Categories: Pork/ham, Mexican, Sausages 
      Yield: 20 servings 
  
     20    Sausage casings (pork             1/2 c  Cider vinegar 
           -casings for authentic            1/4 c  Tequila (optional) 
           -links)                           1/4 c  Ground red chile, mild OR 
           Vinegar                                  -hot 
      2 lb Lean pork trimmings                 1 ts Ground cinnamon 
      8 oz Beef OR pork fat                1 1/2 ts Ground comino 
      2 md Onions, quartered                   1 ts Ground Mexican oregano 
      8    Cloves garlic, pressed              1 tb Salt 
  
  ..I [=Jane Butel] have generally made bulk sausage, as it is much easier. 
  Sausage has to be taken out of the casing for most uses anyway. 
   
  1.  Clean the casings, rinse well with water, then pour vinegar through 
  them.  Set aside. 
   
  2.  Use a food processor or the coarse blade of a meat grinder, grind the 
  meat and fat.  Add the onions, garlic, vinegar, tequila and seasonings, 
  using the hotness of chile powder your family and guests will prefer. 
   
  3.  Stuff the casings.  First cut the casings into 3-ft lengths and tie one 
  end together.  Use either a funnel or filling tube to fill the lengths. Tie 
  at about 4-inch intervals with heavy thread. 
   
  4.  Place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.  Set on the counter for 
  about 2 hours, then refrigerate. 
   
  5.  After a day, freeze what you will not use within a week or two. Mixture 
  should ripen for at least 8 hours before using. 
   
  Notes:  If you have no food processor or grinder, buy triple ground pork. 
  Prepare the recipe once and taste for the mildness or hotness of the ground 
  red chile.  Adjust to suit your taste for the next time you make sausage. 
   
  Freezing hints: Mold the sausage into 1/2-pound lumps and freeze between 
  pieces of foil inside a heavy plastic bag. 
   
  Maximum recommended freezer storage:  3 months. 
   
  Makes 20 sausages or  2 2/3 pounds bulk sausage. 
   
  From:  JANE BUTEL'S TEX-MEX COOKBOOK by Jane Butel, Harmony Books, New 
  York.  1980.  ISBN 0-517-539861 Shared by: Karin Brewer, Cooking Echo, 7/93