The common banger it seems is quite an interesting beast, it seems that there are as many variations as there are posts on the internet.
Lincolnshires, Cumberlands, Irish, black puddings and even haggis falls into the terminology.
Going to try this next:
4 Pounds Of Lean Shoulder Pork
1 Pound Of Pork Fat
3 Teaspoons of Salt
2 Teaspoons Of White Pepper
½ Teaspoon Of Mace
½ Teaspoon Of Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Of Sage
1 Teaspoon Of Onion Powder
2 Teaspoons Of Thyme
1 Teaspoons Of Ginger
2 Cups Of Breadcrumbs
Hog Casings
Then there is the variation with suet, and some with offal now that should be interesting as I make a mean Steak and kidney pudding.However these are sausages even a Bavarian would maaaaybe recognise but I am finding it difficult to find the kind you get at Tesco’s at three quid for six, these industrial bangers are what I am after.
Made with the infamous “pink slime” and emulisifyers they are a memory that I would like to recreate .
Just not sure that because I can that I should.
Doesn’t the shoulder fat content count? It has around 20%, so the mixture is more like 3 pounds fat-free vs close to 2 pounds fat, or close to 40% fat.
If you figure “lean” shoulder at 20 percent fat, then the whole 5 pounds would have a fat content of 36 percent. I didn’t know how lean “lean” shoulder is in DE. So it should be a fine formula. Crack on, slammer!
Been kicking this around for a while and had an idea.
So, what do you guys think about this..?
Pork belly and shoulder aus usual.
salt, pepper, sage, nutmeg, thyme, cloves.
Then instead of breadcrumbs, soak oats in Guiness and perhaps a wee dram of scotch, a cheap one mind you.
Perhaps supplement the meat with tripe and kidneys and heart and make something I would call a haggis sausage, a hagage, a saucihag… something like that.
I made an array of sushi–one dish holds California roll, makisushi, and cucumber salad. A second holds my new attempt at temari sushi, with lattice carrot and cucumber, smoked salmon, avocado, and other little toppings. This time I limited them to 20g, which made them very easy to eat. On the side is a selection of dipping sauces. I wish I could find the Japanese chopsticks–had to set the table Western-style.
I made bangers, fried the last two up the other day and got two luvvly bangs, like litte fire crackers going off in the pan.
Which brings be to the first rule of the banger club:
Don´t fry bangers in the nude, there is a reason why they call them that.
Second rule of the banger club: If you do, then make sure your girl friend isn’t watching….
Yesterday I went for the Guinness sausage. I got the meat mix from the local butcher, who now looks at me like I am the anti-christ.
I soaked oats in Guinness and mixed it under the meat along with thyme, sage, pepper, salt, (going to try hickory smoked salt next) Onion, nutmeg and a knife point of clove.
Give it a good mixing and let it soak overnight in the fridge.
This morning after breakfast I set up the machine and readied my intestines to be able to take the meat. The worst part is that with not much imagination you can see them as tape worms as they lay in a stringy moist blob on a plate. Then you have to find the hole and with your finger gently massage the end to widen it enough so that it will fit on the spigot.
This time I cranked the handle to get the filling to the end of the spigot before rolling the intestine on the end and down to the base.
Cranking the handle while massaging the sausage to get the air out and not split the skin I filled the whole 800g into a half meter sausage.
It did split when I twisted the hand width sausages, so next time I am going to twist them as soon as they come off the spigot.
And by now with a cup of tea I am wondering if I have found a new hobby or a new fetish.
no big deal really. I eat almost anything but of course there are things I’m less keen on. I didn’t like green asparagus when I tried it ages ago. So - the wonderful freedom of being an adult - I never bothered again. That’s actually unlike me as I try all things I note as “naa, don’t like it much” every few years again. I changed my mind about so many of them during life.
Looking for an other “first” and not being very successful, I defintely never prepared green aspargus so I thought I’d go for it. I decided to fry them, the recipe said to cut them, that sounded like a sin to me. I did it anyway, after all, it was a first, right?
Did you know that if you break the wooden ends off instead of cutting them, they break at the exact right point? Well, that’s what the recipe claimed - might not be true.
However, I absolutely loved today’s meal and ignoring green aspargus in the shops is in the past from today on! Lamb, aspargus and I made a little yoghourt sauce with horseradish and chives but actually I’ll skip that next time, no need, so much taste in the meat and the aspargus.
One thing I noticed: Are green aspargus more nutritious than white ones? While a kilo of white ones even with heavy sauce like mayo or hollondaise is easy to gobble up, half a kilo of green ones is more than enough.
It is absolutely true. I bought a cottage in California in the 80s that had an asparagus field in the garden. It was heaven. I watch the “chefs” on TV cut and peel the stems, and I laugh. Bet your meal was sensational tasting! Here’s all you ever wanted to know about the nutrition of each type.
Next time, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast them in the oven. Makes them sweet and concentrates the flavour!
The only thing I knew about green aspargus was that they don’t need peeling. A definite advantage
Today’s meal was sensational to me. I think this manifold taste of the green aspargus which literally fascinated me today may have been what I disliked when I was younger. It’s been a while that I tasted a vegetable that addressed all my tastebuds at once.
Now I wonder if I should try broccoli again. But what I seriously DETEST about that one is the furry texture when it’s cooked. Eating only the stems it would be fine but that would be quiet a waste.
My local Coop sells it too, OH always buys it when he spots any… then expects me to fit it into whatever I’d planned to cook that evening. The stalks freeze really well; simply cut into slivers and blanch, I usually toss a portion still frozen into stir-frys.
