My outdoor grill has been begging me to light her fire after a long hibernation in the garage, and I can think of no better way to kick off the grilling season than with some homemade Italian sausage!
I know what you're thinking. That's great for anyone with a sausage making machine. But no! You don’t need a meat grinder and loads of other equipment to do this. All you need is a good pair of hands, a good recipe, a good pork butt, and a funnel.
So if you want to try your hand at making it, here is what you need to do.
Get a good pork butt, one that has a good ratio of fat to meat, otherwise the sausage will be dry. Go to your favorite market and ask the butcher to show you a bunch of pork butts; they usually weigh in the five pound range. Then ask him to coarse grind the one you choose.
Next, buy a box of natural hog casings. They are usually in the meat case and come packed in salt, but if you don’t see them, ask your butcher. You will have to rinse them well several times in cold water to get rid of the salt and you may need to cut them into manageable lengths with scissors because they can be very long. (You can store unused casings in the freezer.)
Once you've gotten these two items, you're ready to make sausage.
First, make sure you have ready some fine sea salt, coarse black pepper, fennel seeds, and hot red pepper flakes.
Put the meat in a big bowl and season it with:
1 1/2 tablespoons salt,
1 teaspoon black pepper,
4 tablespoons fennel seeds,
As much hot red pepper flakes as you like/can handle.
Make sure to mix everything well with clean hands. Then make sure you take an extra moment to fry up a spoonful in a pan to be sure you like the flavor. Add more seasonings if you need to.
Next, slip one open end of a casing over your kitchen faucet and turn on the cold water. Allow the water to run through the casing. This will make it easy to slip over the end of the funnel. Place the open end of the casing over the nozzle part of the funnel and push most of the casing up onto the nozzle, but leave about a two inch tail and knot it.
Start taking small amounts of the sausage and push it with your thumb into the mouth of the funnel and into the casing. Do not overfill it or it may break. Fill the casing evenly but leave about 2 inches of the casing remaining at the top unfilled. Slip the casing off the funnel and knot the end. Use a toothpick to poke little holes here and there along the sausage. This will prevent the sausage from exploding when cooking. Continue making sausages until you has as much as you'd like.
I like to leave it in long lengths but if you want to make links, just twist the casing every 3 or 4 inches as you fill it. Coil the sausage and place it in freezer bags, or better yet, cryovac them and freeze for up to 6 months.
But you could just head right to the grill and when it is hot, throw on your homemade sausage. One taste and you'll know that homemade Italian sausage rules! Happy Grilling!
where do you buy the funnels for making sausage?
Posted by: Carol Thompson | April 24, 2009 at 05:31 PM
I can't believe it's that simple. I am definitely going to try this and make up some of my own recipes.
Posted by: ljsousa | April 24, 2009 at 06:15 PM
Carol, try Vitantonio 216-946-1661; they sell one for $5.15 and it is model #107
The SausageMaker in Buffalo, NY also sells sausage funnels
Posted by: mary ann | April 25, 2009 at 02:36 PM
Ciao marianna!! Ci siamo incontrati a Buffalo due volte..all'Albright Knox Galleria dell'Arte e alla festa italiana su Hertel Avenue--grazie per la ricetta!! Lorenzo di Buffalo!!
Posted by: lawrence cheeley | April 25, 2009 at 06:12 PM
Ciao Lorenzo,
Grazie per le notizie. Certo, ti ricordo!
Marianna
Posted by: mary Ann Esposito | April 26, 2009 at 08:05 AM
Mary Ann,
I live in the Buffalo New york area and we always have Italian Sausage with Romano Cheese and Parsley. In my travels in Italy and various other States in the US, the sausage makers claim that never heard of putting cheese in the sausage. Did you have this type of sausage when you once lived in Buffalo.
Posted by: Andrea | April 27, 2009 at 04:48 PM
Hi Andrea,
I can honestly say we never put parsley or cheese in the sausage we made at home and I know it is not done in Italy either. The quality of the pork is so good in Italy that the philosophy is less is more; Let the pork flavor come through unadulterated. It was nice to hear from a fellow Buffalonian! Thanks for writing.
Mary Ann
Posted by: mary Ann Esposito | April 28, 2009 at 07:30 AM
does anyone know where to purchase a sausage funnel? I have tried Vitantonio (# listed is not in service), and Sausage Maker in Buffalo no longer sells them
Posted by: Ray Caputo | July 23, 2010 at 02:31 PM
Thanks for the read. I agree with the points you made. http://www.rapidmediafire.com also has peoples thoughts on the matter.
Posted by: Selena | July 25, 2010 at 03:52 AM
That's very creative! Not to mention it looks extremely tasty! Thank you for sharing the recipe! =)
Posted by: Rob Poulos | July 29, 2010 at 07:22 PM
CIAO MARIANNA.
I LOVE ALL YOUR PROGRAMS AND ESPECIALLY LOVED YOUR SAUSAGE MAKING RECEIPE, BUT I REMEMBER IN YOUR RECEIPE ON THE PROGRAM YOU MENTIONED ANOTHER SPICE, I THINK IT WAS A POWDER VERSION OF FENNEL, FINOCHIO, OR FENNOCHIO. AM I SAYING THIS CORRECT. IF SO, HOW MUCH SHOULD BE USED. I LIVE IN PHOENIX AND THE ITALIAN DELI I GO TO I DON'T THINK THE EVEN USE THE FENNEL SEED. I AM ORIGINALLY FROM CT. AND I SURE DO MISS THE ITALIAN FOODS BACK THERE. I AM FULL ITALIAN DECENT, AND MY DAD WAS A CHEF WHO ONCE TAUGHT AT THE CIA WHEN IT WAS IN ITS INFANCY. TKS. JOHN
Posted by: JOHN | October 25, 2010 at 03:23 PM