English "Bangers" Sausage

This week what is for dinner (and lunch) = hamburger and sausage. It is just one of those weeks where I have not had a chance to make anything, so I get home from work and make a burger with homemade mayo. Or sausage patties which I have with sauerkraut. And then I eat some raw carrots to get a little veg in there. All I gotta say is, thank goodness for freezer supplies of burger and sausage!

Speaking of sausage - the recipe below is a relatively new one to me, but immediately gained favor as my "top fave"- it is a little spicy, with lots of lemon and sage. The first time I tried this one, My Charming Companion and I made only 5 lbs - not knowing if it would be any good. This time, with lots of venison bits marked for sausage, we made 29 pounds. That is a LOT of bangers. Note that this is a pretty large recipe ratio - I grind up the meat in a meat grinder, but you could also use a food processor if you don't mind doing it in several batches.

Not my actual sausage - these ones are really thin! Yum.

English Bangers (makes 8 pounds)
5 lbs venison
3 lbs bacon
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/8 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh marjoram or 1/8 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 c. minced fresh sage or 2 T dried sage
1 T salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3-4 T loosely packed finely grated lemon peel
1.5 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp grated nutmeg
3/4 tsp mace
3-4 large eggs

Grind the venison and bacon in a grinder or food processor. You want the meat to stay cold, so it works best if they are still a bit frozen when you grind them. It should be thawed enough to cut through with a good knife, but frozen in the middle. If the meat does get warm, chill it again after grinding it (either outside or in the fridge).

In a big bucket, bowl, or some kind of vessel, put in all recipe ingredients and mix together. I find it works best to put on some latex gloves and really mix everything together well - your fingers will get really cold, but it is fastest. At this point it is a good time to make a little test patty - just a mini little one that you can fry up to see if you prefer more salt or some such. This is not necessary if you follow the recipe exactly, but usually I add in more sage or lemon or something, and then I get to wondering about the taste. *Note: it will not be very spicy. YET. Freezing the sausage will set the cayenne in, so it gets spicy after freezing. 

Once you are happy with the taste, package up your sausage and freeze it for later. I don't bother with casing because I am a fan of patties, but I am confident these are great either way. Eat it for breakfast, with sauerkraut, squash, or all alone. It is delicious!