Fresh Pork Sausage Recipes

GARLIC AND FENNEL SEED SAUSAGE RECIPE

Steps:

• Set the bowl into which the meat gets ground on ice.
• Assemble the grinder attachment onto the Kitchen Aid
• Take a portion of the meat out of the fridge/freezer. We divided our meat into 3 batches so we could have 3 different sausage flavors; each batch was 2.5-3 lbs. The specific recipe above is for one of these batches.
• Make sure everything is very, very cold. This will make the grinding process easier and is better for health and sanitation reasons (bacteria multiplies in warmth). I cut the pork into slices, laid it on a sheet pan and put it in the freezer for about half an hour. This made it very firm and much easier for us to cut into the 1" cubes. We then laid the cubes of meat back on the sheet pan for another 1/2 an hour to get them firm again. I also put the metal grinding blades in the freezer.
• Follow the instructions with the kitchen aid and be careful. The wooden pusher comes in really handy. If you are short, like we are, you may have to stand on something to get enough leverage to push down on the meat.
• Make sure you have a good mix of meat and fat as you push it through the grinder. Watch your fingers!
• Once the ground meat and fat are in the bowl, combine with seasonings and liquid using using the paddle attachment and bowl of the Kitchen Aid mixer. Mix on medium for about 2 minutes and chill the ground meat again until very cold.
• NOTE: We ground the meat into the bowl, added our seasonings, then mixed it with the paddle attachment for about 2 minutes as per the instructions in Charcuterie. What we did not do was season the meat before grinding it, as the book suggests. I don't think skipping this step changed anything as we let the seasoned ground meat rest overnight.
• Once the meat was seasoned, we cooked up a little patty so we could taste it and check. This is an important step. With each batch, we added seasonings to correct to our palate.
• Put the casings on the extruder tube. This was a bit arduous as the natural casings have variations which make it difficult at times to slide them onto the tube. Many jokes of questionable taste were made during this process.
• The stuffing process definitely had a learning curve to it. This is where it pays to have two people; one to push the meat into the extruder and the other to pull the sausage off at the same rate it's being extruded. It is possible to twist the sausage into links as it comes off, but this is not a skill we mastered the first time around. Instead, we let it coil into one long length and then formed the links later.
• To link the sausages, tie off the end and twist a length (4' to 6") of filled sausage one direction. To make the next sausage, twist the next length in the opposite direction. Repeat.

HOMEMADE PORK SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well. Shape into eight 4-in. patties. In a skillet over medium heat, fry patties for 3-4 minutes per side until browned or until no longer pink in the center.

HOMEMADE PORK BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat a little oil in a skillet over medium heat.

GARLIC PORK SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the pork, garlic, sage, salt and crushed red pepper. Run the meat mixture through the meat grinder outfitted with the die with the largest holes. Repeat so that all of the meat goes through the grinder twice.
• Place half of the meat mixture in the bowl of a standing mixer equipped with the paddle attachment. Add half of the water and half of the Parmesan and beat on medium-high for 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat this process with the remaining meat, water and cheese.
• Make, cook and eat a test patty to make sure the sausage is delicious.
• Attach the sausage-stuffing attachment to the meat grinder, keeping the grinder blade and die in place also.
• Keeping the sausage casing very wet, slide a manageable length onto the sausage stuffer. Place a generous amount of the prepared sausage mixture into the grinder pan. Give the casings a slight bit of resistance by holding onto the sausage stuffer with your three last fingers and letting the casing slip through your thumb and forefinger. Turn the machine on a medium-low speed and fill the casings, being careful to avoid any air bubbles. To get the feel for stuffing the sausages, you might have to do a couple tries. The first couple might be too loose or too tight; that's ok--think of them as the first pancake (the one that never comes out right that you have to throw away).
• Twist the casings to create sausages that are even in size. Tie each with butcher's twine to keep them nicely sealed. Prick the sausages with a pin or skewer all over to allow steam to escape while cooking (you don't want to have a blowout).
• Preheat a grill or saute pan. Cook the sausages until cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes on each side. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

FRESH PORK SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Gather sausage mixture together in a ball, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Sausage may be frozen for up to one month.