ITALIAN SAUSAGE RECIPE
(Recipe is for freezer sausages)
5 lbs of medium ground pork shoulder
5 tsp salt
5 tsp paprika
3 tsp black pepper
Pork sausage casing
String to tie ends
Optional Ingredients
Fennel Seeds
Chili Pepper Flakes
Seasonings including: fresh parsley, basil, minced garlic, red wine, etc
Combine all ingredients thoroughly insuring the spices and seasonings are well combined. **Fry a patty of sausage meat to test for seasoning and flavour; adjust accordingly.**
Wash sausage casing (they usually come cured in salt, so soaking them well will reconstitute them). If you’re feeling adventurous you can turn them inside out (something my mother in law insisted upon to get them 100% clean); challenging yes! You can thread casing on a sausage funnel, pushing all the casing onto our fore finger and grabbing the end of the casing with your finger and pulling it through will turn the casing inside out and rewash in warm water.
**It is important that the casing remain in warm water, if the water gets cold the casing could/will split open; hence the microfiber cloth in our how to video that absorbs the water.**
Thread casing on the funnel/extruder part of the sausage machine tying a knot at the end, fill the hopper with sausage meat and use the pusher to push the meat into the machine. As the casing fills up with meat gently guide it while insure there is an ample amount of meat filling the casing. Tie off the end with string and twist into links being careful not to burst the casing; size is up to you.
Sausages can be stored frozen in freezer bags for up to 3 months or longer if you’re using vacuum bags.
Enjoy!