Category Archives: Italian Sausage

A Trio of delicious Winter Pizza Ideas

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Looking for inspiration for your pizza toppings? If you’re like me, you prefer to keep things seasonal, and in the winter the options are fewer unless you are using toppings grown south of the border or in a greenhouse. These three pizzas use ingredients readily available this time of year … olives, onions, cured meats, Italian sausage, and spicy jarred peppers.

Printable PDF of Pizza Recipes

From scratch or not from scratch?

You can make these pizzas completely from scratch if you like, or you can take some shortcuts such as buying pizza or bread dough (sold at most stores or your favorite pizzeria). You can also buy pizza sauce if you’d like. Me, I really prefer mine from scratch.

In the past I have done several posts about pizza, including how to make your own dough, baking techniques, making your own sauce, and various styles of pizza. Check out the Recipe Index below for the full gamut, or if you just want the sauce or dough recipe, click on those page links.

Quality Ingredients:

If you go to the Pizza Recipe Index, in addition to the sauce and dough recipes, you’ll also find my recommendations for the highest quality cheese and tomatoes. I tested a wide variety of both. Trust me, it will make a difference!

Pizza Recipe Index

Pizza Dough

Pizza Sauce

Keto Options?

If you’ve been on Keto for any length of time, you know there are plenty of recipes out there for Keto Pizza Crusts, made from cauliflower, and/or cheese, or almond and/or coconut flour. I’ve yet to test any of these and would only post a recipe if I had tested more than one recipe. Most major stores carry Keto Pizzas in the frozen section. We had the one from Costco. It was edible but the quality of the toppings was typical of frozen pizzas. Homemade is far superior!

So far there are only a few pizza crusts available. I saw some really small ones at Trader Joe’s, but they weren’t cheap, and supposedly Fred Meyer has one made by Boboli. I’ve not tried them but am skeptical.

I would love to hear if anyone has had experience with making or buying Keto Pizza Dough! You can write your comments below.

The Topping Recipes:

Now let’s get to the recipes for these pizzas. I’m not going to list quantities. Just put on as much or as little as you like. The toppings are listed in the order in which you would add them. In other words, the bottom item listed would end up on top.

THREE OLIVE & SALAMI PIZZA:

  • Pizza Sauce
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Salami (of your choice*)
  • Onions – slivered
  • Three or more types of olives of your choice (such as kalamata, green, black, or gaeta)

* I’m sure you know there are many types of salami. Beyond Genoa, some of my favorites are Sopressata, Bresaola, Capocollo, and Wine Salami.

Prosciutto & Caramelized Rosemary Onion Pizza:

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Caramelized rosemary onions (see note below)
  • Prosciutto (thinly sliced)

For this pizza you’ll need to slice and caramelize your onions with rosemary prior to adding them to your pizza. I prefer to use fresh rosemary. To prepare, slice your onions and mince the fresh rosemary if using fresh. Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add onions. Salt them. Once the onions begin to sweat, add the rosemary, and cook until the onions are a beautiful golden brown.

This pizza has no tomato sauce. First drizzle the dough with extra virgin olive oil before adding the other toppings.

Pizza Calabrese:

  • Pizza Sauce
  • Mozzarella cheese (half quantity)
  • Provolone cheese (half quantity)
  • Italian Sausage – preferably hot
  • Red cherry peppers or other spicy red peppers (see notes below).

As far as the cheese goes, blend them to your liking. You can use all mozzarella, or all provolone, or mix the two. A high-quality provolone is exceptional on pizza!

Regarding the peppers, Mama Lil’s is an exceptional local brand.

Calabria is in the south of Italy where they like their food spicy. This pizza recipe is supposed to reflect that. If you want to tone it down a bit, use a Sweet (or Mild) Italian Sausage, and go light on the peppers. If you want it really spicy, well you know the options! One spice option I like is a spicy chile oil. I always keep a small jar handy. All you do is take some crushed red peppers in a small bottle, add a good olive oil and let it marinate together.

Homemade Italian Sausage anyone?

