I have lusted over kitchenAid mixers in shops for years.
Now I have one *smug smile* and I have to say that it is worth every cent of it’s hefty price tag, mine is even sweeter as I won it, thanks to Blue Ribbon Bread.
Unlike my old mixer I do not have to lean my entire body weight on the top to get it to mix properly. The KitchenAid does everything beautifully and when I make pizza or pasta dough there is not a scrap left in that shiny shiny bowl!
We were both very keen to try out the mincer and the sausage maker attachments and our butcher obliged by having a special on Pork at R29.99 and selling us the casing and some extra pork fat. We tried to make sausages a while ago with a piping bag, which was painful in the extreme and the sausages were just too meaty for our taste.So with this in mind we made sure we had enough fat content and played with the ingredients until we were happy.
Sage & Onion Pork Sausages
750g minced pork
175g pork fat
50g dried breadcrumbs
1/2 medium onion finely diced
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
fresh sage leaves finely chopped, I used about 20 smallish leaves
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
Mincing the meat
Cut the meat into cubes and pop into a plastic bag and put it into your freezer, you don’t want to freeze the meat, but you want it nice and firm, it minces so much easier.
The next step is to soak the casing, you will need about 3 metres. Fill a bowl with cold water and drop your casing into it. Then holding one end open gently run tap water through the length of the casing. I will save you from the lewd comments that flew around during this process! 
Place your minced meat and fat into a large bowl, add the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper chopped sage leaves, onion and nutmeg and mix thoroughly.
Now is the time to check how it tastes, make a tiny patty and fry it to check seasoning, etc. Don’t skip this step, this is how you get your sausage just how you like it.
Making the sausages
I was a bit squeamish about the casings and declared anything to do with them a ‘Blue’ job, taking out the rubbish is a blue job, as is gardening. Drinking wine with a book in your hand is a pink job! 
Firstly, you have to tie your casing onto the spout of the sausage maker and then gently feed the rest of the casing onto the feeder, remember to tie a knot in the end. Then, finally it’s showtime! I fed the mince mix into the mincer and Himself was on sausage control. Making sausages is definitely a pink and a blue job!
Don’t pack the meat in too tightly, leave room to be able to twist them into sausages.
We were very proud of our efforts and extremely pleased with the taste, also it was great to know exactly what went into our bangers.
Here’s some of my pork sausage recipes that everyone enjoys, click on the link to be taken to the recipes.
Pork Sausage Meatballs in Sweet & Sour Sauce
My Mum’s recipe for the best sausage rolls!
