So many sausages

Sausages are what's been sparking in my kitchen lately. 
The man of the house has been getting a LOT of this wild pork of late. Mainly because we are the only ones with a deep freeze to house it all. He's also decided that sausages are his thing. I mean, really, who doesn't love sausages? Especially good home-made meaty ones. So far he has experimented with a few flavours, including a fennel and a chilli one, which were both rather successful. Tonights batches included a Monteiths Barrel Aged Porter with Rosemary and Pepper, and a Spicy Louisiana sausage. 

The first thing you need to know about making sausages is that there needs to be a good ratio of fat to meat. Unfortunately, or luckily, depending how you think about it, wild pork is very lean, so we minced a packet of pork belly and trimmed a side of pork crackling to remove the skin. Both of these were minced to yield about 1.5kg of pork fat to go with the rest of the meat. 

The wild pork was boned and minced to create 6kg of mince, this was combined with the fat, then split into two batches for the sausages. 

The second thing is that the meat needs to be kept cold. Particularly if using home-kill or wild meat. So when not mincing or mixing be sure to keep it chilled in the fridge or freezer if only for a short while. 





Monteiths Barrel Aged Porter with Rosemary and Pepper

3.25 kg of Minced pork and fat mixture (see above, or use pre bought mince) 
1/4 of fresh rosemary, finely chopped. 
3 tbsp of freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp salt
1 cup of Monteiths Barrel Aged Porter beer (or your other favourite rich malty beer) 




Spicy Louisiana 
3.25 kg of Minced pork and fat mixture (see above, or use pre bought mince) 
2 tsp cayenne 
1 1/2 tsp chilli pepper
5 tsp salt
1 large onion, finely diced
2 tsp black pepper
4 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp allspice 
1 cup cold water
2 tsp thyme 


Follow the same method for both sausage flavours. 

• Mix mince with other ingredients, working it with clean hands. 
• Remove the mincer blade from the mixing machine, attach the sausage casing, feeding it all onto the machine (see picture), slowly begin feeding the mince into the machine, pausing as it begins to reach the end, now tie the end (this avoids getting air stuck). 
• Continue feeding the mixture through the machine. Keep filling (don't fill too tight as you will need to twist them after). 
• Once filled leave one end untied and twist three turns to make each sausage the desired size. Finally tie the end. 
• Seal sausages in vacuum bags (or wrap tightly in cling film and zip-lock bags). 
• Freeze or chill immediately. 
• and most importantly. ENJOY. 

Honest Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Recently I made a feast of BBQ pulled pork (find the recipe here), where one of the main ingredients & condiments is BBQ sauce. 
The BBQ sauce recipes I found however, mostly consisted of the base ingredient ketchup... why would I use a sauce to make another sauce? Doesn't seem to make sense to me, so I made my own one up, using more of the delicious Old Mout Scrumpy Cider that I'd cooked the pork in also.

I made this sauce quite quickly and it has a lovely slightly chunky texture. i think had I cooked the vegetables down longer it would have gotten smoother and would probably keep in the fridge longer. I don't think this will be a problem though. We did a blind taste of this sauce, vs. a shop bought bbq sauce, and thankfully my homemade one won!
My friend however did suggest that my label ought to have two chilli's rather than one. 

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp rice bran oil
• 1 onion diced
• 1/2 red capsicum
• 1 300ml jar tomato puree
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup Old Mout Scrumpy Cider 
• 1/4 c Molasses 
• 1/4 c raw sugar
• 4 tbsp smoked paprika
• 3 tbsp dried oregano 
• 1 tbsp salt 
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper 

Method

In a large pot heat oil on a low heat. Add onion, garlic and capsicum, cook stirring for 5 mins till softened. 

Add paprika, oregano, cayenne and salt. Stir again before adding tomato puree, apple cider vinegar and cider. Next add sugar and molasses. 

On low heat simmer, uncovered for 30 - 40 minutes, stirring occasionally till sauce has thickened and reduced. 

Taste and add more vinegar, sugar, salt or spice if required. 

Allow to cool slightly before pouring into a food processor. 

Blitz till smooth (or desired consistency) 

Bottle in sterilised jars. 

