Rabbit Sausages.

[skycat 6,173]

IMO the only rabbits worth eating at this time of year are half grown ones. Much tenderer and not so strong smelling. Half grown rabbits can be pan fried in a little lamb fat and butter, sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper: yum. I wouldn't even want to put a smelly old buck or any adult in a sausage or burger, though you could soak in water and vinegar over night before mincing. Some people soak in milk.

[Zilverhaze 1,627]

i dont think thers enough fat on a rabbit to make decent suasages i shuld imagen they come out abit dry

[toxo 160]

Well 1st try done. 1/3 rabbit 2/3 belly pork + ready made "premium" seasoning mix. I guess most will like them and I will certainly eat them but they didn't zing for me. Maybe the seasoning mix or because it was my first time I handled them a lot which makes the fat run. Some people put everything in the fridghe/freezer beforehand to stop this. Also a second person would have made things a lot easier and quicker and cut down the handling time.

[Mister Gain 1,764]

Well 1st try done. 1/3 rabbit 2/3 belly pork + ready made "premium" seasoning mix. I guess most will like them and I will certainly eat them but they didn't zing for me. Maybe the seasoning mix or because it was my first time I handled them a lot which makes the fat run. Some people put everything in the fridghe/freezer beforehand to stop this. Also a second person would have made things a lot easier and quicker and cut down the handling time.

 

I used to make a lot of sausages, and can confirm that the meat needs to be cold during all stages of production. By 'cold', I mean ideally between 1ºC and 5ºC and well mixed after the spices have been added to get the salt/myosin to work properly (about 5 minutes) so you don't end up with a 'grainy/crumbly' end product. I used to put the meat/fat into the freezer to get it firm and cold (not frozen) prior to mincing, and back in after mixing to cool it back down. Always make a small patty to fry off after mixing to see if you have the desirable flavour profile and adjust accordingly. You will find that commercial sausage 'seasonings' and sausage 'mixes' vary in flavour between manufacturers, and I generally tended to go for the mixes as they already had rusk etc. added. You can always use a commercial mix as a base and add your own ingredients. I used to add some Dunnes River Jerk Paste and some dried apple to a base mix, and people loved it, with the heat and sweetness. Pataks vindaloo paste is another good addition, if you don't like your bangers hot then the addition of herbs like sage or/and thyme are good flavour boosters.

 

 

 

 

Stick with it, and once you get the result you are looking for make notes for future reference.

[toxo 160]

 

Well 1st try done. 1/3 rabbit 2/3 belly pork + ready made "premium" seasoning mix. I guess most will like them and I will certainly eat them but they didn't zing for me. Maybe the seasoning mix or because it was my first time I handled them a lot which makes the fat run. Some people put everything in the fridghe/freezer beforehand to stop this. Also a second person would have made things a lot easier and quicker and cut down the handling time.

 

I used to make a lot of sausages, and can confirm that the meat needs to be cold during all stages of production. By 'cold', I mean ideally between 1ºC and 5ºC and well mixed after the spices have been added to get the salt/myosin to work properly (about 5 minutes) so you don't end up with a 'grainy/crumbly' end product. I used to put the meat/fat into the freezer to get it firm and cold (not frozen) prior to mincing, and back in after mixing to cool it back down. Always make a small patty to fry off after mixing to see if you have the desirable flavour profile and adjust accordingly. You will find that commercial sausage 'seasonings' and sausage 'mixes' vary in flavour between manufacturers, and I generally tended to go for the mixes as they already had rusk etc. added. You can always use a commercial mix as a base and add your own ingredients. I used to add some Dunnes River Jerk Paste and some dried apple to a base mix, and people loved it, with the heat and sweetness. Pataks vindaloo paste is another good addition, if you don't like your bangers hot then the addition of herbs like sage or/and thyme are good flavour boosters.

 

sausages.jpg

 

 

sausages4.jpg

 

Stick with it, and once you get the result you are looking for make notes for future reference.

 

Thanks Mister. Some good information there.

Tell me more about the jerk paste and the apple. Did you use them both together and where can I find them? When using something like Leeks how do you prepare them? How many times do you pass through and coarse or fine? Sorry for so many questions but my enthusiasm will be waning if I don't get a good result soon.

 

atb. Paul

[BIGLURKS 874]

A good way I used too like half grown ones was get 8 half grown ones cut of the legs at the joints and batter with a little paprika and deep fry num num num

[Mister Gain 1,764]

 

Thanks Mister. Some good information there.

Tell me more about the jerk paste and the apple. Did you use them both together and where can I find them? When using something like Leeks how do you prepare them? How many times do you pass through and coarse or fine? Sorry for so many questions but my enthusiasm will be waning if I don't get a good result soon.

 

atb. Paul

 

 

The Jerk paste can be bought at afro caribbean stores, and some branches of ASDA do it. You can also get it online. Google Dunnes River Jerk Seasoning, it's a wet paste and comes in a jar, the powder seasoning is not as good IMHO. The WalkersWood jerk paste is also very good. The dried apple you can buy from a butcher supplier in East Kilbride, called Scobies (google it), you can also get dried leek flakes from them. With leeks, garlic powder, onion powder etc you are better off using the dried for sausages because you are then in full control of the amount of liquid that goes into the sausage, the jerk paste being the exception which although wet, is very thick in consistency. Scobies also do various other dried vegetables and a good array of dried herbs, as well as lots of commercial sausage mixes, as well as casings etc.

 

Yes toxo, the bit of sweetness really compliments the heat of the scotch bonnet in the paste. Lots of people enjoy the hotter sausage. When I first got into the sausage making I made a couple of sweeter sausages, one being guinness and prune, which was very well recieved but involved a lot of guinness to be reduced to get the flvour. Another one was cider and apricot, and again took a lot of cider to be reduced and added (used to cut the expense a bit by using cider and apple juice) Both worked out too expensive to be viable.

 

It's a personal thing really how you like the texture of the sausage to be either coarse or fine, but I generally put it through twice, just make sure it is very cold as you can end up with watery mince with a mushy texture.

 

I only use natural casings as well, lambs for chipolatas, cocktail sausages etc, and pigs for proper bangers.

 

I did do a little video clip years ago showing how to link the sausages in 3's for hanging to bloom them overnight in the fridge, but there are plenty of them nowadays on youtube.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited July 5, 2015 by Mister Gain

[toxo 160]

Thanks again Mister. Will get on to those suppliers.

I put through coarse first and then fine when all mixed but next time I think I'll put through coarse twice.