The secret of making great sausages

People who are obsessed with making perfect sausages look for the right sausage ‘snap’ when biting into a sausage. This comes down to the casing you use. Natural casings give the best sausage snap. And if you care about what ingredients go into your sausage, you should care about the casing too.

It’s better to slightly overfill than underfill your sausages as fat and water escapes during cooking, making the meat shrink. Take care not to overfill too much or the skin will break open when you cook it.

Before filling your sausages, it’s essential to rinse all the salt off the casings by soaking them thoroughly in clean water. The ideal bathing temperature is between 20°C and 30°C. Avoid water any hotter than 30°C as it may promote bacterial growth and damage the strength and integrity of the casings.