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

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

Frankie