Making My Own Sausage

Making sausage

Several years ago, my parents gave me a meat grinder attachment for Christmas. I love it. It is so easy to use. I use it to make the meat stuffing for pelmini and now my own sausage.
I decided to make sausage for the trifecta of pork.  I wanted to make porchetta style sausage with lots of fennel in the sausage (I love the taste of fennel). Katie does not like whole seeds in sausage, so I decided to grind them. I also ground the herbs and the garlic.

Italian Sausage
 2 1/2 lbs (1.1 kg) of Pork Shoulder, Cut into Thin Strips
3 Tsp of Fennel Seeds
2 Tsp of Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Tsp of Crushed Red Pepper
2 Tsp of Kosher Salt
4 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped
1/2 Tbsp of Fresh Sage
1/2 Tbsp of Oregano
1 Tbsp of Rosemary
1 1/2 Tbsp of Parsley

Place sliced pork shoulder in a large bowl. Finely grind fennel seeds, pepper, red pepper, and salt either in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

Spices ready to be ground

Pour ground spices into the bowl with the pork.

Fresh herbs

Grind the garlic and fresh herbs until a pesto-like consistency is achieved. Dump herb mixture into the bowl.

A bowlful of pork and spices

Run the pork through a meat grinder. With your hands mix the pork and run through the meat grinder again.

Cook one tablespoon of sausage in a small saucepan. Taste and adjust spices if necessary. Cook the sausage within three days or freeze.

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes, I had no idea that making your own sausage was so easy. This way I control the amount of fat in my sausage and I control the seasonings. I ended up with a lean sausage with Italian seasonings. Homemade andouille sausage for gumbo is next on the list.