Homemade pork, cranberry and apple sausages

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

1. Roughly dice the pork belly and the pork shoulder and mince through the 5mm plate of your meat mincing machine. Combine the pork with the cranberries, apples, nutmeg, seasoning, breadcrumbs and garlic and allow to rest for 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, soak the hog casings in cold water or as instructed on the pack.
3. Remove the mincing blades from the mincer 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 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!