Sharon asked if I had a recipe for Italian sausage. I must admit that, though I frequently make my own breakfast sausage, I have never made Italian sausage. But having located this recipe, I’m going to try doing so. To find a recipe, I turned to a source that rarely fails me: Make Your Own Groceries, by Daphne Metaxas Hartwig. Sharon, if you can get your hands on a copy of this book (or its companion volume, More Make Your Own Groceries) I think it would be a cookbook you would enjoy owning. There is detailed information about making Italian sausage, breakfast sausages, kielbasa, bratwurst and chorizo... even tells you what cuts of meat to use, and how to make your own casings, etc. But I am going to simplify things here and just start with the ground pork and assume you want to make the bulk sausage with no casing. Here’s the recipe:
ITALIAN SAUSAGE
3 to 3 1/2 pounds ground pork
2 or 3 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed
2 to 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced finely
1 Tblsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
(For hot Italian sausage, add 1 to 2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes, ground to a powder with a mortar & pestle or in a blender.
Knead the spices into the ground pork using your hands. Form into patties if desired; wrap well and let ripen in refrigerator 1 to 2 days before using. May be frozen for future use; if so, skip the ripening step.
Makes about 3 to 3 1/2 pounds Italian sausage.
You will probably notice, as I did, Sharon, that this recipe could be divided quite neatly by 3 if you wanted to try making only 1 pound to start with. I’m going to try this! If you try it, let me know what you think!
Thanks Mrs. T. for the italian sausage recipe and for the information on the cookbook. (I am also very interested in the chorizo.) I will definitely try the italian sausage very soon and will let you know what I think about it.
ReplyDeleteThank you ever so much! I felt that if anybody had a recipe for the sausage, it would surely be you.
Have a great rest of the week!
Sharon