Will keep for 4 - 6 weeks in fridge 

Spark'n Barbeque'n Pulled Pork

Thanks to friends who have a love of hunting, my freezer is full of legs of wild pork. Initially I cooked this as per my friends instruction in an oven bag with a tin of pineapple. It was pretty good, but as always I was keen to try something new this time. It seems the craze in some of the new restaurants around town is BBQ Pulled Pork... so I figured I would give it a go for myself. 

It turns out that the sauce is made and stirred through separately, so the meat itself if much like any other slow cooked meat. I was planning to use a slow cooker, but the leg wouldn't fit, so I did it in an oven bag in a really low oven all day instead.

I wanted to make sure it had the added sweetness that the pineapple gave as pork, particularly wild pork, can be quite rich, so I cooked it with Old Mout Cider, I choose their Scrumpy because it's got a slightly higher alcohol content and  has a strong apple flavour. 

The BBQ sauce recipes I found however mostly consisted of the base ingredient ketchup... why would I use a sauce to make another sauce? Doesn't seem to make sense to me, so I made my own one up, using more of the delicious Scrumpy, See Here for yourself.

Apple Cider Pulled Pork served with Buns, Coriander and Lime Rice, Coleslaw and BBQ sauce. (See below for Rice and Coleslaw recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 leg free range or wild pork 
• Large oven bag or slow cooker - my leg of pork wouldn't fit in the slow cooker
• 1 1/2 c Apple Cider - I used Old Mout's Scrumpy 
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika 
• 2 tbsp ground cumin - I toast the seeds in a dry pan, then grind in a mortar pestle for the freshest flavour
• 2 tbsp oregano 
• 2 tbsp salt 
• 1 cup of BBQ Sauce

Method

Trim the meat of any large chunks of fat. Mix onion, spices and cider, put in bottom of oven bag. Add pork, spooning some of the mix on top so it's at least been coated. 

Seal oven bag and place in 120 degree oven for 6-7 hours. Meat should fall off the bone. Don't worry you can't really overcook it, so if in doubt, leave it longer. 

If using a slow cooker, just put all ingredients in on low for 7 hours. 

Once cooked, allow to cool slightly then put meat, bones, and cooking liquid into a large tupperware and chill overnight. 

The next day skim any fat from the surface (the liquid should be jelly-like now that it has cooled, this is what you want, just skim the solid orange/white fat from the surface if there is any) remove the meat and bones from the liquid. Put  jelly/liquid into a heavy pot and simmer on a low heat for 30-40 mins until nearly completely reduced, stir occasionally so it doesn't stick. 

Meanwhile, shred the pork meat using two forks. Discard any bones. 

Once the cooing liquid has reduced, allow it to cool, then stir it through the shredded meat. Stir through 1 cup of BBQ sauce. Then set aside. 

To serve, gently reheat meat on the stovetop, on a low heat. 

Serve with more BBQ sauce, Coleslaw, Buns, and the Coriander Lime Rice. 

Coriander and Lime Rice

This rice makes a great side dish full of aromatic mexican flavours. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/4c Brown Rice
• 1/4c of Black Rice 
• Zest and Juice of 1 lime 
• 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves

Method

Rinse rice and soak in a pot with 3 cups of water, lime zest and coriander seeds. Leave covered 2-3 hours.

Remove lid, place on high heat till simmering, stir gently, cover, reduce heat and leave for 20-25 mins, till water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and leave 10 mins. 

Remove lid, fluff with a fork, add lime juice, olive oil, salt and fresh coriander. 

Serve warm or cold. 

Coleslaw

I make coleslaw with a light vinaigrette, you can use mayonnaise if you prefer, or just serve with mayo on the table like I do. For ease, I also make coleslaw in the food processor, a good old knife will do fine if you don't have a processor. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 red cabbage
• 1/4 white cabbage
• 3 carrots peeled 
• 2 tbsp chopped chives
• 3 tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil of your choice) 
• Juice of 1 lemon or lime
• 1 tsp salt

Method

Peel Carrots. Chop vegetables so they will fit into the hole in the top of the food processor. 

Using the large slicing blade process the cabbages. 

Next use the grater attachment and grate the carrots. 

Place all ingredients into a large serving bowl, toss together with chives, oil, salt and lemon juice.