It may well be that Scrapple and Laws are not something for the faint of heart to watch being made….

But sausage in all sorts of variations is a whole other story and it is relatively easy to make.

This is a combination of a recipe from an aunt and my own “experiments” over the years.

It is REALLY Helpful to have an attachment for your grinder to stuff the casing but you can use a pastry bag (you will probably only do this once) They do have reasonably price hand cranked units. Check places like Cabella’s and other serious hunting stores – they often have equipment for processing your own meat.

Fortunately if you live in an area where butchers still exist – and better yet process locally harvested animals, finidng casings is possible without mail order. These places also often offer the sometimes difficult to find spices for sale.

Apparently Bullock’s on Sykesville Rd does and will grind meat to the proper texture – and has the casings, now just have to take and ride and see what other goodies might be hiding in their Meat market section

So let the sausage making begin –

5 lbs pork shoulder, cut away all but about 15-20% of the fat – you can make it leaner but remember fat is where the favor is.
The “boneless” spare ribs they have in value paks at Safeway are often abou t the right weight and easier to cut into small cubes Safeway often has this on sale.

1 tablespoon salt (4 teaspoons if using kosher salt)
know some people need to reduce sodium but it really is needed in sausage

12-15 cloves of crushed fresh garlic
I have used the roasted garlic in oil you can buy in the stupid market
about 3 tbsp – crushed with flat of knife

DRY SPICE MIX:
2 tablespoons whole mustard seed
/\ I sub with 1 tbs whole and 1 tbsp coarse ground NOT mustard POWDER
1 tbl marjoram
1 tbl paprika
1 tbl black pepper (fresh ground is always best)
1 tsp ground celery seed
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp thyme (I often leave this out, just not a fan of thyme but Aunt J had it in her recipe – try it both ways )

Cut the pork into SMALL cubes Refrigerate about 1 hour

Mix garlic and dry spices

Mix evenly through out the pork

Refrigerate an hour or so until “firm” before trying to stuff into casings for smoking

You can freeze either fresh or smoked in well sealed package for a month or two wihtout losing too much of the flavor.

Let it sit over night in the a tightly sealed container (glass is preferred) over night so the spice flavor can work its way thru.

of you have a smoker, you may want to smoke before freezing,

Indirect grilling can add a nice smoky flavor – especially if you add some wet wood to create some smoke flavor.

I have been know to brown like ground beef after it has been in the refrig over night so that the spice flavors blend into the meat. and mix with farmer cheese to use in pierogies,

If you going to make patties for a sandwich, you may want to mix in a egg before shaping into patties to help it “hold together” Personally I much prefer the flavor grilling adds and it is definitely healthier than pan frying

This recipe also works with with Deer, but you may have to add some pork fat back or it will be too dry.

Always cook food containing eggs thoroughtly –

Change the dry spice mix for other flavor profiles.

Enjoy The Making & Eating

Wheat