Carnival Time: Jerk Pork Bangers

Scotch Bonnet, Coriander, Pork

Sitting here on a cold and bleak November day there is nothing I would like more than to be back at Notting Hill Carnival, dancing to soca, drinking warm Red Stripe, and eating jerk chicken from a polystyrene tray. While I can’t control the weather, I can turn the heating up, put on a bootleg CD from the market, pour some rum and make some jerk pork bangers.

This is a recipe I’ve been meaning to write up for a really long time as it’s one of the first I made since starting this blog. Its really simple, really tasty, and looks really impressive. You can make your own jerk seasoning if you want, but I think the premixed ones you can buy are really good.

This recipe doesn’t use much salt as jerk seasoning tends to have plenty of salt in it already. If you want to make your own, you might want to put another spoonful of salt in. The recipe follows.

FIYAH!!!!

Jon’s Jerk Pork Bangers
600g Pork shoulder
120g Back fat
100g Breadcrumbs
20g Jerk seasoning powder (I used Rajah. Tropical Sun is also good)
12g Salt
6g Garlic powder
1/2 Scotch bonnet chilli (deseeded). More if you’re feeling adventurous.
1 Bunch fresh coriander (75-100g)
Water to bind, about 100ml
Hog casings – about 6 feet.

First, set aside your hog casings in clean cold water to soak for a couple of hours to remove excess salt. Next de-rind and cube your pork and back fat and place in the freezer to chill right down. This helps it go through the mincer more easily and means you don’t end up with meat paste all over the shop.

Take your coriander and chilli and finely chop. You can do this by hand but a blender or food processor makes the job a lot faster.

Coriander and Chilli, Blitzed

Next measure out your spices. This recipe doesn’t call for a lot of extra salt as there is already plenty contained in the jerk seasoning. If you don’t happen to have scales for weighing spices then a rough estimate for this recipe is  2 1/2 tbsp jerk powder, and 1 1/2 tsp of both salt and garlic powder.

By the time you’ve prepared your seasonings, your pork should be thoroughly chilled and ready for mincing. Fit your mincer with a coarse plate (number 8 ) and slowly feed your pork shoulder and back fat through until it’s all thoroughly minced.

Herbs, Spices, Meat

Next take your herbs, spices, breadcrumbs and pork mince and combine together in a large bowl, mixing thoroughly until all of the flavours are blended. You may want to add some water to help things stick. I chose to wear gloves for this bit. No one likes scotch bonnet in the eye…or worse….

Mixing by hand.

When your sausagemeat is thoroughly combined, fry a small piece and check for seasoning. You may want to add a touch more jerk seasoning. Remember that the chilli heat will get stronger when you leave the sausages to rest. You can also serve them with jerk sauce if you want more heat.

Fit your medium stuffing tube to your mincer and slowly stuff the mixture into your soaked hog casings until you’ve fed all of the mixture through. Twist the sausages into links and leave to rest in the fridge for 24 hours to let the flavours combine before cooking or freezing.

Finished sausages, resting on a rack.

These sausages have a really lovely heat to them, which combined wih the freshness of the coriander and the depth of flavour of the jerk spices makes a sausage that is perfect for bringing carnival vibes to the bleak midwinter. Serve it with rice and peas and jerk sauce for authenticity or just stuff it in a roll with some ketchup for a breakfast pick me up.

Jerk Pork Banger, Potato Wedges, Pomegranate and sweetcorn salsa.