Homemade Italian Sausage
Homemade Italian sausage seasoned with paprika, oregano and fennel.
Ok guys…we did it! We made…..Sausage! Now I have to be honest with you. This is no easy feat. Not at all. This is all technically based and I strategically planned it out so Joe would be off so we could work on this together.
Of course I had to look up the perfect recipe and researched endlessly with the flavors we most enjoyed. Joe bought the…uhh..casings and we got to work on those guys (more on that later). Overall this was a lot of fun to do. Not as time consuming to make but there were some hiccups that I’d like to cure.
#1 After all said and done, the outside of the sausage (or the casing) seemed slightly tough….anyone know why?
#2 Little does not go a long way. I added less spices than normal and I could have gone more heavy handed.
So why all the hustle and bustle of sausage making? Well…it’s Tailgating season! Or so they tell me? I need to be honest, I don’t know one hootin-nanny thing about sports. I think I root for the…uhh…shoot, never mind, I honestly forgot who I root for. But it’s usually a team where I recognized the City.
That’s sad, isn’t it?
But it makes a fabulous excuse to make some grubbin-down food, don’t you think?
Tips on the casings: Oh boy…were these fun! You pull them out of their package and long strings of lining are hanging by a single ring. And I mean…looongggg. You must..must soak them for a while so they are more pliable and easier to work with. I heard the uhh…smell was something to be recon with but it wasn’t that bad at all. We are talking lining after all. It was pretty neat to watch these narrow tubes balloon up with water when you clean them out. You funnel in water from one side and as the water flows to the other the long tube engorges and you can imagine what really happens…well..inside of you! That was pretty interesting to watch.
Method:
1) Marinate pork, wine and spices in a bowl for at least 1 hr in the refrigerator.
2) Take hog casings out of the package and allow to soak in room temperature water for at least an hour. Use a funnel to open the ends up and pass water through to the other side. Discard any that have leaks in them. (We didn’t use nearly half the amount of casings we had).
3) Using your meat grinder (attachment), pass the pork mixture through the meat grinder. Remove and attach sausage attachment.
4) Using wet hands place casing onto sausage attachment, leaving extra casing for room.Feed ground pork through tube and allow to come out into casing. Mold with your hand making sure the casing is not too tight and there are no air bubbles.( *This step is ideal for 2 people. 1 person to feed meat and the other person to mold the sausage.)
5) Gently tie ends and curl on foil lined sheet until read to grill.
Homemade Italian Sausage for #SundaySupper
Homemade Italian sausage seasoned with paprika, oregano and fennel.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 152kcal
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork shoulder cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2-3 garlic cloves chopped fine
- 1 Tb paprika
- 1 Tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 Tb oregano
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- Small bunch parley chopped
- 3 Tb red wine
- Pork casings
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Marinate pork, wine and spices in a bowl for at least 1 hr in the refrigerator.
- Take hog casings out of the package and allow to soak in room temperature water for at least an hour. Use a funnel to open the ends up and pass water through to the other side. Discard any that have leaks in them. (We didn’t use nearly half the amount of casings we had).
- Using your meat grinder (attachment), pass the pork mixture through the meat grinder. Remove and attach sausage attachment.
- Using wet hands place casing onto sausage attachment, leaving extra casing for room.Feed ground pork through tube and allow to come out into casing. Mold with your hand making sure the casing is not too tight and there are no air bubbles.( *This step is ideal for 2 people. 1 person to feed meat and the other person to mold the sausage.)
- Gently tie ends and curl on foil lined sheet until read to grill.
Nutrition
Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 77mg | Potassium: 377mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 694IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg
Your own sausage? I´m speechless!! Wonderful, wonderful! Happy sunday
Homemade sausage is not something I have tackled yet. Maybe one day (plus I need a meat grinder). Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Great tutoral, Samantha. I love to do as much homemade stuff as I( can. I feel strongly about knowing what’s in my food and there’s no way better than do-it-yourself!
I don’t have a meat grinder but I will gladly accept delivery of homemade sausage! I bet it would be great on the sausage and pepper sandwich that Daddy Know’s Less posted!
Wow – homemade sausage is so impressive, and definitely not something I’ve ever tried before. Sounds fantastic (and fun)!
I have never know anyone who made their own sausage … I am impressed. Can I come to your house for dinner?
Wow – congrats! You definitely have more skill / patience / threshold for touching raw meat than me! Looks awesome – how’d they taste?
