5 SIMPLE STEPS
Here are 5 simple steps on how to make sausages. Before your start, know that sausage making is a time consuming process, but it’s also fun! So take your time and have fun learning how to make sausages!
STEP 1:
PREPARE YOUR SAUSAGE CASINGS
Sausage casings are typically bought vacuum packed and stored in salt to prevent spoilage. The most common sausage casings are sheep casings and hog casings. The sausage casings need to be soaked overnight before use. Artificial sausage casings, made usually from beef collagen, are also available, although the natural casings are much nicer. A lot of people don’t like the artificial casings.
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Buy the best quality sausage casings you can find. Copcas is known for the quality of their sausage casings.
STEP 2:
GRIND YOUR MEAT
Mince your meat through a meat grinder or get your butcher to prepare it for you. If grinding yourself, remove any skin or bones and slice into cubes small enough to fit into the throat of your grinder. Salt generously then put it into a freezer for half an hour or so.
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Putting the meat in the freezer stiffens the meat and makes mincing easier.
STEP 3:
ADD YOUR SPICES
Once minced add the spices your homemade sausage recipe calls for, with a couple of handfuls of dry breadcrumbs. These are crucial to good sausage texture. The crumbs absorb some of the fat, giving texture and evening out the juiciness. A gluten-free sausage will be hard and horrible! The recommended ratio is 85% meat, with the balance being breadcrumbs, water, seasoning and herbs. Water is essential to partially rehydrate the breadcrumbs. Now you need to knead the sausage mixture ensuring that the proteins are released and a nice, sticky meat paste fragrant mass squelching through your fingers.
USEFUL TIP
During the Second World War people would added a lot of water to their sausages. This caused the sausages to burst as they cooked. That’s why they were called bangers!
STEP 4:
FILLING THE SAUSAGE CASINGS
Slip the wet sausage casing over the funnel attachment of your grinder. Remove the blades from the grinder, mount the stuffing funnel and set the machine going on its slowest setting. Now’s the time to get some help. Get one person to turn the handle, while the other massages the meat slowly into the sausage casing. Don’t allow the meat to pack too tight but make sure it fills evenly without air bubbles.
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Leave a good length of sausage casing empty before starting to fill.
If you are just learning how to make sausages, only fill a metre of sausage casing at a time then cut it off leaving plenty of spare casing at either end.
STEP 5:
COMPLETING YOUR SAUSAGES
Tie off one end of each length of sausage casing then gently squeeze enough space to twist the homemade sausages a few times between each link. The homemade sausages need a day to rest in the fridge first before cooking, so the breadcrumbs can plump up. When you cook them, sizzle gently in a pan to give them an even colour, rather than blasting them with a high heat.
Enjoy your yummy homemade sausages! Now you know how to make sausages you’ll never eat shop bought sausages again! Have a look at some of the homemade sausage recipes we have researched for you to try out.
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Make sure the sausage casings are thoroughly wet inside and out otherwise it will be difficult to slide them on the tube.
If person cranking goes too fast blowouts will be inevitable.
Make sure the sausage casing is not overfilled, it needs to be pliable enough to link.
