Pork Sausages Recipe

When a pig is cut up in the country, sausages are usually made of the

trimmings; but when the meat has to be bought, the chump-end of a

fore-loin will be found to answer best. The fine well-fed meat of a

full-grown pig, known in London as "hog-meat," is every way preferable

to that called "dairy-fed pork." The fat should be nearly in equal

proportion to the lean, but of course this matter must be arranged to

suit the taste of those who will eat the sausages. If young pork is

used, remove the skin as thinly as you can--it is useful for various

purposes--and then with a sharp knife cut all the flesh from the bones,

take away all sinew and gristle, and cut the fat and lean into strips.

Some mincing-machines require the meat longer than others; for Kent's

Combination, cut it into pieces about an inch long and half-an-inch

thick. To each pound of meat put half a gill of gravy made from the

bones, or water will do; then mix equally with it two ounces of

bread-crumbs, a large teaspoonful of salt, a small one of black pepper,

dried sage, and a pinch of allspice. This seasoning should be well mixed

with the bread, as the meat will then be flavoured properly throughout

the mass. Arrange the skin on the filler, tie it at the end, put the

meat, a little at a time, into the hopper, turn the handle of the

machine briskly, and take care the skin is only lightly filled. When the

sausages are made, tie the skin at the other end, pinch them into shape,

and then loop them by passing one through another, giving a twist to

each as you do them. Sausage-skins, especially if preserved, should be

well soaked before using, or they may make the sausages too salt. It is

a good plan to put the skin on the water-tap and allow the water to run

through it, as thus it will be well washed on the inside. Fifteen to

twenty minutes should be allowed for frying sausages, and when done they

should be nicely browned. A little butter or lard is best for frying,

and some pieces of light bread may be fried in it when the sausages are

done, and placed round the dish by way of garnish. Cooks cannot do

better than remember Dr. Kitchener's directions for frying sausages.

After saying, "They are best when quite fresh made," he adds: "put a bit

of butter or dripping into a clean frying-pan; as soon as it is melted,

before it gets hot, put in the sausages, and shake the pan for a minute,

and keep turning them. Be careful not to break or prick them in so

doing. Fry them over a very slow fire till they are nicely browned on

all sides. The secret of frying sausages is to let them get hot very

gradually; they then will not break if they are not stale. The common

practice to prevent them bursting is to prick them with a fork, but this

lets the gravy out."

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