Girl, you made sausage!!! Isn’t it fun???
You’re a meat stuffer!
Wow!!! The sausage looks just amazing 🙂
I have always wanted to give homemade sausage a try. Now I will have to get the grinder attachment for my Kitchenaid so I can! Great recipe 🙂
Wow…you totally rock, Samantha! I find this whole process quite scary, but I do hope someday to try making my own sausage. Excellent post!
Oh I have always wanted to make my own sausages. Maybe one day when I have enough space in my kitchen I can get a sausage stuffer. In the mean while I will just look at your recipe and drool. 🙂
This post made me laugh – I’m the same as you, I don’t know much (if anything!) about sports, especially football (sorry everyone!). And you’re a total rock star for making your own sausage. I’ve always wanted to attempt it but feel I need some professional education on the matter – needless to say, I’m intimidated! Your sausages look fantastic. Re: the flavour, it’s live and learn, right? The next time, you’ll nail it.
Amazing! So excited you had the courage to tackle homemade sausage! Excellent post! See you st #SundaySupper on Twitter @fromagechick!
Uh..Hootin’ Nanny? HILARIOUS! And I’m not sure I want to think about the hog casings. At first I thought it’d be fun to make, but I think I’m just going to bury my head in the sand for a few more years. Great post though! Can’t wait to see what other excellent sausage adventures that your future holds!
I can remember my grandmother making her own sausage and it was amazing! You are inspiring me to try it myself!
I admire you a lot this is a lot of work however well worth it! My neighbor makes his own too and I love it!
Impressive, good for you, it looks great!!
I”m applauding here! WOW! I bought some flavorless Italian sausage recently…yours would have been SO much better. Thanks for showing us the way. Happy #SundaySupper!
I love that you made your own sausage! It is something we have talked about doing before, but never tried!
wow I am so impressed!! looks awesome!
They say people don’t want to see how sausage is made, but I have to disagree. This recipe looks great and the finished result on your grill looks even better. Congrats. Do you plan on doing this often?
I hope so..it was an interesting task. Joe keeps talking about “veal pudding” which is scary/fascinating all at the same time. We have the attachment, so yes….it needs to be on the agenda! I’m trying to figure out why the casing was still slightly tough though?
This may have been answered, but my hog casings came out tender by doing a second soak, with regular white vinegar and water. Simply add 1 Tbs of vinegar for each cup of cool water in the bowl. Leave the casing in the vinegar/water solution until you are ready to stuff it, then rinse well and drain. For reference my casings were in this mixture for only 10 minutes.
Can’t wait to try your recipe, it sounds delicious!
Hi Allison! Thank you so much for the tip!!!
I like sausage very much but I never thought of making it myself. This is a good inspiration for me to try it out. Thank you for all the tips of making homemade sausage.
Look at you stuffin’ that sausage. You’re hardcore, Sam. I love it.
Hey, any excuse to eat sausage is a good excuse. Happy #SS!
Sam, You are so brave ! I would never attempt home made sausages ! Good job ! These look delish ! You could market them… Sam’s Sausage 😉
These sound great! I need to break out the meat grinder!
I’ve always wanted to make my own sausage and now I totally want a meat grinder. You are one brave lady. I’de be squirming all over the place if someone told me to touch casing. Strange how I’ll eat the casing but don’t want to touch it in its raw form. Great adventure in the kitchen.
My ex-sister-in-law’s parents taught me how to make sausage years ago and I never wrote down the recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!
I love Italian sausage and commend you on making it at home!!Lovely flavors and color and I bet it tasted delicious homemade 🙂
I just posted a recipe today for smoking supermarket italian sausage. How about you bring over your sausage and I’ll smoke it and we can share our efforts. 😛 Looks awesome!
Wow! I never thought of making my own sausage. I love the kitchenaid grinder. I may have to get me one of those.
Casing freak me out, but I can totally see making this and doing patties instead. Sounds great!
Jamie @ http://www.mamamommymom.com
I notice this recipe doesn’t call for any salt. I’m surprised since all sausages I have eaten has salt in it. The lack of salt didn’t affect the taste?
Hi Nikki! You know, I did add salt, since I do with most foods. I probably just forgot to write it in. I usually do “salt to taste” so just grab a pinch and go from there.
Fantastic article, Samantha. I enjoy accomplish as often self-made things seeing that I( could. I feel highly about knowing what’s within my meals and also there’s not a way a lot better than do-it-yourself!