This is a great recipe for Italian sausage but it is very hot and spicy and by far, the best recipe I have ever tasted for this wonderful treat. This sausage stuffed into casings and eaten as a sandwich may be too hot and spicy for some of the family but used loose (bulk) in all other recipes is just something that you won't soon forget! It is really that good!
We use it in our pizza, meatloaves, meatballs (both over spaghetti and in meatball hero sandwiches), calzones, stromboli, stuffed bell peppers, fatties, lasagna, marinara sauce, spaghetti sauce, and some other casseroles.
This picture shows about 18 pounds of my Italian sausage ready for the freezer.
We usually make it up in batches of about 8 pounds to as much as 18 pounds. It does freeze well and will hold fine in the freezer for about 6 months.
Ok...Let's get started. You will need a way to grind up the pork butts for this treat or if you are lucky and have a local store that still has a real meat department, just have them grid the butts up for you when they are doing their own sausage. I usually grind my own pork in my Kitchen-Aid mixer and I also use the mixer to mix each 4 pound batch of meat. You will need some method of grinding up some of the spices for this meat and I usually use a mortar and pestle but I think a small spice grinder would work as well. If you plan to stuff the sausage into casings, you will need a stuffer of some type and of course, the casings of your choice. The Kitchen-Aid with the correct attachment will do it but it is a two person operation for the best results.
I start by cutting up the pork butts into pieces small enough to fit into the neck of my Kitchen-Aid grinder attachment.
It is now ready to go thru the grinder.
I then run the pork thru the grinder and into a few bowls or pans.
My recipe is for about 4 pounds of ground pork per batch as that is the largest amount I can mix in my Kitchen-Aid so I usually weigh out my ground pork into bowls of 4 pounds each. You can do larger amounts if you want to mix by hand.
Again, for 4 pounds of ground pork butts:
4 TBL crushed fennel seed
4 TBL crushed red pepper
4 TBL oregano
4 TBL very finely chopped onion
2 TBL MSG
2 tsp coriander seed (crushed)
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp caraway seed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Bout 14 cloves of fresh garlic (crushed)
Bout 8oz water or wine
Grind or crush up the seeds and items in the recipe as needed and place them in a large cup of about 8 oz of water or wine and let this soak for about 20 minutes before use.
This is 2 batches ready to be mixed into the ground pork by hand or mixed up in the Kitchen-Aid.
I place the ground pork back into the mixer bowl and pour the spice mixture over the pork. I use the dough hook on the mixer to mix up the spices in the sausage. Again, I am making 4 pound batches of the sausage.
About 8 pounds of my Italian sausage as it was finished up in two batches in the mixer.
This is about 12 pounds of sausage.
This is about 17 pounds of sausage.
At this time, I will usually fry up a pattie for a sandwich and taste it for the seasonings and make a change here if needed. At least, that is the excuse I use to the old woman to get a sample this wonderful treat as early as possible.
The meat then gets covered and goes into the fridge for about 2-3 hours to let the seasonings work into the meat before I vacuum pack it for the freezer or stuff it into casings.
I usually put either a pound or a pound and a half in each bag. I think this picture shows 1-1/2 pound bags ready for the freezer.
This batch is one pound bags of sausage.
Try that on a pizza...Good Stuff...Nuff Said!
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