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I’m currently on a charcuterie meat kick. Why? Because sausages and smoked meats are really good to eat, and sausages especially are pretty easy and fun to make. Now I’m not going to lie, you need some specialty equipment to make sausage. You need a sausage grinder and if you want sausage in links or casings, a stuffer. Now don’t go out and by a hugely expensive meat grinder and stuffer to try your hand at making sausage, borrow one from a friend, or get an inexpensive one for your stand up mixer. I finally bought one that was mid-priced, I was worried because so many people said if you don’t buy the best they won’t work very well. Not so, mine works just fine, thank you very much. So let’s say you borrowed a meat grinder from a friend or bought a mid-priced one. Now go buy 5lbs of pork shoulder from the store and try this recipe and then decide if you like making your own sausage.

Italian sausage is a very flexible sausage, you can leave it loose or stuff it. Make it spicy or sweet. Use it in pasta (see the recipe at the bottom) or breakfast burritos. My kids like it, my picky kid eats it and asks for it.  Yes, a win! So let’s assume you borrowed a meat grinder from a friend and are not going to stuff it this time around. Here’s my recipe.

I use pork or moose for this recipe. It is a strong tasting recipe so almost any meat would work great for this, beef, pork, lamb, chicken, beef, moose, etc. I grind my meat with 25% fat if it’s moose, and just leave the fat in the pork that is already marbled throughout the meat. I do a course grind into a cold metal bowl and then freeze the meat into 5lb packets which coincidentally is how much meat fits in a 1-gallon ziplock bag. I then pull the meat out in 5-10lb batches and make some sausage as I have time.

So the recipe…

• 5lbs meat
• 3 Tbs Salt
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 2 Tbs whole fennel seeds
• 1 Tbs ground coriander
• 2.5 Tbs of smoked paprika
• .5 tsp of ground cayenne
• 4.5 Tbs dried marjoram
• 4 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 Tbs hot pepper flakes (this makes a pretty solid medium spicy sausage)
• 3.4 cups cold water

• Mix all the spices, including salt and pepper, together in a bowl and whisk them thoroughly together.
• Pour the spices and the water onto the meat and knead like you are making bread. I usually use my hands but gloves might be a good idea. The salt is hard on your hands and makes them itch. Also, the paprika stains your hands a bit. Kneading and mixing the meat also squishes the fat into the meat which makes for better sausage.
• I then divide the meat into one pound packages, and food seals them into bags. And that is it.

I make so much of this Italian Sausage every year I need new recipes for it. Let me know what you end up making with it and what your favorite dishes are with Italian Sausage.

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5 from 1 vote

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Italian Sausage

Author mycasualhomestead.com

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp Whole Fennel Seeds
• 1 tbsp Ground Coriander
• 2.5 tbsp Smoked Paprika
• .5 tsp Cayenne
• 4.5 tbsp Dried Marjoram
• 4 tsp Basil
• 2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1.5 tbsp Hot Pepper Flakes
• 3/4 cup Ice or Cold Water

Instructions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk. 

2. Pour the spices and the water over the meat and mix thoroughly like you are kneading bread. 

3. Divide the meat into 1lb packages and put into ziplock bags, food seal it or wrap it into butcher paper and freeze. 

One of my favorite recipes to make with this sausage is a Rosemary, Blue Cheese, Italian Sausage Pasta. I made this recipe up after eating the best pasta I ever had in Mexico. This dish takes a half hour to make and my kids love it.

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5 from 1 vote

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Rosemary, Blue Cheese, Italian Sausage Pasta

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 5 people

Ingredients

• 1 lb Italian Sausage
• 1 tbsp Ground, Dried Rosemary
• 1/2 cup Red Wine
• 1 Bell Pepper, Sliced
• 1 cup Sliced Button Mushrooms
• 3/4 lb Angel Hair Pasta
• 1 cup Blue Cheese Crumbles
• 1 15 oz can Tomato Sauce

Instructions

1. Cook the meat in a pan on medium heat, drain off the grease.

2. Lower the heat of the pan to low and pour in the can of tomato sauce.

3. Put rosemary, wine, bell pepper, and mushrooms into the meat and tomato sauce, and stir.

4. Boil the water and cook the pasta in a separate pot until past is fork tender.

5. Serve the pasta and sauce in a bowl and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles.