Makes about 50 sausages

Instructions

Wash the salt off the casings or runners and leave them to soak overnight in cold water. Do not run cold water through them, however, or you¹ll end up with watery sausages.



Put the pork shoulder through the mincer on a coarse plate (7-8mm). Put the rusk into a clean polythene bag, add the salt, spices and herbs and give the whole thing a good shake to mix it thoroughly. Add to the pork and mix thoroughly by hand. If the mixture is dry, add a little water. Put through the mincer again, on the same plate.



Before making your sausages, heat a little oil in a frying pan, make a patty out of a handful of the mixture and fry on each side for 5 minutes until cooked through. Taste it to check the seasoning, remembering that the flavours will develop. Don¹t be tempted to add too much more in the way of spices, you¹re really just checking the saltiness of the mixture. Chill the mixture while you wash your mincer and set up your sausage-filling machine.

Keeping the mixture as cold as possible prolongs its shelf life, and it will also go through the filler more easily.



Fill your sausage stuffer and fill up your prepared casings. Twist and form your sausages and hang the strings in a cool place for a few hours to dry before bagging them up for the fridge or freezer. Alternatively, line a large plastic box with several layers of kitchen paper and leave the sausages in there to dry. This resting period also allows the sausages to relax and the flavors’ to develop.

Divide the sausages and place in a pan set over the medium heat

Cook the sausages gently for 20 – 25 mins until cooked through.