2 c  Milk
2 md Onions, chopped
2 md Carrots, chopped
1 lg Celery stalk with leaves,
-chopped
6    Fresh parsley sprigs
7 lg Shallots, minced
1 lg Garlic clove, crushed
2    Bay leaves, broken
3 1/2 ts Salt
2    Whole cloves
1/2 ts Freshly ground white
-pepper
1/8 ts Freshly grated nutmeg
-Pinch of dried thyme,
-crumbled
1 tb Butter
12 oz Boneless lean center loin
-pork, trimmed of all fat,
-cut into 1-inch chunks and
-well chilled
9 oz Fresh pork fat cut from
-loin, fresh bacon or
-fatback, well chilled
3 md Eggs
6 tb All-purpose flour
1/4 c  Tawny Port
1/4 ts Minced garlic
2 1/2 tb Currants, minced
9    Feet sausage casings,
-rinsed inside and out,
-soaked in
-cold water 1 hour and
-rinsed again
1/4 c  (1/2 stick) butter

Bring milk, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, 3 shallots, garlic clove, bay
leaves, salt, cloves, pepper, nutmeg and thyme just to boil in heavy
4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Remove from het, cover and let stand 30
minutes. Refrigerate until mixture is well chilled, about 2 hours.
Meanwhile, melt 1 Tbsp butter in heavy small skillet over low heat. Add
remaining 4 minced shallots. Cover and cook until very soft, stirring
occasionally, about 15 minutes. Puree with on/off turns in processor with
pork, pork fat, eggs, flour, Port and 1/4 tsp garlic until smooth. Strain
milk into processor, pressing down on solids to extract as much liquid as
possible. Blend into puree. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in currants.
Refrigerate 1 to 8 hours. (If processor has small capacity, puree in
batches.) Cut sausage casings into 3-foot lengths. Tie knot at one end of
each. Gather 1 piece around tip of pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain
tip. Spoon pork mixture into pastry bag, pressing down to prevent air
pockets. Pipe mixture into casing, twisting casing every 6 inches to create
individual sausages. Tie know at end of casing. Repeat with remaining pork
and casings. Tie twists in sausage with string. Bring 8 quarts water to
boil in stockpot. Remove from heat and add sausages. Return pot to heat,
adjusting as necessary to maintain water just below simmer (180 F). Cook
until sausages are firm to touch, 20 minutes, turning occasionally. Cool in
cold water to retain plumpness. Cut into individual links. (Can be
prepared ahead to this point. Wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze
up to 2 months.) Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium heat. Lightly
brown sausages on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Serve hot. (Sausage can
also be grilled.)