Sausage making!

angeltreats

I'm racking my brains trying to think of Christmas presents for my lovely hubby, and it's occurred to me that as a huge fan of sausages he might like to try making his own.

I have a Kenwood Chef so could buy the mincer attachment for that.

What I'm wondering is whether anyone makes their own bangers and if so, do you find it worth the effort? Is it a bit of a faff or relatively quick and easy (bearing in mind that my husband isn't into spending hours in the kitchen)? Does it work out cheaper than buying posh bangers from the butcher?

I see Lakeland have some sausage making kits that use piping bags but I can't imagine him wanting to do that, I've seen him trying to fill a piping bag with icing :rotfl:

Edit: meant to say, if anyone has seen the Kenwood attachment on offer anywhere please let me know.

joedenise

Hi, I've got the mincer/sausage maker but have never used the sausage maker because the instructions make it look like a faff and the fact that I'm not a fan of sausages means I really can't be bothered! I would imagine it would mean you can make any flavour of sausage you wanted so that may well be a plus for it in your DH's case.

Sorry that's not much help but thought I'd let you know my thoughts.

Just had a look on the Kenwood site and there is a video showing how to make Italian dried sausages - it shows how to make the sausages so it'll give you some idea of what is involved:
http://www.kenwoodworld.com/uk/All-Products/Food-Mixers-Kitchen-Machines/Chef-and-Major-Attachments/A950-Multi-Food-Grinder-AWAT950B01/

Sorry for the long link but don't know how to be able to do a hyperlink!

Denise

angeltreats

Thanks! Will have a look at the video later.

What do you think of the mincer attachment for actually mincing stuff, is it fairly heavy duty? I have an ancient cast iron mincer which is indestructable and wish it had a sausage making nozzle, I can't imagine the Kenwood attachment would take quite the battering this has and still survive but as long as it wasn't too flimsy.

joedenise

The mincer is fairly sturdy but I think you've probably better off keeping your old cast iron one - it probably minces far better than the Kenwood one if it's anything like the one my mum used to use (wish I knew what happened to it!).

Denise

Rainbow2911

I love my mincer attachment. I find it much easier than a hand turned one. I mince my meat partially frozen (for hygiene reasons and also because the fattier meats used in sausages mince better when very very cold) and it handles that no problem at all. The sausage stuffer works fine (there is a slight knack to it but it doesn't take long to pick up) and is a great source of amusement if you have a slightly juvenile mind...!
As an easy starter recipe, I highly recommend searching for Alton Brown's breakfast sausage recipe. It's amazing in cases or as burgers and is very adaptable.
I love making sausages. I buy huge joints of pork when they are on offer (about £2.50 a kg usually) then freeze them until I am ready to turn them into sausages. Saves a fortune, especially as my husband has to follow a gluten free diet.

Badrick

I had an electric mincer with a sausage attachment which was more trouble than it was worth, so bought a cheap sausage stuffing machine. Then the mincer died so I bought a mincer attachment for my Kenwood A701a from fleabay, and I can honestly say it minces a lot better and quicker than my old electric mincer ever did.
As far as being cheaper than butchers posh sausage, I'd say yes providing you can source the meat at a good price, I usually wait until one of the supermarkets do an offer on pork shoulder and do a few kilos prior to freezing them.
We think homemade Cumberland sausage is a lot tastier than the butchers, plus you know exactly what went into them.
If you're looking for recipe ideas, try HERE

joedenise

It looks like my problem when I was mincing meat was that it wasn't partially frozen but just out of the fridge - perhaps I ought to give it another go. Thanks for your views.

Denise

Mint1955

Why don't you source somewhere local that makes different flavours of sausage and buy some for the actual present and give him an IOU for each month of the year or something for a different pack each time from their menu?

DawnW

I have never used the Kenwood attachment, but did buy a quite expensive (at least I thought it was) German made electric mincing machine with sausage making attachments. It didn't mince that well, leaked oil, and after not many uses, a small part broke and I found it impossible to get a replacement.

I decided against an electric replacement and went for a heavy duty stainless steel hand operated mincer, again with sausage stuffer etc. It was not cheap, but is really heavy quality and will last a lifetime. It also of course fulfils ordinary, non sausage related mincing duties. The company I bought it from is called Weschenfelder (google them, a UK company, despite the name), they are real enthusiasts on the topic, will help with advice and sell all kinds of sausage related products (worth asking them the poster above who wished they had a sausage attachment for their hand mincer, they may be able to help). I have no connection with this company except for being a satisfied customer.

I don't know if it works out cheaper to be honest - it depends on how much you usually spend on your sausages. If you buy 'posh' ones it probably is. But you can put what you like in them, and it is fun to experiment. We make various game sausages as my OH is involved in country pursuits. Home grown herbs and HM chutneys and fruit jellies make good additions to ordinary pork ones,