Sausage stuffing attachment (recommended but not essential)
Ingredients
1.6kgpork shoulder
500gpork fat backor other pork fat
42gkosher saltsee notes
1tbspblack pepper
Natural hog casingsor synthetic alternative
Seasoning for Italian-style sausages (optional)
½tbspdried parsley
1 ½tspdried oregano
1tspdried thyme
1tspdried sage
1tspdried marjoram
½tspdried basil
½tspdried rosemary
1tspground fennel seeds
1tsppaprika
1tspred chilli flakesor more, to taste
1tbspgranulated sugar
Instructions
Cut the pork shoulder into approximately 1-inch cubes. Cut the pork fat into slightly smaller pieces. Keep separate and place in the freezer for 30 minutes until firm. This will prevent the meat from turning to mush in the mincer.
If using natural hog casings, remove from the packaging and rinse thoroughly. Leave to sit in warm water for at least 30 minutes.
Once chilled, run the pork shoulder through the mincer on its coarsest setting, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Run the pork fat through the mincer, also on its coarsest setting. Place in the bowl with the minced pork shoulder. Add 42 grams of kosher salt to the bowl, plus 1 tbsp of freshly cracked brown pepper. Mix thoroughly. Add any seasonings at this point.
For Italian-style sausages, combine the parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, basil, rosemary, ground fennel seeds, paprika, chilli flakes and sugar and mix into the minced pork mixture. Transfer the seasoned pork to the freezer for another 30 minutes or so, then run through the mincer once again on a finer setting (if possible).
Transfer the finely ground pork to a bowl and mix until emulsified – like kneading dough.
At this point, there are options. You can form the sausages into patties and cook immediately, which won’t require any stuffing. You can stuff the sausages with a specific mincer attachment (which is highly recommended) or use a funnel with a skewer or chopstick to push the mince through.
If you have a sausage stuffing mincer attachment, tightly attach it and rub the tube with a little oil before sliding on a single casing. Leave around 3-4 centimetres of overhand.
Slowly stuff the meat into the casing to fill it up, pulling the casing as necessary to allow it to flow downward. Repeat the process until the entire casing is full, but be sure to make sure at least 3-4 cm of overhang is left on either side.
Once the sausage is around 12-15cm long, pinch the farthest end with both hands to close both ends, then twist the sausage to tighten. Repeat with the remaining links. Use a skewer or cocktail stick to prick the skins in order to remove any air bubbles.
Place the sausages on a baking sheet and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight, to allow the casings to dry out. Flip at least once while drying.
To cook the sausages, shallow fry over medium heat for 12-15 minutes until cooked through, place in the oven and cook at 190C/170C fan/gas 5 for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally, or air fry for 15 minutes at 200C, turning every 5 minutes.
Notes
Synthetic casings can be used for sausage making, but natural hog casings are far superior. Many butcher’s stock them, but they’re also readily available online and last for a fair while in the fridge if stored properly.Homemade sausages should contain around 2 percent salt content compared to the amount of meat used. So for a 2.1kg batch of pork, you’ll need 42 grams of kosher salt. Using kosher salt isn’t strictly necessary, but unlike other salts it’s made solely of sodium chloride, containing no trace minerals or iodine. It’s also less harsh than table salt, so should be used more liberally. If using table salt, however, cut the amount in half. Rather than using 42 grams for this recipe, use just 21 grams, and remember to scale accordingly. To work out the necessary ratio for using kosher salt, times the amount of meat (in grams) by 0.02.Sausages are also highly adaptable when it comes to seasoning, with countless options. For this recipe, I tend to use an Italian-style seasoning as Italian sausages aren’t just world-leading, they’re also hard to find in the UK and are often expensive – only available from specialist suppliers. You can, however, play around with seasonings, or just simply stick with salt and pepper, and maybe just a pinch of nutmeg.