[Sca-cooks] Sausage Making (long)

[Carol Smith]

I make sausages pretty regularly, and have almost always frozen them and 
have had no problems.
By all means, make a test batch(5 lbs or less) to try out your spices.  Go 
easy at first; you can always more, but it's almost impossible to reduce 
them.  You should use a little water with any recipe, even if the recipe 
doesn't call for any, just to make the mixture softer and to press into the 
casings.  (Or substitute beer or wine for the liquid, if you desire).  The 
trick to good sausages is to keep the air out of the casings; you can work 
small air bubbles out from either end of thecasing, or you can poke a 
PINPRICK hole in the casing to remove an air bubble.  That's the major 
problem I've found in homemade, but I've got a 25-lb press that I only pull 
out for feasts.  Otherwise, I just use the 5-lb press I use for classes.
I've made Medieval German and Italian sausages and modern, as well.  One of 
the things we've done, once, many years ago, was a fish sausage, made by 
Master A, Charlie, and me, for a Celtic Silliness "Come as you're not" 
event.  I believe Adamanteus had posted the recipe here a while back.

Regards,
Brekke

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fairy Tale Designs" <avrealtor at prodigy.net>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 15, 2006 8:07 PM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Sausage Making


>   Freezing was mentioned. Do most kinds freeze well?  I will not be making 
> smoked ones, but they will have casings.
>
>   I was also planning on making a test batch since I don't normally eat 
> sausages, other then the breakfast kind.  OK, I guess hot dogs :)
>
>   -Muiriath
>
>