Classic Italian Sausage

Classic Italian Sausage

Recipes with Italian Sausage

This recipe creates authentic Italian sausage with a robust flavor. The combination of pork, fennel, and spices yields a versatile sausage, perfect grilled, pan-fried, or crumbled into sauces.

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

30 min

Servings

6

Difficulty

Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs pork shoulder, cubed
  • 1 lb pork fat, cubed
  • 2 tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
  • 2 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup ice water
  • Hog casings, prepared

Steps

1

Grind pork shoulder and pork fat through a meat grinder, using a coarse die.

2

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork mixture with fennel seeds, salt, pepper, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Mix well.

3

Add ice water to the mixture. Mix until the sausage mixture is homogenous and slightly sticky.

4

Stuff the sausage mixture into hog casings, twisting to create links. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cooking.

Tips

Ensure the pork is very cold before grinding for a cleaner texture. Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes based on your heat preference.