I needed Italian sausage for a recipe last week. I try really hard to buy all natural sausage because the conventional sausage contains preservatives that make me nervous (BHA and BHT). But I was trying to make just one stop while shopping and the store I was at did not have ANY natural sausages (hello, Wal-Mart! Wake up and give us some options!). So I put a pack of icky sausages in my cart and moved on.
Then I noticed that the store did have packages of ground pork. Sausages are made out of pork (or turkey). So for less money and no preservatives, I picked up a package of ground pork, sure I could make my own.
Making homemade sausage is really super easy. There are a few ingredients included in every recipe I looked at for Italian sausage: fennel and red wine. And yes, you only need 2 teaspoons of red wine for one pound of sausage. I freeze my leftover wine in ice cube trays and use those when I just need a little bit of wine.
Homemade Bulk Italian Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork (or turkey)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Scant 1/2 teaspoon toasted fennel seeds
- Scant 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Scant 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (omit if you don't want any spice)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dry red wine
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix all ingredients together.
- Let mixture sit for a few hours or overnight.
- Freeze or cook (in patties or crumbled)