To Make Sausages
From the treasured pages of Various Cookeries
Unknown Author
To Make Sausages
"Take a legg of the best white pork and cut it clean from the skin, then mince it small and beat it in a Mortar and take 2 pound of Beef suet shread it very small; beat half of it with the pork, when it is well beaten put the other in, then take the Yolks of 4 Eggs and 2 whites and half a pint of Cream scald it & let it stand till it be cold grate 2 manchets and mingle all these together with Sage pepper and salt to your tast, then rowl 'em out & fry 'em."
Note on the Original Text
This recipe, in typical 17th-century style, is written as flowy prose rather than instructions or ingredient lists. Quantities are mostly given by weight or count (pounds, eggs), but bread quantities are more approximate, relying on reference to a 'manchet' (small white loaf). Spellings and phrasing—such as 'rowl 'em out' or 'beat it in a Mortar'—reflect Early Modern English and culinary habits of the time, where accuracy came second to practicality and personal taste.
Title
Various Cookeries (1690)
You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome
Writer
Unknown
Era
1690
Publisher
Unknown
Background
A delightful glimpse into late 17th-century kitchens, this book brims with recipes, methods, and culinary wisdom passed down through generations, capturing the essence of historical gastronomy.
Kindly made available by
Folger Shakespeare Library
This sausage recipe hails from the late 1600s, a period of rich transformation in English cookery. Cookbooks were just becoming more accessible to wealthier households, and recipes like this—written in long, descriptive paragraphs—were passed down for the household cooks, not the general public. The use of both pork and beef suet reflects a time when the entirety of the animal was used, maximizing flavor and richness. Such recipes document an era before standardized measurements, when intuition and experience guided the cook’s hand.
Historically, the cook would have used a large, heavy mortar and pestle to mince and pound both the pork and suet to a fine paste. A sharp knife would have been essential for trimming and dicing the meat. The mixture would likely have been shaped by hand, without any casings, then fried in a large, heavy pan or a metal skillet over an open hearth or cast iron stove. Today, a food processor or stand mixer can make short work of mincing and blending, but the hands-on element and frying in a pan remain unchanged.
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Servings
8
We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb boneless pork leg, skin removed
- 2 lb beef suet, finely minced (or 2 lb chilled animal or vegetable fat if suet unavailable)
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 egg whites
- 9.5 fl oz heavy cream
- 2 white bread rolls or 4¼–5¼ oz white breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons black pepper, ground
- 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
- Butter or oil for frying
Instructions
- Begin with 2.2 lb of boneless pork leg, trimmed of skin, and finely chop or mince it.
- In a large bowl or mortar, combine the pork with 2 lb of finely minced beef suet.
- Use a food processor or stand mixer for beating and blending the mixture if you don't have a large mortar and pestle.
- Beat about half the suet into the pork first, then sprinkle in the rest and mix thoroughly.
- For the binder, whisk together 4 egg yolks, 2 egg whites, and 9.5 fl oz of cream.
- Gently warm (scald) the cream then let it cool to room temperature before mixing with eggs.
- Grate 2 white bread rolls (manchets) to create fresh breadcrumbs (roughly 4¼–5¼ oz) and blend these into the meat mix with the cream and eggs.
- Season generously with chopped fresh sage, ground black pepper, and salt to taste.
- Take handfuls of the mixture, roll them into sausage shapes, and fry in butter or oil in a pan over medium heat until browned and cooked through.
Estimated Calories
650 per serving
Cooking Estimates
It takes about 30 minutes to prepare the ingredients and mix everything. Cooking the sausages in batches takes about 25 minutes. Each serving has around 650 calories, and the recipe makes 8 servings.
As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.
We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.
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