"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

[Jolipapa]

Sunday morning was a big egg hunt. I found this one.



A 70s ad for a new lorry.

 

[Pàdruig]

I shared this on another part of the forum here that I like to frequent but I figured you guys might appreciate it too.

Thought I might demonstrate some good old fashioned charcuterie. I went to my buddy's house on Saturday to help him whip up a large batch of Cumberland sausage, otherwise known as "Bangers". For those of you who are familiar with British fare, bangers are a bit of a staple for some and my friend, who has long been enthused by British cooking, has really perfected his recipe. It is worth noting that he makes some of the best haggis I have ever tried and his Lorne sausage and black pudding are equally amazing.

We started with around 20 pounds of good pork, cut into pieces suitable for feeding into the grinder.

The first pass through the grinder...

A very important ingredient in charcuterie, particularly of the British variety, is Rusk! We essentially made a dense, yeastless bread, similar in consistency to biscotti. We then allowed it to dry and cool some and then ran it through a food processor to achieve a large portion of "bread crumbs". We then allow them to sit in some cold water while we prepare the rest.

Cumberland spice. My buddy's own special blend, I cannot recall everything that is in it, I just know it makes these sausages taste like heaven.

Preparing to mix it all together.

Once it has all been thoroughly mixed, we run it through the grinder a second time.

The process thus far has been accompanied by many pints of Guinness. Because.... Well, just because.

We then stuck the prepared sausage into the fridge to chill before stuffing it in casings. We kept ourselves busy though and made ourselves a nice tidy meal of Scotch eggs, chips, brown sauce, and yes, more Guinness.

Soaking the casings prior to filling.

Forgive me for not getting pictures of the casings getting stuffed, it was an involved process. But here you see a nice tidy pile of bangers beginning to accumulate. (It might be worth noting that Cumberland sausage is traditionally not "linked", rather prepared in a long coil. However, for ease of consumption and packaging, we linked these.)

After they were all filled, the sausages get pricked and then hung to dry for a little while prior to being vacuum packed and sealed. Any leftover sausage is used for patties, Scotch eggs, etc. None is wasted...

Hope you all enjoyed that. It was a lot of fun but it takes quite a bit of time, I think I made it to bed around 4am... Worth it though and I am looking forward to the next batch.

 

[Peregrin]

Bangers! Yum! I think a visit to my favorite local Irish pub is in order!
When I was in the UK years ago I tried to eat my weight in Bangers before I left! I wasn't successful, but it was a valiant attempt.

 

[Jack Black]

I shared this on another part of the forum here that I like to frequent but I figured you guys might appreciate it too.

Thought I might demonstrate some good old fashioned charcuterie. I went to my buddy's house on Saturday to help him whip up a large batch of Cumberland sausage, otherwise known as "Bangers". For those of you who are familiar with British fare, bangers are a bit of a staple for some and my friend, who has long been enthused by British cooking, has really perfected his recipe. It is worth noting that he makes some of the best haggis I have ever tried and his Lorne sausage and black pudding are equally amazing.

We started with around 20 pounds of good pork, cut into pieces suitable for feeding into the grinder.

The first pass through the grinder...

A very important ingredient in charcuterie, particularly of the British variety, is Rusk! We essentially made a dense, yeastless bread, similar in consistency to biscotti. We then allowed it to dry and cool some and then ran it through a food processor to achieve a large portion of "bread crumbs". We then allow them to sit in some cold water while we prepare the rest.

Cumberland spice. My buddy's own special blend, I cannot recall everything that is in it, I just know it makes these sausages taste like heaven.

Preparing to mix it all together.

Once it has all been thoroughly mixed, we run it through the grinder a second time.

The process thus far has been accompanied by many pints of Guinness. Because.... Well, just because.

We then stuck the prepared sausage into the fridge to chill before stuffing it in casings. We kept ourselves busy though and made ourselves a nice tidy meal of Scotch eggs, chips, brown sauce, and yes, more Guinness.

Soaking the casings prior to filling.

Forgive me for not getting pictures of the casings getting stuffed, it was an involved process. But here you see a nice tidy pile of bangers beginning to accumulate. (It might be worth noting that Cumberland sausage is traditionally not "linked", rather prepared in a long coil. However, for ease of consumption and packaging, we linked these.)

After they were all filled, the sausages get pricked and then hung to dry for a little while prior to being vacuum packed and sealed. Any leftover sausage is used for patties, Scotch eggs, etc. None is wasted...

