste was spot on with a slight sweetness of the tomato. Another excellent mix.

Chiang Mai Thai
Tried this yesterday in the company of 2 friends. I made them in sheeps casings. Although still an enjoyable sausage in its own right, I could barely taste the coconut and couldn't find any hint of lemon grass. That aside, I would still make this sausage again but possibly add a little diluted creamed coconut as the liquid content and some very finely grated lemon rind. Careful on the lemon rind though as it quickly overpowers the meat.

Somerset Apple
Again, a pretty good mix. I have had variable feedback so it's a case of personal taste. The last batch I made for the wife and I added a tin of unsweetened chopped apple to a kilo of mix and no water as the apple was wet, along with a touch of extra rusk. I personally felt that It enhanced the sausage no end. I did make my neighbour a pound using just the mix and he said they were spot on, so personal taste I guess.

Cumberland
I have made this in various forms, traditional coils, links and chipolatas. All are good reports with the slight fragrance as a good cumberland should be.

Lincolnshire
Yet again a very good mix. I have dabbled with this one and added a touch more sage.

Merguez
Now this was something else. I made it as a soft sausage (not got around to drying yet). On receiving my order of mixes I could smell this one permeating through the sealed plastic bag. I initially thought it would be horrendously overpowering. I stayed with adding the top end of the mix at 50 grms per kilo. I actually used them as a trial for my first attempt at hot smoking. Absolutely brilliant. And so says the wife. Very very tastey but not overpowering.

Texas BBQ
I personally felt this could do with a touch more smoke. I will hot smoke the next batch. This aside still a very good flavour.

Jalapeno
Yet again I have dabbled with this one by the addition of a few more chillies even before trying it as is. It turned out well but as I havent tried the mix untouched cannot really pass a judgement.

Cajun
Another of my favourites. All the flavours are there with a nice touch of background heat.

Leek & Stilton
Unlike Welsh Wizard I felt the hint of the creamy stilton was there, although I found the leek flavour lacking.

Mexican
Although an enjoyable sausage with all the flavours there, my second batch got a few added birdseye chillis which bought it to my personal taste. Very good indeed.

I still have a few to try but overall I would say that there are none that I do not like. As I say it is a matter of personal taste but I would conclude that the pick of the bunch are the Merguez, Garlic & Herb, Basil & Sundried Tomato, Old English and Cajun. If you are looking for a base mix in which to add your own ingredients you can do no better than use the Traditional mix. One day I will get round to trying it 'as is'.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[welsh wizard]

Hi Paul

Interesting conclusions from the mixes. As I said I tried the leek and Stilton but found the stilton lacking but unlike you I found the leek! I suppose sometimes it is just how evenly the mix goes in to the finished product. How do you mix yours? I tend to sprinkle on and then mix by hand but I suppose because we are dealing with a dry product somewhere along the line you will get clumps that stick to a certain bit of the meat. In so saying possibly the next sausage will be pure stilton! Sausage roulette I suppose!!

Cheers WW

[Franco]

I find the best way to add any seasonings to sausagemeat is to first of all mix the dry seasoning with around half a pint of water per kilo of meat, then add the liquid to the meat,this ensures a good distribution of spice.

Franco

[welsh wizard]

Franco

Thanks for that I will give it a go next time, it seems very logical.

Cheers WW

[Paul Kribs]

Franco & Welsh Wizard

Normally I put the whole mix of lean and fat into a stainless steel bowl, I then distibute the mix as evenly as possible over the meat/fat. I then add some additional pinhead rusk to a ratio of about 5% and then water to suit the rusk at about 1 - 1.5. I tend to aim for a dryish mix, I then hand mix the lot for about 5 minutes and then leave to absorb for about 15 minutes, gives me time for a cup of tea and a ciggie. Then I stuff the casings, link and leave overnight to bloom in the fridge and allow the milk to become infused with garlic etc.. Wife not too happy.

As I say, I am generally very pleased with the results.

WW, I take your point about the mix not being consistent with ingredients evenly distibuted, but that is probably to do with different weights of ingredients and bulk purchasing. I tried the somerset apple and could not find the apple taste yet a neighbour said they were superb. It's all about personal taste. All in all I am getting good feedback with the basic mixes from friends and family.

I am going to make pork guinness and prune this saturday using the traditional mix as a base, using a pint of guinness reduced for the moisture content, and finely chopped california dried prunes... we shall see. Might even get around to some pork, cider and dried apricot as well, using the traditional mix as a base. Must stop typing, I'm dribbling.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[welsh wizard]

Paul

Dribble away old boy. Each time I use cider I lose a lot of taste for some reason so recently I have been using apple juice and the results are tangibly different. The only real taste I have had a sucess with in the alcohol line is different flavour gins. I laid down a lot of Sloe, Damson and rasberry gin a few years ago and these seem to end up in the old sausages and it does make a difference. I have found in the past beer and cider taste tends to get overpowered by the mix. Balance is a problem but I am sure my tastebuds are shot. However I did make a beef and guiness sausage a couple of pigs ago and that did have a good taste but a little bitter (excuse the ha ha), or should I say a stout sausage.

For me strong flavours are the order of the day.

Cheers WW

[Paul Kribs]

Welsh Wizard

Both the guinness and the cider will be boiled rapidly to reduce the quantity, concentrate the flavour and boil off the alcohol. Any bitterness should be contrasted by the sweetness of the prunes or apricots.
That's the theory anyway. Practicality will happen saturday, tasteing sunday or monday. I will only make a kilo of each at first.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[welsh wizard]

Paul

I must admit I did not try reduction - boiling off alcohol brings a little tear to my eye though! Please will you let me know what the results are like?

Thanks WW

[Paul Kribs]

Welsh Wizard

I have used the technique before when making steak and and kidney pudding with homebrewed stout. The stout ended up a bit overpowering though. Gave everybody a dose of the raspberries. Rhyming slang.. raspberry tarts.. erm wind.

I know exactly what you mean about boiling out the alcohol content, but I do make an exception for good food. I will let you know the results.

regards, Paul Kribs