How to make sausages... a post for Backyard Butchers

[Andrew Cumberland]

A little video on how to make sausages:   How to make Thai Chicken Snags

The second instructional video is: How to make Baeurwurst sausage

For those who are thinking about having a go at jerky or biltong:  How to make Biltong

Here is a great Sausage Recipe Site.  You'll need to halve the quantities (sometimes quarter!)

[Rob Walter]

I should also point out that mediocre home-made sauerkraut is still pretty good, with so bought cabbage and slices that are painstakingly even until the patience wears thin and they become a bit more, um, rustic. I do want to get it done before the weather warms up, though, so I don't have to keep it in the fridge.

[Elaine de Saxe]

Do you mean Kale, Susanne? Or which variety of Cabbage?

[Elaine de Saxe]

Keeping it in the fridge once opened I found was a good idea. Out of the fridge especially when it's summer, the ferment keeps going and the leaves get increasingly soft. I was told about an 'authentic' recipe using Juniper berries along with the salt. Every recipe from someone from their home country is 'authentic' ;-) Ditto for pickling Olives. Home-made Sauerkraut which is naturally fermented is better than any of the commercial stuff that I've eaten so far.

[Rob Walter]

I should also point out that mediocre home-made sauerkraut is still pretty good, with so bought cabbage and slices that are painstakingly even until the patience wears thin and they become a bit more, um, rustic. I do want to get it done before the weather warms up, though, so I don't have to keep it in the fridge.

[Susanne]

A friend at Morayfield grew that variety this year, wonderfully crisp, lovely light flavour. After trying one of hers I put them on my 'to plant' list.

[Elaine de Saxe]

Good reasoning! I've used organic drumheads in the distant past. Slice with a mandolin and use a wooden stick/spoon to bruise the slices to release their juice. Wonder if Kale would work but slicing would be tricky. 

[Andrew Cumberland]

Be keen to see how it goes Rob. 

[Rob Walter]

I'm about to plant Kohl Rabi - Superschmelz with a view to turning it into sauerkraut. Apparently the key to a perfect sauerkraut is having all the shreds of cabbage exactly the same size, which requires a nice tight head. However, when I grow it the head is too loose, and from the shops it's too dry. My hope is that by shredding a giant kohlrabi I'll get a perfectly uniform size. It seems there's a bit of a Czech precedent for this approach.

[Andrew Cumberland]

Yeah, I've been thinking about the sauerkraut. 

[Dave Riley]

I gave up making snags and went 'loose meats'  (aka fried mince)-- my breakfast fare. Kofta.

But I took up with jerky ..and Biltong (which is a South African variation drenched in a vinegar marinade with plenty of crushed coriander seeds).

I prefer Biltong to Jerky...

..and then I tried the Jerky Gun method ---using minced meats. Cheaper meats I thought. 

But I'm set to going back to  sliced meats as I missed the drag on your teeth. 

All up: I prefer making jerky and biltong to the business of the snags.  The dries keep longer too...

When you are ever in Melbourne the  Bratwurst stand at the Vic Markets is a must visit...and when you do  Bratwurst you gotta master sauerkraut.