Italian Style Sausages

Our Italian style Sausages are great for grilling on the barbeque, as the sausages in our Sausage and egg thing or in a pasta sauce.  We have 2 methods of storing.  We can air dry them then vacuum pack and store in the fridge.  This method produces a firmer sausage great for slicing and adding to stuff, they also barbeque nicely.  Alternatively, we freeze them fresh and then barbeque.

This recipe assumes that you have already read, understood and absorbed the basics of sausage making.

Ingredients

Rough ground Pork (7mm), ideally half shoulder meat and half belly at a ratio of 70/30 meat to fat.
For each Kilo of meat, 18g salt.
Red pepper powder
Chilli powder
Fennel seeds

Mince the pork and fat roughly, 7mm then spread it out on the table and combine well with the ingredients.  The pepper and chilli powder is strictly by eye.  The best way is to spread out the mince, sprinkle a slack handful of fennel seeds over the top then cover with red pepper powder followed by the chilli powder.  You can be brave with the chilli powder but don't kick the arse out of it, use the red pepper powder for the colour.  Mix it together well by hand then repeat with the other half.  When it's well combined place it in a plastic food grade container in a cool place or the fridge if you have room to rest for at least 2 hours although overnight is better.  Ensure that you put something under the meat to allow any liquid to drain off as soggy meat is naff when making the actual sausages.

It's important when sausage making that the meat is as cool as possible and the grinder as well.  The next day we make the sausages themselves.  The casings are soaked in water for at least an hour after K has firstly untangled them and then run water through them.  Using your medium nozzle wet it thoroughly and slide the skin onto the nozzle.  Before tying off the end of the casing, push some meat through to almost the exit point to clear air from the nozzle. The knot must be as tight as you can tie it, do a double then fold the skin over and tie another double, this is known as a bubble knot.  Leave enough string to let yourself tie the two ends of the sausage together to hang them.  Now the filling. Use a steady turn and allow the sausages to fill fully keeping hands and table top wet.  At the required length for each sausage about 40cms cut the skin cut and tie off again with a bubble knot.  Tie the two ends together so they can be hung.  If you intend to freeze the sausages, let them hang for a day in a cool place then bag and freeze.  If air drying, hang them in a cool dark place for about 2 weeks, they should be hard and wrinkly.  You can then vacuum seal and refrigerate.  They will keep for a year but keep an eye on them.