The first sausage we ever made developed in our farmhouse kitchen in the mid nineties. It is still our most popular sausage. The mixture of belly and shoulder pork is roughly minced with salt, pepper, nutmeg, a little mace and then mixed with dry bread crumbs which have been blended with dried sage, rosemary & thyme. This is then filled into a hog casing and is great with bacon and eggs, sausage sandwiches, hotdogs, sausage & mash and toad in the hole. The addition of bread crumbs retains the natural meat juices to give a soft moist sausage.
This was our second sausage back in the early days. It came about because some customers wanted a totally plain sausage without any herbs. We use the same pork quite roughly minced, blended with spices and bread crumbs to make a very traditional sausage originating from the North West of England. Great with bacon and eggs, sausage sandwiches, hotdogs, sausage & mash and toad in the hole.
Just as some people said my traditional sausage was too herby, many said it wasn’t spicy enough so I made a winter sausage in which I took roughly chopped pork and added garlic, salt, whole juniper berries blended with the breadcrumbs to give a hotter sausage. Great in sausage & mash or on the BBQ served with salad.
Made to a very authentic French recipe, we use coarsely minced pork with plenty of back fat, seasoned with salt, white pepper a little saltpeter (the garlic variety of course includes loads of fresh garlic). The seasoned pork is filled into a natural casing. This is the basic ingredient for cassoulet or indeed any dish which requires a long slow cook - this is not a great sausage to have for breakfast!
We started making this as a Christmas sausage, the ingredients and process are exactly the same as the Toulouse sausage except we add loads of coarsely chopped prunes soaked in plenty of brandy to each mix. This makes a slightly softer and fruity sausage which works well with mashed potatoes or served on a BBQ with a summer salad.
Coarsely minced pork, fresh garlic & fennel seed seasoned with salt and pepper make this a very distinctive meaty sausage especially if served with a good rich tomato sauce and pasta.
A hot fiery sausage which has its origins in Spanish cuisine. We use shoulder of pork which has natural inter-muscular fat. The pork is coarsely minced and then has salt, white pepper, fresh garlic, both dulce and picante paprika, well mixed and filled into a natural hog casing. The sausage is then hung over oak chippings to give a smokey depth to the flavour. This sausage is best sliced and used as an addition to pastas, on tops of pizza or small pieces served with scallops.
Another one of our spicy sausages, with the recipe originating from Morocco. We use lamb that is finely minced with fresh garlic, seasoned with salt and pepper, ground cumin, freshly chopped parsley and coriander and mixed with loads of rose harissa and filled into lambs casings. This is a great sausage to use in middle eastern cooking or served simply with cous cous or added to pasta.
This is a very uncomplicated sausage, a mixture of shoulder and belly pork is passed through the coarse blade of the mincer three times so the meat retains its texture. The only seasoning is a little salt, white pepper and a trace of nutmeg. The meat is filled into natural hog casings and is ideal for a sausage casserole, sausage & mash and toad in the hole.
Fresh sage and pork have always been a great combination; in this sausage we just blend fresh sage with coarsely minced pork, salt, pepper and a little mace to give a very traditional flavour.
The Ginger Pig have developed some great sausage recipes for use in ‘proper’ British dishes - sausage & mash, toad in the hole. The first two were a variation on the same theme, minced pork to a medium coarseness and seasoned with salt, pepper, touch of nutmeg and a hint of mace.
We are amazed that most commercial sausages are made from pre-prepared mixes using artificial colourings, flavourings and flavour enhancers with such tempting names as pork-a-leekie and premium gold blend. We started to develop a range of ‘proper’ sausages using fresh herbs and vegetables - so for the sage and onion sausages fresh onions are sweated in the Aga before being mixed with the fresh sage and added to the breadcrumbs, spiced with salt, pepper, mace or fresh leeks which are again sweated in the Aga.
We found that softening Bramley apples in the roasting oven of the Aga and then soaking dried breadcrumbs in cider before mixing with the minced pork retained the apple flavour without relying on artificial additives.
We like to use seasonal produce in our sausages and a great Autumn favourite is pork and parsnip where the sweetness of the roasted parsnip makes a fabulous combination with the coarsely minced pork. Adding sweetness to the pork produced a real winner when we used miso (fermented soya beans) with natural honey. Not only is the flavour of the sausage outstanding, the natural skin has a lovely brown colour when cooked.
Although called the ‘breakfast sausage’ the large amounts of fresh herbs (thyme, sage, marjoram), blended with salt, mace and white pepper makes this an ideal supper sausage especially if served with buttery mashed potatoes.