BANGERS TO BACON

A New Zealand guide to making, cooking and using sausages and cured meats

By Jeremy Schmid

Photography by Devin Hart

New Holland– RRP $45.00

In Jeremy Schmid’s step-by-step guide to making, cooking and using sausages, ‘Bangers to Bacon’, one is introduced to the art of home curing and smoking using your own meat straight from the field.

Proud of our first class fresh ingredients and our outdoor lifestyle in New Zealand, Jeremy wrote ‘Bangers to Bacon’ to share his passion for sausage-making, proving that the process is achievable at home with some practise and patience and your choice of beef, chicken, lamb, pork or venison.

Flying in the face of quick convenience food, the book is about honouring age-old traditions and natural ways of preparing meat, getting that truly satisfying taste experience and enjoying the process of getting back to basics – and taking it right through from the field to BBQ.

Jeremy shows how to get started; the basic equipment, lots of useful tips, simple to advanced recipes and step-by-step photos, you will take the meat and seasoning mix to the finished item, ready to cook and eat. Also included is a list of stockists and suppliers.

From hot-smoked, cured, dried and vegetarian sausages and dry-cured and wet-brined meats, Jeremy’s recipes range from the humble to the gourmet. He shows you how to begin with classics such as Bangers and Mash and Toad in the Hole, to Papperdelle in basil and garlic cream with Chicken Bratwurst to Dry-cured pork and potato gratin and even Hot-Smoked Venison Sausage and Artichoke Salad.

If the BBQ is the man’s kitchen, then ‘Bangers to Bacon’ is the man’s kitchen companion, to preparing the meat from the field for the table – or at least from the Butcher’s to the Barbie.

In my case I doubt I will ever make my own sausages but I am very keen on eating them if they are top quality and the book is full of wonderful mouth-watering recipes using sausages that I will buy from my butcher or deli.

About the author:

Jeremy Schmid (left) is a professional chef with his own restaurant, 215 Bar & Bistro in Mt Eden, Auckland. With Swiss heritage and a scholarship gained in charcuterie at the Culinary Institute of America in California, he returned to New Zealand and created the successful Little Boys’ sausage range. Jeremy is well-versed in traditional methods of preparing meat.

Devin Hart is a freelance photographer with experience in food, commercial and wedding photography. He photographs, on commission, extensively for Getty Images and in 2010 was awarded second prize in the Royal Easter Show’s National Photographic competition. His food photography appears regularly several food magazines, including New World supermarket’s Real.

The publishers have kindly given me permission to reproduce two recipes from the book.Both dishes I intend to make this coming week:

Cassoulet

500g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight in 3 litres water

150g carrots

250g onions

75g celery

40g leek

10g garlic

10g duck fat or oil

90g dry-cured bacon
(including the rind), diced

250g pork sausages, diced

800ml veal or chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

1 sprig thyme

1 bayleaf

10ml red wine vinegar

30g panko breadcrumbs

freshly chopped parsley to garnish

Serves 6

This is a slow-cooked bean dish using pork sausages and bacon, but chorizo would also work well here. I enjoy serving this with confit duck leg or slow-cooked pork belly.

Drain the beans then place them in a large saucepan and fill this with enough water to cover them. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Lightly chop the vegetables in a food processor.

Put the duck fat or oil into a large saucepan and bring to a moderate heat. Sauté the vegetables, bacon and sausages lightly together.

Preheat the oven to 160º–170°C. Place this mixture into a large ovenproof dish. Add the beans, stock, salt, pepper, herbs and vinegar. Bake uncovered in the oven for 3–4 hours or until the beans are softened. Remove from the oven and stir the mixture lightly, then top with the breadcrumbs. Reset the oven temperature to 190º–200°C. Bake for a further 12–15 minutes until golden brown.

To serve, garnish with finely chopped parsley.

Curried Bratwurst Sausages

1 large onion, diced

chopped fresh or dried chillies (optional)

30g butter

2 teaspoons curry powder

30g flour

700ml vegetable or chicken stock

1 granny smith apple, grated

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon desiccated coconut or 20ml coconut milk

6–8 bratwurst sausages, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

cream or crème fraîche to serve

Serves 3-4

The classic curried sausages works really well using bratwurst. If you like your curry hot, add some chopped chillis (fresh or dried) when sautéing the onion.

In a frying pan over a medium heat, cook the onions (and the chillis, if using), in the butter for 5 minutes until soft. Add the curry powder and flour and stir to combine. Slowly add the stock, stirring continuously, until all the stock is used.

Add the grated apple, tomato paste and coconut or coconut milk,
bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, making sure the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add the bratwurst slices to the sauce and continue to simmer for a further 10–15 minutes.

Season to taste, and finish with a little cream or crème fraîche. Serve hot.

Bangers to Bacon by Jeremy Schmid, with photography by Devin Hart, published by New Holland, RRP $45.00.