Cumberland Sausage
Submitted by misty77
Traditional Cumberland sausage made with pork shoulder, back fat, nutmeg, mace, and a touch of smoked bacon. Hand-mixed, stuffed into casings, and baked until golden and snappy.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
7 hrsCumberland sausage is the pride of Cumbria in northwest England, and it’s been made this way for centuries: coarsely minced pork, good fat, warm spices, and not much else.
What sets it apart from your average banger is the texture. The meat is chopped rather than ground fine, so every bite has proper chew and character.
Nutmeg and mace bring that distinctly English warmth, while a half-rasher of smoked bacon threads a subtle smokiness through the whole batch.
Let the stuffed sausages rest overnight so the flavors meld and the casings firm up, then bake them until the skin crackles and the juices run clear.
Butcher’s Tips
- Keep the pork and fat cold while you work. Warm fat smears instead of staying in distinct pieces, and you lose that chunky Cumberland texture.
- Always fry a small spoonful of the mixture before stuffing the casings. You can’t un-season a whole batch, so taste as you go.
- Traditional Cumberland sausage is coiled in one long spiral, not twisted into links. If you’re going for authenticity, coil it into a baking dish and secure with skewers.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the shoulder and the fat.
Add 8 tablespoons hot water to the crumbs.
Mix everything together (use your hands), seasoning well with pepper, and adding a generous pinch of both the spices.
Fry a spoonful of the sausage to test the seasoning.
Fill the sausage casings as usual.
Prick in a few places and allow to sit overnight before cooking.
These are very good baked in a buttered baking dish at 350℉ (180℃) F until browned. Turn after 20 minutes, and raise the heat if the sausages are cooking too slowly.
Comments
Cumberland Sausage is actually a defined and geographically protected thing, though nobody would complain about someone making their own. One of the interesting aspects is that that comes with a definition which is minimum 80% meat and maximum 20% fat. This recipe is at least 25% fat even if the pork shoulder was 100% lean... so this is a fatty sausage that doesn't deserve the name Cumberland Sausage.