Pork and Apricot - have to win!!

[OpheliaBumps]

Hi all,
Really hoping someone can help me here, i've used the search function and gone off on a lot of tangents out of interest but not found what I'm looking for.

I have somehow got myself involved in a sausage making competition that I have to win. On saturday I need some fantastic pork and apricot sausages but can't find a recipe anywhere!

Please please could someone suggest a recipe for me?
(I do have a grinder and stuffing attachment but have never made a sausage before...)

[NCPaul]

Welcome to the forum. You have landed in the right place as I have made a sausage with apricots. For a fresh sausage, I would do the following:

Dried apricots 75 g
Water 75 g
Chop the apricots coarsely, put in bowl and add water. Soak overnight covered or if you are pressed for time, at least 4 hours with warm water. Pour off any extra water on sausage making day. This should give you 100 g total.
Pork shoulder with some fat added 1000 g
Salt 13 g
You are trying for about 80 % meat and 20 % fat. I often add 10 % fat from back fat, or belly, or jowl to get to this ratio. You may have to ask a butcher to help you. Mix the cubed meat with the salt the night before you plan to grind it. The morning of sausage making day put the casings you are using (sheep or hog) into clean water after rinsing them free of salt (not sure what you are using). Before grinding the meat and apricots, spread them on a tray and put them into a freezer to almost freeze them. They will feel dry to the touch and this usually takes about 30 minutes. After grinding all the meat through a 6 mm (1/4 inch) plate, add the following mixture of spices:
Black pepper 5 g
Paprika 8 g
Garlic powder 2.3 g
Allspice 2.5 g
If mixing with a Kitchen Aid type mixer, this should take 1-2 minutes. You will see streaks of fat just starting to mark the side of the bowl and the meat will look sticky and cohesive. This will take longer by hand but you should see similar appearance. This is the bind your sausage needs to hold together and not be just ground meat. To stuff using the grinder with attachment, remove the cutting blade and plate and install the spacer piece (not sure what you actually have). Get some help. have one person feed the sausage meat (kept cold in the fridge after grinding and mixing) while the other person controls the casing on the stuffing tube. Allow the meat to pull the casing as it fills (I usually hold the casing back to get a good fill). When all the sausage meat is put through, tie the end and twist, alternating direction, until you reach the other end, then tie it off. Prick any large air pockets with a pin. Spread the links on a rack and allow to dry in the fridge over night. This sets the links. Let me know if you need cooking advice. You'll have to tell us how you do in your contest.

[wheels]

Wow, if you don't win after that recipe/tutorial there's something wrong. Good luck - I cam't add anything that NcPaul's not already said.

Phil

[OpheliaBumps]

Thanks soo much, that's exactly what i needed!

I have pork shoulder and belly (i have loin as well but that's meant to be for the cats...). A lot of general recipes i've seen and things i've read said half of each should get the fat content right. I'm thinking maybe 70/30 or 80/20 (shoulder/belly), do you think that'd be about right? (I'm lacking a friendly butcher where i live unfortunately).

Mixing - i don't have a mixer so it'll be by hand, do you mean literally with my hands or does it need to be a spoon or spatula or something similar so it doesn't get too warm??

Quite excited to make them now!

[NCPaul]

80/20 shoulder/belly would work fine. Be sure to trim the sinews and inter muscular fat out of the shoulder, this will help you get a clean grind. Yes, mix with your clean hands. They will be really cold by the time you are done.

[DanMcG]

Great tutorial Paul!
Good luck with your sausage Ophelia, It sounds like a winner to me

[NCPaul]

How are you coming along? You should have the meat cut and be looking to make sausages today.

[OpheliaBumps]

Just finished and put them on the rack in the fridge
It was easier than i thought, although a setailed step by step guide helped massively!
Made a little burger out of the bits that didn't make it out of the sausage stuffer - is that how i can expect them to taste tomorrow or will the flavour change over time?

[NCPaul]

The flavor will taste a little different tomorrow; more subdued and the salt will even out. What did you think of the taste you had?

[OpheliaBumps]

I liked them, the paprika was a bit warm and seemed to overpower the apricot, it'll be interesting to see how they taste this evening.
I'll let you know how it goes

[DanMcG]

Well, How did it go? Don't leave us hanging!

[wheels]

I'm on tenterhooks - can we now call NCPaul's sausage award winning?

[OpheliaBumps]

Haha oh my god, sorry, completely forgot to let you know!
They didn't win but were pretty popular. They were quite spicy and while some people really liked that, others preferred the more traditional sausage. Other than the spice there was lots of raving about the texture and other aspects

So not a winner but well received and i thoroughly enjoyed making them - winning's over rated anyway......

Thanks for all the advice x

[NCPaul]

We have lots of other recipes here that are "winners". At least we got you started.

[wheels]

T'was a fix! NcPaul's bangers are winners in my eyes.

Phil