Homemade Italian Sausage

Adult Italian men usually avoid the kitchen completely....

But when it comes time for making homemade Italian sausage, pepperoni, salami, prosciutto and anything else they can derive from a pig then everyone gets involved. Anyone from an Italian family knows that an entire family will get together over a freshly slaughtered pig and a big batch of homemade grappa.


You don't need to have an Italian heritage to make great tasting homemade Italian sausage. This recipe is quite easy and you can adjust the recipe to suit your own tastes. Here's the recipe for homemade Italian sausage my grandmother used for decades.


Ingredients

• 1 pound (450g) ground pork shoulder
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1/4 cup pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
• Hog casings

Method

1. Prepare the hog casings overnight by soaking them in water. Add a little splash of orange juice and some salt to the water to help the casings soak properly. When they've soaked overnight, rinse them well and keep them in tepid (room temperature) water so they stay soft and pliable until you're ready to use them.



2. Grind your pork shoulder coarsely. If you've already bought it ground from the butcher, then grind it once more. Place pork on a clean bench and sprinkle all ingredients over the top of the meat. Mix together well. This step gets sticky, so run your hands under cold water before you begin to reduce the stickiness a little.



3. When all the seasonings are blended well into the meat, spoon it into a confectioner's bag with a piping attachment at the end. You might need two people to make this part work for you.



4. Carefully fill the hog casings, squeezing the pork through the icing bag. Try not to allow too many air bubbles to get into the casings. You can experiment with the size and shape of your Italian sausages, but generally you can shape them easily enough using your hands.



5. When they reach the length you prefer, simply twist the casing around itself a couple of times and begin the next sausage. This will give you a nice string of sausages when you're done. If you don't like the idea of your sausages coming untwisted, you can take the time to tie off the ends of each sausage as you finish it.

Pan fry, grill or barbecue your homemade italian sausage however you prefer.

Italian Sausage Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 pound (450g) Italian Sausage meat
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 tin tomatoes (14 oz or 400g)
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 3 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded or grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tin tomato paste (6 oz or 170g)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 eggs
• 10 oz or 285g of lasagna pasta sheets (homemade pasta tastes best, but pre-cooked sheets will work fine)

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375F (190C)



2. Using the base Italian Sausage recipe above to create the meat portion, cook the meat slowly in a large pan. Drain off any excess fat. Add the garlic, tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt and tomato paste. Stir all the ingredients well and allow them to simmer gently uncovered for around 30 minutes. If the tomato sauce gets too thick, add a little water and stir again.



3. In a bowl, mix the ricotta chesses, parmesan cheese, parsley, eggs and add salt and pepper to taste. Leave to one side for a moment.



4. Line the base of a lasagna pan or baking dish with a layer of lasagna sheets. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture over the pasta and then cover with a layer of meat. Sprinkle a little grated mozzarella over the meat and cover with a layer of pasta sheets. Repeat the layers until ingredients are used.



5. Top with a little more grated mozzarella cheese and bake at 375F (190C) for 30-35 minutes.

Italian Sausage Pizza

You don't have to put your prepared Italian sausage meat into hog casings. This particular recipe tastes great partially cooked and then sprinkled over a pizza base spread with a light layer of napolitana sauce with freshly made mozzarella cheese with some semi-dried tomatoes. You can also shape your sausage meat into small patties and cook in a little olive oil.

Check out More Homemade Sausage Recipes

If you've tried our homemade Italian sausage recipe or if you have any recipes of your own you'd like to share pleaase Add your homemade recipes here.