Wow. I have never seen anything like the cauliflower mushroom. How big does it grow? While waiting for a batch of bacon to smoke I have time to sit down and chew some fat. I am not an expert. So take my musings with a pig pinch of garlic powder or fairy dust. A mushroom is the spore-bearing fruiting...

The date between my house and the bulldozer is getting closer. My case manager and builders are coming around tomorrow with the first set of floor plans for my re-build. It is strange, I do not feel excited or anything. It is just part of the process. I do not thinks I will be excited until I move b...

I really like pate's and spreadable sausages. I know it is not a sausage, but rillettes made from pork belly, pigs head and trotters with a bit of duck is beyond doubt the greatest thing to spread on toast or fresh bread. Try it in a toasted wrap or inside a toasted pita bread pocket. Back to the to...

N'duja is a spicy spreadable sausage made with pork. It is typically made with parts of the pig such as the shoulder, belly and jowl, as well as a mixture of spices. http://www.cucumbertown.com/homemade-nd ... ecipe-dish

Has anyone made it?

Just had a brain freeze. Is what I have done safe? I have mixed herbs, spices, salt and cure #1 at 2.5g per kg with cubed meat. I then left it in the fridge for just over 24 hrs (timing thing). I then stuffed the sausages. I left them to dry for 2 hrs in my bathroom (about 20 degrees C). I have then...

Sausages are made and cold smoking at the moment. I made 2 kg. I fine ground 1 kg of pork (Even though it was butt it was very lean - so I added used 600g of pork belly - difficult getting back fat). I cubed the other kg into 5-7 mm cubes. That was a job and a half (had part frozen it). I would no g...

A lot of the pork I buy in NZ is very lean. And yes I am taking of the shoulder (boston butt) I usually buy 1/2 a pig direct from free range farm and a local butcher cuts it up for me. Because of the nature of the pork farmed today, due to demand, it is very difficult getting a fatty cut or back fat...

I kicked of the belly bacon today in a wet cure. I had rolled it up, vac-packed it and then frozen it. It is lovely pork. It is free farmed (http://www.cressyfarm.co.nz/Home_Page.php) I went out and look at their farm. The paddocks are visible from the side of a country road. Now like all pork in NZ...

I have been given a frozen deer leg. It weighs in at about 4kg. I do not know the hunter at all well and I have no idea how long it was from being shot to frozen. I would like to make some dry cured salami out of some, but bearing in mind I know little of the history of the meat. I suppose that I co...

Do you still use milk powder as a binder?

Mark

Thanks for the recipe. It looks great. The hottest sausage I make has 4 g per kg of cayenne (most I like). Which is about the same volume that you use when combining the flakes and cayenne.

Lots of garlic, pepper and thyme. Yes I will go with your recipe.

I have found a recipe for gumbo in a book that I have neglected for a couple of years. 'the spicy food lovers bible' by Dave DeWitt & Nancy Gerlach. Thanks rgauthier20420 for the links. I would like to clarify a few things from your recipe. 2 tsp of Cayenne or to taste (Remember, if you make it too ...

Thanks for inspiring me. The pictures look good, love the look of the Gumbo with lobsterettes, but no I know what this would do to my big toe. Reading el Ducko's recipe and the link provided by rgauthier20420 suggests that I can give this a go. All I need to do now is to decide on a sausage type (fi...

As I mentioned the flag is not an issue to me, but it is very important to others. I did not know about the flag debate in Canada. The flag is a simple bold emblem. I wonder if it is because of the flag that I so strongly associate the maple leaf with Canada. Many people get confused between the Aus...

I am very happy with how my dry cured bacon comes out. I dry cure it for 6 days (skin on). However, I may prefer the taste or texture of brine cured bacon. The advantage with brine curing is that the strips can be cut off the meat and be fried. I can also get visual clues at to how the meat is going.