Basic Sausage Recipe

The is a basic sausage recipe which would be stuffed in casing.   Add the spice mixture to make the style you like.   The recipe is for 1 kg of meat.  The recipe is a mix of what I have learned through many batches and gathered from many sources.

• 1 kg beef, pork, venison, poultry or your preference
• 400 g pork belly or back fat
• 150 g rusk - common binder used in Europe, here is a recipe if you can't find any 
• 280 g cold water, beer (light hopped), cream, whole milk or your preference
• 25 g kosher salt or ~2% of meat, fat, rusk and water weight
• ~20 g spice mixture with no salt.  
•  hog or sheep casing

The recipe can be made in one day but can be spread across two days with a day rest between step 4 and 5.  Throughout the process of making sausage, it important to make sure all surfaces and equipment are clean and the meat/fat is kept cold ( mid-30sF).  For cleaning, I like using an Iodophor solution for soaking equipment or spraying down surfaces. 

1. Cut the meat and fat into chunks / strips that work best in your grinder.  Keep meat and fat separate and cold. 
2. Prepare the spice mixture.  Mix in the salt.   
   
3. Grind meat and fat separately.   
4. Mix salt and spice into the cold meat.  Mix in the fat.  Put mixture in refrig to get cold or overnight if taking two days to make.
5. Prepare your casings, soaking in warm water for 30 mins. 
   
6. Mix the rusk and water together.   Make sure it is mixed well.
7. Pull the meat mixture out of refrig.   Toss some latex gloves on.  Mix/knead in the rusk mixture into the meat.  Make sure it is mixed in really well, usually 5 mins.   The mixture should get sticky.   
8. Stuff into casings.   Prick sausages to remove air and link into size you like. 
9. Hang sausage in coolish spot for a few hours to dry then into refrig overnight.
10. Pack and store in freezer.