Italian Homemade Sausage

Name: Italian Homemade Sausage
Prep time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 21 sausages
Ingredients: 4¼ pounds pork (pork shoulder make sure at least a ½ pound is fat); 5-7 teaspoons salt (if drying over a longer period add at least 8-9 teaspoons of salt); ½-1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes or black pepper or a combination; ½-1 teaspoon dried wild fennel (finocchietto)*; 2 tablespoons white wine

User Reviews

4.8

12 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
2 hrs
Total Time
2 hrs
Servings
21 sausages
Calories
84 kcal
Course
Main Course, Lunch
Cuisine
Italian

Italian Homemade Sausage

Gianna Palmer

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Learn how to make Italian sausage right at home. It's fresh, flavorful and tastes way better than store bought!

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Ingredients

Servings

4¼ pounds pork (pork shoulder make sure at least a ½ pound is fat)
5-7 teaspoons salt (if drying over a longer period add at least 8-9 teaspoons of salt)
½-1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes or black pepper or a combination
½-1 teaspoon dried wild fennel (finocchietto)*
2 tablespoons white wine

*You can substitute with fennel seeds, start with 1/2 a teaspoon.

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Instructions

Chop the pork into small pieces.
Ground the pork with a meat grinder, then place in a large bowl, add the salt, hot pepper flakes, dried fennel and white wine. Add the lower amount of ingredients first. Then take a small amount (mini hamburger amount) and cook it, taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Remember you can add but you can't take away.
Hook up your sausage stuffer with the casing, leave at least 6 inches of casing off the end of the tube, this is needed to tie off later.
Stuff the meat mixture into the stuffer. If all the meat doesn't fit, just keep pushing it through, or you can stop half way and tie off the casing and continue with a second batch.
When the meat starts to come out, check to make sure that the casing does not slip off the tube and that the meat is filling the casing, good idea to do it with a helper. Make sure the sausage comes out in a long tube, sausage links are tied off at the end. Be sure to leave 6 inches of casing on both ends.
When all the meat is in the casings, both ends should be tied off with tight double knots. Take a sewing needle (disinfected) and go up and down the casing piercing it with the needle.
Then with both hands, start forming the links, make sure they are tight in the casing, ours were about 4-5 inches, then twirl the link a couple of times, continue down the whole length of the coil, tie the sausages as shown in the photo.
The sausages should be hung to dry in a cool area without touching each other for approximately 12 hours before consuming. Enjoy!

Notes

For casings you can use either synthetic collagen casings or if your butcher makes their own sausages, they may sell you hog casings, which are the scrubbed, salted intestines of a pig.
The sausages after the short time hanging the sausages should be refrigerated and eaten within 3-4 days or frozen for up to 6 months.
If you want to prepare the sausages to dry them, add another 1 teaspoon / 5 g of salt for each kilo or they will not keep properly. The sausages must dry at about 20°C for at least 12 hours, before consuming. If drying for longer they must be dried in a cool and airy place for about a month. Then sausages are ready to be consumed.
If you want to prepare the sausages to dry them, add another 1 teaspoon / 5 g of salt for each kilo or they will not keep properly. The sausages must dry at about 20°C for at least 12 hours, before consuming. If drying for longer they must be dried in a cool and airy place for about a month. Then sausages are ready to be consumed.
Technically yes! Purchasing ground pork and then adding seasoning would be the easiest option when making Italian sausage. Grinding your own homemade sausage, though, is not only satisfying but it allows you to control the quality of the meat and muscle-to-fat ratio.
While I haven’t tried that I am sure it would work for a leaner homemade sausage.
While an electric grinder will yield the best results in Italian homemade sausage, you can use a Kitchen Aid mixer fitted with a grinder attachment as well. If you are making a small batch, it is possible you could try to use a food processor. It will just mince the meat very fine instead of grinding. For best results, though, I recommend using a grinder!
This Italian sausage recipe freezes well for up to 6 months, either raw or cooked. Thaw before cooking or reheating. If you prefer, half the recipe you could make sausages and the other half patties, they would make a delicious breakfast sandwich. Freeze the patties in a freezer container, separate the layers with parchment paper.

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Calories 84kcal (4%) Carbohydrates 0.1g (0%) Protein 11g (22%) Fat 4g (6%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g Monounsaturated Fat 2g Cholesterol 38mg (13%) Sodium 597mg (25%) Potassium 194mg (6%) Fiber 0.04g (0%) Sugar 0.02g (0%) Vitamin A 18IU (0%) Vitamin C 0.5mg (1%) Calcium 9mg (1%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 21sausages

Amount Per Serving

Calories 84 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories	84kcal	4%
Carbohydrates	0.1g	0%
Protein	11g	22%
Fat	4g	6%
Saturated Fat	1g	5%
Polyunsaturated Fat	0.4g	2%
Monounsaturated Fat	2g	10%
Cholesterol	38mg	13%
Sodium	597mg	25%
Potassium	194mg	4%
Fiber	0.04g	0%
Sugar	0.02g	0%
Vitamin A	18IU	0%
Vitamin C	0.5mg	1%
Calcium	9mg	1%
Iron	1mg	6%