Hope you all enjoyed that. It was a lot of fun but it takes quite a bit of time, I think I made it to bed around 4am... Worth it though and I am looking forward to the next batch.

Nice work Dylan, thanks for the photo essay Who'd have thought that British cuisine would ever go global!

Bangers! Yum! I think a visit to my favorite local Irish pub is in order!
When I was in the UK years ago I tried to eat my weight in Bangers before I left! I wasn't successful, but it was a valiant attempt.

 

[jackknife]

I love Scotch eggs!!!!!!!!

I'd rather have a meal English pub food than any weird so called classy meal with a few items placed decoratively in the middle of the plate and some un identified gravy/sause dribbled around in somebody's ideal of arty.

 

[Dadpool]

Today I was thinking about forum friends, which led, as it always does, to thinking about BigBiscuit. I can't bring myself to "unfollow" him on the forums, even though he's gone. It wouldn't feel right, somehow.

You know how when you visit your own profile (usually doing some housecleaning, in my case) the Following section shows six random avatars of folks you follow? Whenever I see Bob's, it makes me smile.

I have to imagine I'm not alone in this -- right?

 

[r redden]

Today I was thinking about forum friends, which led, as it always does, to thinking about BigBiscuit. I can't bring myself to "unfollow" him on the forums, even though he's gone. It wouldn't feel right, somehow.

You know how when you visit your own profile (usually doing some housecleaning, in my case) the Following section shows six random avatars of folks you follow? Whenever I see Bob's, it makes me smile.

I have to imagine I'm not alone in this -- right?

I know exactly how you feel I texted some of my forum friends Sunday to say happy Easter and caught myself starting to text Bob. I'm so glad I didn't because I think his daughter Lan still has his phone.

 

[r redden]

Has anyone heard from pertinux I know I'm just getting back in the swing of things but I just checked and she's not been around since February 1.

 

[1066vik]

she's been hanging out in the fiddleback forge subforum.

 

[veitsi_poika]

I shared this on another part of the forum here that I like to frequent but I figured you guys might appreciate it too.

Thought I might demonstrate some good old fashioned charcuterie. I went to my buddy's house on Saturday to help him whip up a large batch of Cumberland sausage, otherwise known as "Bangers". For those of you who are familiar with British fare, bangers are a bit of a staple for some and my friend, who has long been enthused by British cooking, has really perfected his recipe. It is worth noting that he makes some of the best haggis I have ever tried and his Lorne sausage and black pudding are equally amazing.

We started with around 20 pounds of good pork, cut into pieces suitable for feeding into the grinder.

The first pass through the grinder...

A very important ingredient in charcuterie, particularly of the British variety, is Rusk! We essentially made a dense, yeastless bread, similar in consistency to biscotti. We then allowed it to dry and cool some and then ran it through a food processor to achieve a large portion of "bread crumbs". We then allow them to sit in some cold water while we prepare the rest.

Cumberland spice. My buddy's own special blend, I cannot recall everything that is in it, I just know it makes these sausages taste like heaven.

Preparing to mix it all together.

Once it has all been thoroughly mixed, we run it through the grinder a second time.

The process thus far has been accompanied by many pints of Guinness. Because.... Well, just because.

We then stuck the prepared sausage into the fridge to chill before stuffing it in casings. We kept ourselves busy though and made ourselves a nice tidy meal of Scotch eggs, chips, brown sauce, and yes, more Guinness.

Soaking the casings prior to filling.

Forgive me for not getting pictures of the casings getting stuffed, it was an involved process. But here you see a nice tidy pile of bangers beginning to accumulate. (It might be worth noting that Cumberland sausage is traditionally not "linked", rather prepared in a long coil. However, for ease of consumption and packaging, we linked these.)

After they were all filled, the sausages get pricked and then hung to dry for a little while prior to being vacuum packed and sealed. Any leftover sausage is used for patties, Scotch eggs, etc. None is wasted...

Hope you all enjoyed that. It was a lot of fun but it takes quite a bit of time, I think I made it to bed around 4am... Worth it though and I am looking forward to the next batch.

Great post Dylan! Looks like your buddy has a knack for bangers! We had a Wisconsin version of "Bangers and Mash" the other night with some Johnsonville ring sausage and Hormel brand garlic mashed potatoes... hardly compares to your feast! Looked like your plate had a few Guiness as well... LoL.



