Homemade bangers
- sausage casings (enough to make 20 large link sausages)
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 large Spanish or mild onion, minced
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to fry the sausages
- 2ÂĽ pounds ground pork
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs, lightly toasted
- large handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
- handful of fresh lemon thyme, leaves stripped
- 6 large, fresh sage leaves, minced
- finely grated zest of 2 lemons
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2–3 teaspoons cracked black peppercorns, to taste
- ÂĽ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions:
It takes a bit of effort to make your own “bangers” (link sausages), but the flavor and texture are superlative.
- First, rinse the casings under cold running water for 5–10 minutes (keep a good hold on the slippery things). Then let soak in a bowl of water with the lemon juice for about 30 minutes.
- Sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil with some seasoning until soft, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool completely. Mix in the rest of the ingredients— it’s probably easiest to use your hands to do this.
- Drain the casings and squeeze out any excess water. Pat dry with paper towels. If you don’t have a sausage-stuffer or stuffing tube on a meat grinder, push the end of a funnel (or a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip) through one end of the casing and keep threading on the casing until you get to the other end, where you tie a knot. Now squeeze or push the filling through the casing, trying not to tear it along the way. Keep stuffing until you end up with a long coil. (You’ll need another pair of hands to help with this.) Next, twist 4- to 5-inch lengths of the sausage in alternate directions to make individual sausages. Cut and separate the sausages just before cooking.
- Gently fry the sausages in a lightly oiled nonstick pan for 15–20 minutes, turning them occasionally. Use very low heat to ensure that the sausage remains succulent. Do not pierce the skins, because this would only let the juices to escape.