Liverpool House Rabbit Sausage

• 3 pounds (1.4 kg) boneless rabbit, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes
• 1 pound (455 g) boneless lean pork loin, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes
• 2 pounds (900 g) fat pork cheek or fatback, cut into cubes
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) water
• 1/2 cup (110 g) powdered milk
• 1/4 cup (30 g) Colmans dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Prague powder #1
• 6 (2 3/8 by 24-inch/6 by 61-cm) sausage casings (we buy them from sausagemaker.com)
• Butcher string for tying the casings
• 2 onions, each studded with three cloves
• 4 bay leaves
• Preserved Stone Fruits (page 161) for serving

1. In a large bowl, combine the rabbit, pork loin, pork cheek, salt, water, powdered milk, dry mustard, sugar, pepper, and Prague powder and mix well.
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
3. Fit your meat grinder with a plate with medium-size holes (3/8 inch/10 mm).
4. Slowly pass the meat mixture through the grinder.
5. Using your hands, stuff 1 pound (455 g) of meat into each casing by inserting small balls of the meat mixture and squeezing the casing to compact the mixture.
6. (If your casings are too long, just trim them to size.)
7. Tie em up with butcher string.
8. Place the sausages on a tray, cover with a cloth, and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
9. To smoke the sausages, preheat the smoker to a chamber temperature of 200F (93C).
10. (To smoke your sausages on a barbecue, follow the smoking instructions for the Hot Delicieux Sandwich, page 151.)
11. Hang the sausages in the smoker (we hang them from a grill using small stainless-steel hooks) and smoke them until they reach a core temperature of 152F (67C).
12. Thats about 3 hours at 185F/85C (the chamber temperature will drop a bit once the sausages are inside).
13. We figure if you have a smoker, a meat thermometer is probably not such a big deal for you.
14. Be sure to spray the sausages with water every 30 minutes.
15. When the sausages are finished smoking, let them cool for a day.
16. Alternatively, poach the sausages in simmering water with the onions and bay leaves for 30 to 40 minutes, or until they reach a core temperature of 152F (67C).
17. Serve the sausages with a pocketknife, crackers, and the stone fruit preserve, preferably while on a fishing trip.
18. The sausages will keep for a week (if poached) to 10 days (if smoked) wrapped in aluminum foil in the refrigerator.
19. To make your own casings, cut unbleached muslin cloth into 14 by 6 1/2-inch (35 by 16.5-cm) rectangles.
20. Fold in half lengthwise and sew along the long and one short side to make a 14 by 3 1/4-inch (35 by 8-cm) bag.
21. Wash the casings before use.

boneless rabbit, kosher salt, water, powdered milk, mustard, sugar, ground black pepper, sausage casings, butcher string for tying, onions, bay leaves, serving

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/liverpool-house-rabbit-sausage-388899 (may not work)