Friday, February 13, 2009

Sausage Making

I so innocently went to the Farm Gate Cafe in Kettering to learn how to make sausages and came away with a desire to breed pigs! Both my kids are a bit fussy with their eating but love sausages. I dislike shop sausages, so I thought if I made my own I would know what I was eating and hopefully slip some secret vegetables into the kids.


My sausages - pork and garlic. Not to bad for a first try.


Farm Gate Cafe - the secret ingredients for Lee's sausages.


First - start with lots of well flavoured pork mince


Threading sheep intestines - sausage casing - onto the stuffer



Pumping out one big sausage.



A stuffed sausage casing.



Learning to tie sausages.



I had a go at home - my Pork & Garlic sausages.



As Lee spoke about his pigs I became more and more interested in the pigs as well as the sausages.


I have since made some sausages - pork and garlic and boy does a little bit of garlic go a long way. I was very pleased with them and will make some more soon, experimenting with chicken and vegetables. Lee suggested that after the sausages were stuffed and tied, they hang overnight in the fridge. Well not having the space, it was a cool evening so I hung mine on coat hangers from the light fittings around the house. It was quite a sight to see and unfortunately I didn't take any photos. By 10pm, the smell of garlic was making us all feel ill so the sausages went into the fridge.


So while I returned home eager to make sausages I was also ready to turn my family's life upside down - with pigs. If you'd like to follow our adventure as we set up the farm have a look here.