If you really want to make everything from scratch, you can even make your own Italian sausage. The recipe is here on my blog. You can either make it into links or just leave it bulk which is easier. The flavor is amazing, and you can adjust the heat to your liking.

Italian Sausage Recipe

Printable PDF of Pizza Recipes

Making homemade Italian Sausage… it’s fun, and easier than you think!

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Making your own sausage is a fun and rewarding adventure!  And it’s easier than you think.

At Frankie’s we made our own bulk sausage from pre-ground pork.  That is super easy!  But I had never ground my own meat or made links.  It only took a little practice until I felt somewhat competent.  I trust you will too.

 

 

 

There are various ways you can make sausage.  Each one creates more work than the previous but gives you greater control over quality and flavor.  And if you are like me… creates more fun.

Do you want to double the fun?  Think about doing this with a friend or family member.

 

 

SAUSAGE MAKING METHODS:

  • Simple Bulk Sausage… the simplest way to make sausage is to buy a good quality ground pork (or ground chicken) and mix in your own spices to create a bulk sausage (bulk meaning not in a casing). This is super easy and gives you control over the flavor profile and heat level.
  • Fresh Ground Bulk Sausage… this process adds the step of grinding your own meat and mixing in the spices. Fresh ground meat is hard to beat.  And it gives you total control over fat levels.

 

  • Link Sausage ( in casing)… includes the step of stuffing the sausage in casings. This is the most complex step but with a little practice becomes quite fun.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

  • To make Simple Bulk Sausage… you do not need any special equipment at all.  You can mix it completely by hand or in a stand mixer.
  • To make Fresh Ground Bulk Sausage… you will need a meat grinder, or a meat grinding attachment for a stand mixer. I have one for my Kitchenaid mixer.   The Kitchenaid grinder attachment runs from about $40 to $80 or more depending on if you buy the plastic or stainless steel  version and where you buy it.   I have the plastic one and it works fine.  You can buy a well rated manual crank meat grinder for under $40.  If you plan to grind a lot of meat (think ground sirloin burgers too!), you can invest in an electric grinder.  Inexpensive (but not well rated) models are available for under $60 or you can spend up to several hundred dollars.
  • To make Link Sausage… you need a piece of equipment called a Sausage Stuffer, or a Sausage Stuffer attachment such as the one shown which is for my Kitchenaid. Sausage stuffers can range in price from under $50 to well over $100.  The mixer attachment is only about $10 but honestly I found it to be a pain in the rear to use… it was hard to feed the meat.   A friend gave me a Cabela’s Sausage Stuffer which appears to be identical to one made by Weston (I’m pretty sure they make it for Cabela’s).  It is much easier to push the sausage through.

HOW MUCH FAT IN THE MEAT?

Whether you are grinding your own meat or buying it already ground, you need to think about how fatty you want it.  Fat equals flavor, moistness, and tenderness in the meat, but we all know you can have too much of a good thing.  I don’t know about you but I don’t want mine super-greasy and I like to eat reasonably healthy, so…

I’ve heard people saying to use 50/50 lean to fat.  REALLY?!  I’d like to live a few more years.   Totally unnecessary!  Other people try to take the fat total as low as 10%.  I think that is too low myself.  Most sausage makers recommend 30% fat, but you can easily go down to around 20% in my opinion and have a pretty moist and flavorful sausage.

But how do you know how much fat is in the meat?  If you buy ground meat, it should list it.  But if you are grinding your own meat it’s not easy to figure out.  If you use a pork butt or shoulder, as I did, it will probably be in the 25-30 range.  You can always trim off some of the fat if you want.  I did take some of the thick fat off of mine so was probably in the 20% fat range and was very happy with the results.

If you want to get more exacting… well you’ll need to go do your research.  My goal is to keep this process simple.

WHAT KIND OF MEAT TO USE?

If making pork sausage I suggest using a pork shoulder or butt. There is not a lot of difference in the cuts and they will be similar in fat content.  If it seems particularly fatty, feel free to trim off some excess.

