Sausages

This recipe hails from the personal manuscript cookbook of Colonel Charles Ellice, a British officer who spent much of his career in India during the mid- to late-19th century. Such cookbooks were treasured companions for officers and their households, containing both local and British recipes adapted to the realities of colonial kitchens. Ellice’s recipes blend traditional British fare—like these sausage instructions—with practical, ingredient-driven improvisations, reflecting both the traveling lifestyle of an officer and the necessity of making-do. The presence of anchovy sauce is a classic Victorian trick for boosting umami in meats, while the use of suet and abundant spice bespeaks the hearty appetites of the era.

In Ellice’s era, meat would be minced by hand with a heavy chopping knife or a metal mincer. Suet would be finely chopped, often with a cleaver. Dried herbs would be crumbled between the fingers, and nutmeg freshly grated with a small, hand-held grater. The mixture would be stuffed into natural casings using a manual sausage stuffer or even a funnel and clean hands. A large iron pot or copper cauldron was used for blanching the sausages in boiling water. Frying would typically be done in a heavy cast-iron skillet or frying pan over a wood or coal stove.