Homemade Sausage Making

Yikes cowboys! Let's not forget all our neighbors. How about Canada? Or what about getting a giant canoe and paddling down to Australia to meet those fine folks? And Duckster... don't completely discount Utah! It actually has some of the most sought-after convention centers in the country. Duck, you wrote...

(...which probably places it somewhere out in Utah. [sigh])

Uh Huh! How about Park City? The wildest little historic silver-mining, town in the West. It's home to Robert Redford's Film Festival and has the greatest skiing in the west. There are plenty of hotels, motels, restaurants, shops, bars, museums, saloons, churches, and even convention centers. There are endless things to do and see and in the summer when the snow melts, you can even slide down the mountains in a burlap bag inside cement troughs. There are shuttles directly from the SLC airport, but driving includes some great mountain scenery. Lots of space for everything out here... including free parking. And shucks pard, I'll even put up yer' horse for ya'!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

DC would be reasonable for me. Count me in.

Please make some videos of the instructional presentations and post them on youtube. I just don't do "east", never have, not about to start. RAY

FYI- Just a reminder. The borders to the US need a passport for entry and also to enter Canada the same applies. Not like the old days since 9/11.

Folks,
Here are some (edited) details from Maxell's correspondence.

Polish can send two technologists, perhaps for 1 week.
Content: teach people how to make Polish sausages, hams, Pates, etc. and::: black puddings.
If you have enough time, you can learn how to make Polish cheeses.
Andrzej (technologist) is very good at smoked bacon and sausage from venison.
There probably won't be the time for tours.
It would be best to schedule such a meeting in September or October (still time to arrange a visa).
We may persuade Seminole (Stanley Marianski) translation.

Some concerns:
(1) Chances are good that we will need at least ten attendees to make this thing worthwhile.
(2) The schedule is ambitious: in my experience with various business and technical groups, one week of any second language typically takes three to four weeks of translation, repetition, absorption, and demonstration. Hands-on demonstration is not any faster.
(3) Reducing the scope may be necessary. For example, black pudding is not terribly popular in North America, due to lack of raw material (blood) supply, different tastes, or whatever excuse. Pates are not as commonly consumed in North America as they should be. Polish cheeses, likewise, are in short supply. Although we would love to be thorough and cover these topics too, it may be necessary to not include them. (Maybe an "advanced course" at some later date?)
(4) We will need to video record the sessions, do some editing and subtitling, and make them available to forum members around the world who prefer English but are unable to attend. This is beyond my limited abilities, but some of you may be able. Should we consider video as part of this project? I hope so.
(5) One possibly better use of time and resources would be to video record the next session or two when they are given in Poland, then translate and edit them, and post them on the forum the way YouTube fanatics do. (...anyone know how to do this?)

So, as always, post your comments. If September or October would be a good time, let us know IMMEDIATELY.

Russ
(el Ducko to you, ol' buddy)

We can do videos at a school in Poland, but later will be a problem with the translation into English.

Perhaps video is the best way. We will reach more people with a video. Also, you will have an excellent record of the course, for future sausage makers.

Schools are excellent. (Free labor???)

May I suggest a process?
-take video,
-edit,
-write the script,
-add Polish subtitles,
-translate,
-add English or other subtitles to video.
It is possible to have selectable language for sub-titles. This way, we could have Polish subtitles, switch to English, switch to a third language if desired.

Other languages also need to be added, because I want to run a forum in German, Russian and Italian or Spanish.
When you opt for training in the United States, let me know.

Jason (of "Three Little Pigs" fame) and I have exchanged emails discussing schedule and timing. He and his wife operate a business, and September/October time frame is an extremely busy time of year for them and their suppliers. Also, due to US Department of Homeland Security concerns, it is no longer easy to obtain visas to enter the United States without significant lead time. Also, translation is still an unsolved problem. Also, not enough people have said that they would attend.

However, this is still a valuable project, and a video recording of it would make it even more valuable. A video presentation could be translated into many languages.

Therefore, I recommend that the Polish WD group record the next two or so sessions held in Poland, then edit them and add subtitles (or alternate sound track). WD should retain copyright of the material for control purposes, and perhaps sell DVD copies as a fund raising activity to generate cash for their continued good work in Poland.

Then, perhaps in October of 2014, we (east coast USA) can all meet at Three Little Pigs anyway, and eat good charcuterie while watching the DVD together. I'll brew a keg of Polish-style beer for the group (piwo, tak?) and we'll exchange yarns about the good ol' days when we almost got together for "the real thing." ...and call up ol' Chuckwagon on somebody's cell phone and tell him what a good time he missed. (He'll probably be snow-bound already, it being October.)

That seems like a much more cost effective plan. Russ and Jason, Thank you for time you have invested considering how to make this work.

Thanks for the kind words. It doesn't have to be a year before you can assemble a group to enjoy some time here. We do frequent classes on butchery, charcuterie, & salumi. If the interest is there, it would be a privilege to host a workshop for our WD members on one or several of the things we do here at TLP.

Just got back from a camping trip to Strathcona Park (no cell phone towers, internet or electricity), and now catching up on the banter here. I certainly would be interested in attending a training session and help out with translating from Polish, but not on the East coast. Just a little too far. Having said that, a session in Washington would be a good start, and we could learn a lot from it. If something would be held in the Pacific Northwest, I would be the first to sign my name to the list.

Compromise location: the geographical center of the "continental United States" is actually in Lebanon.

Uh, make that Lebanon in north-central Kansas, population 218.

The only problem I see is that it's a bit outside Three Little Pigs' order-out service area. ...but we could hire a taxi. I can hear it now. "...deli tray? Sure. ...be there in under twenty minutes. Uh... twenty days. That'll be $xx.xx, plus a $4,000 tip for the driver. ...and no poetry this time, okay?"

We'll see about the hugging. (After that discussion about meadow muffins, CW...)

But seriously, folks- - we need to plan some get-togethers, if only local ones at the start.

You have to schedule the first meeting as soon as possible. It's really great when strangers until now, people talk and biesiadują seemed a long time already knew each other.
In Poland we meet very often. There are already some regional groups. Really worth it. You only live once.
Best regards.

Our Polish sausage colleagues get together not only at training and educational sessions but also for a bit of fun and socializing.

Take a look at the video from last summers get together.

Go to:
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/

Then scroll down a wee bit and open the video on the right under Multimedia.
No translation necessary. Man, I sure would have like to been there!