Homemade Italian Sausage Recipe
Servings: 15 links
Calories: 470kcal
Learn how to make Homemade Italian Sausage, a fun and fulfilling process. Adjust the heat and the ingredients for a custom blend every time!
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Ingredients
- Natural Hog Casings
- 5 tablespoons whole fennel seed
- 5 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 3 tablespoons cayenne
- 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 4-5 pounds boneless fatty pork shoulder
- 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley , minced
- 8 garlic cloves ,finely minced
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Start by putting a large metal or glass mixing bowl, meat grinder with coarse plate (or medium size dye) and sausage stuffer into the freezer to chill. I recommend at least 1 hour, but this can also done a day or so in advance too. Cold items will prevent the meat from sticking and be easier to work with.
- In a small saute pan, toast the fennel seeds over low heat until fragrant, approximately 3-4 minutes. Transfer them to a small mixing bowl and stir in the paprika, cayenne, salt, white pepper, onion powder, sugar and crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside.
- Cut the pork shoulder into 1-inch cubes and put it into the chilled metal or glass mixing bowl. Toss the pork cubes with the combined spices, garlic and parsley. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- While chilling, prepare the sausage casings (if you are using sausage casings). They look fragile and thin, but they are hearty and tough! Remove about 12-15 feet of sausage casings and place into a bowl of lukewarm water. Rinse well, drain water. Repeat until water is clear. Carefully run water through the inside of each casing. Cover casings with fresh water and set aside until ready to stuff.
- Remove the meat grinder and plate from the freezer. Assemble the grinder and use another large metal or glass mixing bowl to catch the ground meat.
- Working in batches, feed the pork cube and spice mixture through the meat grinder at a speed of 4.
- When finished grinding, mix the meat with the red wine and red wine vinegar using your hands, a meat mixer or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer. An electric hand mixer will not work for this purpose. Place the mixture back into the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
- If you are casing, assemble the stuffer. Thread one length of sausage casing onto the stuffing. Tie the end into a small knot. Run the ground meat mixture through the stuffer at a low speed. Make links about 4-5 inches long, stopping to twist the casing after each link to seperate them. Twist in opposing directions from link-to-link. Tie at knot at the end of the casing. It helps to have an additional person to hold the casing as it comes out and another operating the speed and feeding the stuffer. I like to stop the machine to twist off links.
- Optional: Traditional sausage making calls for curing the links. Be creative with how you chose to dry your meat. I would suggest doing this inside or in a garage instead of outdoors due to insects and other animals wanting to nibble on your hard work. As previously mentioned, I used my laundry drying rack and aluminum foil. Also place a towel underneath the drying rack to catch any drips. Allow to cure for 2-3 hours. If you see any air bubbles you can puncture them with a sterilized sewing needle, although they won't cause any problems if you leave them.
- Refrigerate for 24 hours before cooking or freezing. The meat will congeal and marry with herbs and spices.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how you liked it in the comments or star ratings.
Notes
If you are not stuffing, you can form into balls or patties. Allow to sit for 2-3 hours at room temperature* to cure and then refrigerate overnight before cooking. If you cook them too soon the wine and vinegar will not have enough time to absorb into the meat and will seep out under heat.
If you want a finer spice mixture, blend all of the dried herbs and spices in spice grinder until fine.
If you want a milder sausage, use less or NO cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes.
The CDC recommends that raw foods not be kept out for longer than 2 hours, however we have found that since the meat is so cold while processing, it holds the temp until 3 hours. If you feel more comfortable stopping the curing process at 2 hours, just pop them into the fridge then.
Some folks will use a curing powder or prague powder, which is pink and helps to preserve meats. We do not use this because we either use the sausage or freeze it immediately and are trying to avoid the use of additives and preservatives to make our own. You can, however, add a small amount to your own sausages if you wish. You only need 1 ounce for every 25 pounds of meat, for this recipe that is only .2 ounces (about 1 1/4 teaspoons). Add this in with the other spices in step #7.
Please note the color will also be a tad more rosy. This is the same curing compound used to make Homemade Corned Beef.
Nutrition
Calories: 470kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 532mg | Potassium: 370mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 1695IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1.8mg
