Sausage Recipes

I found Boston Butt roast on sale for $.99/lb at our local grocery store and was pulling this out of my drafts for reference anyway, so I thought I would share.

Making your own sausage cuts back on expenses and preservatives in your diet. It is not hard to make your own if you start with the right cut of meat which is a Boston butt pork roast. This cut is marbled nicely and just about perfect for grinding without adding any additional fat.

I am lucky to have my sister’s hand-me-down kitchen aid, so I grind the meat with my kitchen aid food grinder attachment. You do not have to have one to do this. You can get yourself a cheap manual grinder. You can freeze the meat in chunks and shred it on a grater. It’s not going to look exactly like what you are used to but once you mix it all up, it’s not going to look like that anyway.

I make one-pound batches and I mix the spices in with my fingers. You want to let the sausage sit for a while so the spices have a chance to blend together. I try to make it at least a day before I need it. I usually do up a bunch at once and then seal them up and freeze them. I don’t bother with casings because most of the recipes we use sausage for don’t call for sausages and we prefer patties.

A few of these recipes are adapted from the Frugal Gourmet cookbook, I bought myself in 1991. They have been tweaked a bit. as you can imagine. Feel free to keep tweaking them.

Breakfast Sausage
1 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons coarsely ground fennel seed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons maple syrup or brown sugar (optional)

Italian Sausage
1 pound of ground pork
1 tablespoon coarsely ground fennel seed
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon peppercorns

This recipe originally called for 2 lbs of ground pork, but I like a strong flavor. You might want to try making it with 2 lbs first.

Chorizo
1 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 tsp teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons cider vinegar (use a good one for flavor)

Bratwurst
2 pounds of ground pork
1 tablespoon ground oatmeal
1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon dry parsley
1 teaspoon ground celery seed
1 teaspoon ground caraway seed (you can substitute fennel here if you live with a caraway hater)
1/4 teaspoon zested lemon peel

I think the original recipe called for half of the meat to be ground beef, but if I don’t use all pork, I generally will use 1/2 ground chicken to cut back on fat.