Homemade pork and Bramley apple sausages

Method
Prep:1hr  ›  Extra time:2hr resting  ›  Ready in:3hr 

1. If necessary, remove the rib bones and rind from the pork belly and dice roughly. Mince in a meat grinder through a 5mm mincing plate. Roughly dice the pork shoulder and also mince through the 5mm plate. Combine the pork with the breadcrumbs, apples, honey, seasoning, nutmeg, herbs and cider and leave for 2 hours to rest.
2. Meanwhile, soak the hog casings in cold water or as instructed on the pack.
3. Take the mincing blades out of the grinder and attach the sausage funnel. Slip the end of the wet hog casing over the attachment and pull the casing down the shaft so that it is bunched up at the base, this is so that you are able to make a good amount of sausages without having to stop and add more casing. Pop the meat back in to the grinder.
4. Tie the starting end of the casing into a knot and on the slow setting, gently support the sausage as it is piped into the casing ensuring that it does not pack too tightly and avoiding air bubbles. By eye, measure about 10cm per sausage resulting in a yield of about 8 sausages per metre, with extra casing allowance. Squeeze the end of each sausage and twist the casing 2 to 3 times to secure, repeat then tie a knot after the final sausage. Repeat until the sausage meat is used up. Store in the fridge overnight before cooking.

Tip

All you need to make great homemade sausages is a meat mincer with a funnel attachment. If you are new to homemade sausage making then using natural hog casings are a good way to go initially as they are robust and result in a nice thick plump sausage. Casings are usually sold in a variety of forms depending on your preference, and can be found readily on line however it would be a great idea to speak to your local butcher for some first hand tips!