- Kevin

 

[btb01]

Today I was thinking about forum friends, which led, as it always does, to thinking about BigBiscuit. I can't bring myself to "unfollow" him on the forums, even though he's gone. It wouldn't feel right, somehow.

You know how when you visit your own profile (usually doing some housecleaning, in my case) the Following section shows six random avatars of folks you follow? Whenever I see Bob's, it makes me smile.

I have to imagine I'm not alone in this -- right?

Funny you should mention it, I was just cleaning out my message folder this afternoon and found some old conversations with Bob. I left 'em there.

 

[mrknife]

Has anyone heard from pertinux I know I'm just getting back in the swing of things but I just checked and she's not been around since February 1.

she might be more of a reader than a poster. the only thing really recent here she did was bring back the rendezvous thread to the top. sorta like a reminder of its time to book rooms and what not for the rest of us, id like to think. i cant remember seeing her name pop up in threads of late

 

[Pàdruig]

Bangers! Yum! I think a visit to my favorite local Irish pub is in order!
When I was in the UK years ago I tried to eat my weight in Bangers before I left! I wasn't successful, but it was a valiant attempt.

I am sure you will not regret it. My stomach is usually fit to burst when eating such fine fare.
I love going to Irish styled pubs here but unfortunately, they tend to draw a crowd so my visits are rather infrequent...

Nice work Dylan, thanks for the photo essay Who'd have thought that British cuisine would ever go global!

Well, when you have a good thing going... Really though, I find the way we Americans treat our meat considerably different than the British. And though I do love me some great BBQ, I find that I prefer British charcuterie for the most part.

I love Scotch eggs!!!!!!!!

I'd rather have a meal English pub food than any weird so called classy meal with a few items placed decoratively in the middle of the plate and some un identified gravy/sause dribbled around in somebody's ideal of arty.

I so heartily agree with you, there are very few more satisfying meals than an English Breakfast or simply bangers and mash or any other pub favorite, for that matter. Though I can appreciate some "food art" for what it is, it generally only serves to whet my appetite and cause me unnecessary irritation because I will generally still be hungry...

Great post Dylan! Looks like your buddy has a knack for bangers! We had a Wisconsin version of "Bangers and Mash" the other night with some Johnsonville ring sausage and Hormel brand garlic mashed potatoes... hardly compares to your feast! Looked like your plate had a few Guiness as well... LoL.

View attachment 880661 View attachment 880667

- Kevin

Ha! I had not noticed my plate's drunken visage. I wish I could say that the placement of its contents were due to my own tipsiness but alas! Guinness must be largely comprised of water because I drank upwards of 9 or 10 pints and didn't feel a darn thing...

 

[Jack Black]

I am sure you will not regret it. My stomach is usually fit to burst when eating such fine fare.
I love going to Irish styled pubs here but unfortunately, they tend to draw a crowd so my visits are rather infrequent...



Well, when you have a good thing going... Really though, I find the way we Americans treat our meat considerably different than the British. And though I do love me some great BBQ, I find that I prefer British charcuterie for the most part.



I so heartily agree with you, there are very few more satisfying meals than an English Breakfast or simply bangers and mash or any other pub favorite, for that matter. Though I can appreciate some "food art" for what it is, it generally only serves to whet my appetite and cause me unnecessary irritation because I will generally still be hungry...



Ha! I had not noticed my plate's drunken visage. I wish I could say that the placement of its contents were due to my own tipsiness but alas! Guinness must be largely comprised of water because I drank upwards of 9 or 10 pints and didn't feel a darn thing...

We need to eat together my friend In fact we ALL need to eat together!

 

[veitsi_poika]

We need to eat together my friend In fact we ALL need to eat together!

Hear Hear!

 

[jc57]

she might be more of a reader than a poster

It tends to happen when you get out of the constant acquisition phase.

 

[Pàdruig]

We need to eat together my friend In fact we ALL need to eat together!

I agree, it would make for a rather grand time. My wife and I were conversing the other day and we began to realize that a trip to the UK was becoming a rather likely reality in the not so distant future. I told her when we start the planning process, Sheffield and Yorkshire are definitely going on the visit list.

 

[Jack Black]

I agree, it would make for a rather grand time. My wife and I were conversing the other day and we began to realize that a trip to the UK was becoming a rather likely reality in the not so distant future. I told her when we start the planning process, Sheffield and Yorkshire are definitely going on the visit list.

FANTASTIC!!

 

[pertinux]

It tends to happen when you get out of the constant acquisition phase.

~ P.

 

[Jack Black]

~ P.

Ey up!