Mildly seasoned and almost as fine as a hot dog in texture, bangers are a beloved sausage in the British Isles. While they are most often poached, they can also be grilled.
Medium hog sausage casings
11/2 pounds pork butt or boneless country ribs
1/2 pound pork fat
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/3 cup Chicken Stock or purchased low-sodium stock
2 large egg yolks, beaten
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried sage
3/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1. Prepare sausage casings as directed.
2. Cut pork and pork fat into 1-inch cubes. Place cubes on a sheet of plastic wrap on a plate and freeze for 30 minutes, or until very firm. While meat chills, combine bread-crumbs, stock, and egg yolks in a small bowl, and mix well.
3. Grind meat and fat through the fine disk of a meat grinder, or in small batches in a food processor fitted with the steel blade using the on-and-off pulse button. If using a food processor, do not process into a paste, but ingredients should be very finely chopped.
4. Combine ground meat, bread-crumb mixture, salt, sage, mace, ginger, pepper, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl, and knead mixture until well blended. Then pass mixture through the fine disk of a meat grinder, or process until almost a paste in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, using the on-and-off pulse button. Fry 1 tablespoon of mixture in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
5. Stuff mixture into casings as described and twist off into 5-inch links; prick air bubbles with a straight pin or skewer. If time permits, arrange links on a wire rack over a baking sheet and air-dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 1 day before cooking.
6. To poach sausages, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add sausages, and maintain water at a bare simmer. Cook sausages for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm. Remove one sausage to a plate with tongs and insert an instant-read thermometer. If the temperature is 160°F, sausages are done. If not, return to the pot and continue cooking. Remove sausages from the pan with tongs, and serve immediately or cool to room temperature, lightly covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Sausages can also be grilled without poaching.
Note: Sausages can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 2 months. Once cooked, they can be refrigerated up to 3 days.