[Sca-cooks] Another sausage question

[Roxann Hatch]

I have to jump in on this. One of my interests in cooking is making sausage. I was reluctant to offer an answer because I feel so inadequate as far as quoting my resources, but here it goes.
 
You have to add some kind of fat to the sausage. If your meat is pretty lean, the sausages will fall apart when you cook them. That's if you can get them into the casings in the first place. Pork fat is just the most easily available. Beef suet would be your next best choice. I don't know how well lard would work because it has been rendered and it is a pork product.
 
Another choice would be eggs, or cheese. Cheese may be a problem if you are providing sausages for people practicing some religions, because dairy and meat should not be eaten together for them.

Sometimes rehydrated dried fruit can act as a binder. We made a wonderful Lombard sausage this last summer without adding additional fat to the meat, but instead added dates and raisins. Sorry, I can't remember the title of the book. Forme of Cure maybe? It was the one put online recently. Richard II cooks compiled it.
 
Hope this helps,
Hilde  

--- On Fri, 10/9/09, Deborah Hammons <mistressaldyth at gmail.com> wrote:


From: Deborah Hammons <mistressaldyth at gmail.com>

So I will make a small
batch without fat, one with probably beef suet or lard, and see what the
taste and texture is like.  Thank you.
Aldyth