Beef and muscat sausages

This represents my third attempt at sausage-making. The results weren't brilliant, but they were definitely acceptable. I wouldn't be pissed off if I'd paid for these, is the point. The muscat was a bright idea I had half way through making the sausages. I was originally aiming for a 'barbecue beef' sausage--thus the choice in spices.

Before hanging sausages, you need to twist them into individual sausages, right? Sounds like a challenge, but it's quite easy once you get the hang of it. Personally, I find it easiest to work in metre lengths. I take great care not to overfill the casings and then, when I have a metre-long sausage, I cut it. I fold the metre long sausages in half and then twist the two halves together, starting from the top, about 15 cm from the initial fold. I then feed one of the ends through the hole and repeat the process. Don't simply twist them together, as they'll come undone the moment you let go. It's very important to feed the one of the ends through the hole you just made.

Finally, a word on hanging. I form the twisted sausages into a bundle and then tie food-safe string to them. I place the whole lot in a plastic bag. I tie the other end of the string to a small object--a piece of cutlery would do the job--and then lift up the second last shelf of the fridge. I feed the string in so the small object sits on top of the shelf and the bag of sausages is hanging underneath. I tried using plastic hooks attached to the bottom of the second shelf, but found they didn't have enough strength in their sticky backing.

1 kg chuck steak, trimmed of excess fat and sinew, cut into small strips
500 g pork fat, cut into small strips
natural casings, re-hydrated
a very generous splash of muscat (substitute port or sherry or about anything else)
2 tsp salt
a generous pinch of paprika
a generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
a generous pinch of thyme

Use the coarsest setting of the mincer to grind up the chuck and pork fat. Combine with the spices and muscat in a bowl and refrigerate until cold. Run the whole lot through the mincer again, this time on the finest setting. Feed into sausage casings. Hand overnight.