How to create delicious sausages at home

The British banger is a firm family favourite. Grilled, fried, roasted, cubed in casseroles, or simmered in a sauce – these packets of meaty goodness are always a crowd pleaser.

But what sets a good sausage apart? Our Farm Shop butchers create thousands of hand-made sausages a year have put together their guide to making sausages at home.

Firstly, it’s all about good quality meat. Opt for a combination of lean pork shoulder and the fattier pork belly – other pork trimmings can be added to make sure nothing goes to waste.

Grinders and sausage making attachments can be brought and fitted to most home-mixers, but the key to this is keeping it cold. Heat is the enemy of sausage making, try to keep your mixture as cold as possible by putting the bowl you’re using to combine in the fridge for at least an hour before starting the process. Ensure the meat is minced small enough that the sausage isn’t gritty, but not so pulpy that there isn’t the all-important bite.

Traditionally water is used to help bind the mixture, but liquids from apple juice and cider to wine and vodka can be incorporated. Next add your breadcrumbs or rusk. As a rough rule of thumb, you’ll need a 1:9 ratio of breadcrumbs by weight added to your mix to ensure it holds together properly.

The next bit is the fun bit, get experimental with flavours. Here at Etherington’s we make everything from pork and leek, to Moroccan spiced sausages. Our trademark Wheal Rose sausages are made from a secret- generations old recipe, which has only a few simple ingredients but produces the tastiest sausages about. Once you’ve added your flavourings mix by hand until you can make a patty in your palm, hold it upside-down without it falling off – then the mixture is tacky enough.

The fiddly bit is getting the sausage meat into the casings. The key is not to overfill your skins, as when the sausages cook the juices from the filling will expand, causing them to split. Once in the casings, pinch the meat at regular intervals to create the individual sausages before giving them a simple twist to link them.

Cook your sausages slowly, the slower the better. Simmering for twenty-to-twenty-five minutes until golden brown will transform the way you eat sausages forever.