If you want to go the chicken route you probably know that dark meat is fattier than white.  I would use about a 60/40, or 70/30 blend of dark to white meat.  Either way you need to incorporate the fat but not the skin.  So if you get chicken which is skinless and trimmed, you may find it difficult to get enough fat.

Alright.  Let’s make some sausage!

HOW TO MAKE SAUSAGE:

NOTE:  If buying pre-ground meat skip to Step 2

Step 1:  GRINDING SAUSAGE.

  1. You want to cut your meat into approximately 1 inch cubes (or some people like to cut it into strips). If you have a larger grinder, adjust the size accordingly. You will find the meat to be easiest to cut if it is super cold, or even partially frozen.  A really sharp knife will also make the job easier.
  2. Grinding meat which is very cold works best. I put mine on an aluminum sheet and placed it in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes before grinding.
  3. Set up your grinder according to manufacturer recommendations. If it has two to three grinding plates, the small one is usually for cheese and breadcrumbs.  Most manufacturers will have youtube videos which can be really helpful to watch if this is your first time grinding meat.
  4. Grind your meat and set aside.

Step 2:  MIXING YOUR SAUSAGE INGREDIENTS.

NOTE:  The recipe below is for 5 pounds of meat.  If you are going to this trouble then you may as well make extra and freeze it.  It will last for months.  If you want to make more or less, you’ll need to adjust the quantities accordingly.

Mix according to the attached recipe.  A stand mixer work best.

But you can mix by hand.  Mix it just long enough to blend well.  DO NOT over-mix!  You don’t want to turn it into a paste.  It will be helpful if you spread the herbs and other ingredients around before mixing (as opposed to dumping all the salt in one spot for instance).

Step 3:  PUTTING SAUSAGE IN CASINGS.

Remember this is an optional step.

You can use your sausage in bulk form for meat sauce or pizza.  But if you want to make it into links you’ll need a Sausage Stuffer as discussed earlier.  You’ll also need Sausage Casings.

Because this is a little more intimidating than making bulk sausage I’ve referred you to a few short videos.  Take a look at those and you will see just how easy it is.

REGARDING SAUSAGE CASINGS:

You can probably purchase casings from your local butcher if you have one who makes sausages.  But probably the easiest way to get casings is to shop online.  There are various types of casing available, including natural hog casing or collagen casings.  I used natural hog casings for mine which I purchased in a home pack size from Amazon.  Here is the link to the casings I bought…

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EZTIGNA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rather than me spending a lot of time explaining the pros and cons of each and casing type and how to use them I suggest you watch the following short videos from Meatgistics University which explains it really well.

Te first video is on “Choosing the Right Casing”…                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAD8Lx76b0

The second video gives additional info regarding casings for Brats & Italian Sausages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE2spjzTrxQ

 

OKAY, LETS GET STUFFING:

NOTE:  Here is another video I suggest you watch.  It is on stuffing the sausage.  It starts out talking about bratwurst but the same principles apply to your Italian Sausage…  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFXPNG0U82o

  1. Once you have your casings you will prepare them per instructions on package (or video). Each casing type is different so I won’t get into the details here.  Natural hog casings like I used must be soaked and rinsed prior to use.
  2. Then you load the casings on the Sausage Stuffer attachment which is basically a hollow nozzle on your Sausage Stuffer which will feed the sausage into your casing. Then you tie off the end of the casing.
  3. Next you feed the sausage into the stuffer which feeds it into the casing. Feed it into a long rope and then twist off the individual sausages.  All of this is shown in the video.

That’s all there is to it.  Now all that’s left is to cook it up and enjoy it in pasta or on a pizza.  Or grill up some links with peppers and onions!

Just think how impressed your friends will be when you grill up some sausages for them and tell them you made them yourself!  I hope some of you will give this a try.  If you do so I’d love to get your feedback on how you did and if my information was helpful.

Below is the recipe for making Homemade Italian Sausage.  If you’d prefer the recipe in a PDF click here… Homemade Italian Sausage

Click to enlarge

Ciao and buon appetito.  May God richly bless your table with joy, love, laughter, and great food!

Frankie