Making Homemade Italian Sausage

Today I did something I’ve never done before: I made homemade Italian sausage, using my Kitchenaid mixer and food grinder attachment. And, it was super easy! I will probably never BUY Italian sausage ever again! It was fun, too.

You should be aware that I’ve had my Kitchenaid professional mixer for at least 10 years (I bought a refurbished one) and have hardly ever used it, because I dislike using machines when I can do a task by hand. That’s getting more difficult to do these days, however, since the arthritis in my hands has moved to a new level. I decided I might as well use the mixer and attachments I invested so much cash in. After all, I can just toss everything in the dishwasher when I’m done. I also have a manual meat grinder I can use if I wish. I bought mine at Value Village in Kent, Washington last year for five bucks! It’s exactly like the one my Grandma Rose used to have, and I may even have hers around here somewhere. I decided to use the Kitchenaid just because, and also because I don’t have a kid available to turn the crank for me while I stuff meat down the hopper. I’m certain I’m coordinated enough to do both tasks at once, but then why not just use the Kitchenaid?

I decided to make my own Italian sausage, because the local supermarkets frustrate me, having been spoiled by shopping in the big city—the closest store, not counting the Imnaha Store and Grill (2 ½ miles), is 28 miles from my house. If you are a purist, making your own is also the only way to get away from nitrites, which have been implicated in cancer. Safeway in Enterprise, Oregon (34 miles) does sell Italian sausage, but the time I bought theirs it had hardly any flavor. To be fair, they also sell Johnsonville Italian sausage, which is acceptably tasty. The Mt. Joseph Grocery in Joseph, Oregon (28 miles) has wonderful, locally-made Italian sausage—when you can get it, but their butcher doesn’t make it all the time, I learned to my dismay. Fortunately, they also sell the Johnsonville brand, which is kept in the frozen food case. I decided I might as well try my hand at making it, since I enjoy cooking and being self-sufficient is more important out here. You can’t just run to the corner market when you run out of something. The Imnaha Store and Grill does have milk and eggs, but most of what they sell is camp and snack-type food for tourists. They also sell soda pop, beer, and bait.

I’m sure I will need to make several batches before I’m satisfied with the mix of seasonings in my own sausage, but that’s all right. I’m in control now. I bought a 6.79 lb. chunk of pork shoulder when I shopped at Safeway the other day, which cost me $13.98 ($1.99/lb.). I had to bone it out (Roxi was thrilled about that—I sent her off to the back yard with her prize), and I did carve off the fat from the one side, only to finally grind it up too, since the ground meat looked too lean without it. Grinding up the meat took maybe five minutes at most. Then I tossed all the ingredients in a 4-qt bowl, mixed them up by hand, covered the bowl and placed it in the refrigerator. Clean up amounted to disassembling the grinder, putting all the parts in the dishwasher, and wiping down the counter. Tomorrow I shall cook up a portion of it to see how it tastes and make any adjustments before packaging up the rest to store in the freezer. Then I will make lasagna. Here’s the recipe I used today, which I adapted from several different ones I found online: 

Homemade Italian Sausage

2 lb. ground pork shoulder

1 tsp black pepper (freshly ground, if possible)

1 ½ tsp dried Italian seasoning

1 tsp dried garlic powder (or substitute 2 Tbsp fresh garlic, minced—about 4-6 cloves)

1 Tbsp dried parsley (or substitute ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley)

1 Tbsp dried red pepper flakes (use more or less, to taste)

1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and crushed (or substitute anise seeds)

½ tsp paprika

1 tsp minced dried onion (or substitute one small onion, minced)

2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp dry red wine (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and store overnight in the refrigerator (24 hours is best) so flavors meld. Be sure to brown meat in a skillet before using. Use for any recipe requiring Italian sausage that is not in casings.* You can put it into casings too, if you prefer, using the stuffer attachment on the meat grinder. 

*Note: This would be nice used in lasagna, jambalaya, or stuffed baked zucchini, for example. I also like to use it for part of the ground meat in my Grandma Rose’s Meatloaf recipe.