Sausage Fat Pastry
I recently had some filler free sausages made. This means they have the simplest ingredients
Premium Berkshire Pork,
salt,
herbs
spices.
There is always some fat that leaks out of the sausages when they are cooking and because I know exactly what goes into our sausages I can save this delicious flavoured sausage fat and use if for
Roast potatoes
Frying cabbage or bubble and squeak
Cooking Yorkshire puddings
Fried Bread
In my bread recipes in place of lard
Making pastry
Yes it works for making pastry!
I just adapted my tried and true recipe using the sausage fat.
Ingredients
1 level cup All purpose Flour
3 oz butter frozen or from the fridge
2 tablespoons cold sausage fat
1/4 cup ice cold water
Directions
Food Processor
Put the 1 cup of flour, sausage fat and butter in your food processor. (3 oz butter, 2 tablespoons sausage fat)
Pulse the fats into the dry ingredients.
With the motor running pour in 1/4 cup ice-cold water until the ingredients come together and look like large breadcrumbs then stop the machine. Don’t overmix.
Take the pastry out of the processor and form it into ball.
Put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour before you use it.
To Make The Old Fashioned Way - By Hand
Put the flour into a bowl
Cut butter and sausage fat into chunks and add to the flour.
Rub fats into flour with your fingertips.
When the mix looks like breadcrumbs add most of the water and bring the dough together - you may need to add the rest of the water.
Wrap the pastry in parchment and put it into the fridge for at least 1 hours to chill.
I only ever use lard from our pasture-raised pigs, never fat from commercial pigs or from other sausages that I don’t know whats in them.
(Click the pic below to find out how to render lard)
Our sausages have enough salt in them that you don’t need to add salt.
Next time you have some extra sausage fat why not try it?