Homemade Italian Sausage

Making sausage at home is so much easier than you think.  Don't worry if you don't have a meat grinder!  I lucked out and got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer with a meat grinder attachment as a wedding gift (lucky me, right?), but you can always buy the meat pre-ground at the store and use it for this recipe.  Just don't buy it seasoned yet. That's what's special about this recipe...all the beautiful spices!  And the lack of chemicals.  It's one of those times when it's pretty cool to know exactly what's going into your food.

If you make the small investment on the spices that you might not already have in your pantry, you can make superior Italian Sausage that's way healthier, way tastier, and for way less money that pre-made stuff.  And if you don't have a meat grinder, I highly recommend getting one.  I always feel kind of primal and oddly fulfilled when I'm standing in my kitchen pretending I'm a butcher and grinding my own meat. Fun stuff!



Ingredients

• 3 lbs pork  (You can use a pork roast, pork butt or even tenderloin for a leaner sausage.  If you don't have a meat grinder, you can buy pork that is already ground.  You can also use ground turkey.)
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp dried thyme

Instructions

1. Cut the pork into 1½ inch cubes and place the pieces into a large bowl.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix until all of the pieces of meat are evenly coated with the spices.  (I use my hands to mix it all up.)

3. Run the meat through your meat grinder using the coarse grind plate.

4. Done!  If desired, you can process into casings for link sausage, but I like to leave it in the form of bulk sausage to use for making sausage patties, adding to meatballs or spaghetti sauce or in soups.

5. I process mine into small packages to freeze for later use.


Notes

• If you're using meat that is pre-ground, put all of the ingredients into a large bowl and use your hands to mix everything together until the spices are evenly distributed.
• Source: Adapted from a recipe found on Allrecipes.com.