MAKING AND ICEEPING SAUSAGE Sausage.— Fresh pork, beef, and other meats may be preserved in the same manner as sausage meat by seasoning them highly with spices and packing them in air-tigbt cases, or in earthenware or other tight re ceptacles, and running over them a layer of melted lard or tallow to ex clude the air.
Intestine Cases for Sausage. — Remove from the pig's intestines the loose fat and outer membranes. Turn them inside out and cleanse them thoroughly in borax water. Bleach by letting them soak for 04 hours or more in water containing 1 ounce of chloride of lime to the gal lon. Rinse thoroughly in clear soft water and scrape or tear off a part of the inner lining until they are as thin as may be without tearing or puncturing them. Finally, wash them thoroughly several times in warm water.
Seasoning for Sansage.—Salt, pep per, and sage, according to taste, are ordinarily used for seasoning sausage. Summer savory is also fre quently used, and other spices, as all spice, cloves, ginger, etc., are some times recommended. But, as a rule, salt, pepper, and sage are sufficient, and will be preferred by most per sons. The proportion of seasoning recommended varies, and it is d good plan in mixing sausage meat, to fry a little of the meat after seasoning and add more of the ground meat or seasoning, as desired, until the flavor is satisfactory. The following are all tested recipes, and by comparison, a. selection may be made according to whether it is desired to have the sau sage highly seasoned or not: For 10 pounds of ground sausage meat, use 4 ounces of salt, a ounce of pepper, and a ounce of sage.
Or for the same quantity, 5 table spoonfuls of sage, 4 tablespoonfuls of salt, and 2 tablespoonfuls of pepper.
Or for each pound of meat, 1 heap ing teaspoonful of salt, 1 of pepper,. and 1 of sage, with the addition to each 3 pounds of meat, if desired, 1 teaspoonful each of allspice, ginger, and summer savory.
Or for over 25 pounds of meat, 12 ounces of salt, 2 ounces of sage, and 2 ounces of pepper.
Or for 10 pounds of meat, 4 ounces of salt, 1 ounce of sage, and 1 ounce of pepper.
Grinding Sausage Meat. — The trimmings of the hog's carcass are ordinarily ground into sausage meat, the proportion of fat and lean being varied according to taste. Some pre fer a fat meat to a lean. Others a fat to a lean.
To Prepare Sausage.—To prepare good sausage, it is desirable to have a sausage grinder or suitable meat cutter, although the sausage meat can be chopped in a wooden tray with a chopping knife or on a block by means of a heavy knife or cleaver. It vvill be found easier in mixing the spices thoroughly into the meat to dry and pulverize them as finely as possible, cut the meat into rather small pieces and sprinkle the spices over it before it is ground. It will thus become thoroughly incorporated with the meat in grinding. The sau sage grinder is ordinarily fitted with a device for filling the cases. If link sausage is to be made, care must be taken not to fill the sausage cases too full, but to pinch and twist them at intervals to make them link properly.
Or sausages may be packed in cases of muslin or other clean white goods about 2a or 3 inches thick, forced in by means of a clean round stick of hard wood, laid down in jars, and covered with brine or melted lard.
Or the cloth cases may be dipped in melted lard and hung up to dry, care being taken that they have a uni form coating of lard to exclude the air.
Or the sausage meat may be laid down in earthenware pans 4 or 5 inches deep, and a coat of melted lard a to a inch deep poured over them to exclude the air. As long as the coating of lard is not broken, the sausage meat will keep indefinitely. Or if the dish is not too large, it will usually keep after being opened un til required for family use. Or after slices have been removed for use, the open end can be covered with a coat ing of melted lard until more is needed.