If someone tells you that making homemade Italian fennel sausage is terribly complicated, don’t believe it! Everything is very easy, those people just don’t want you to enjoy the most delicious baked Italian sausage… LoL…
What could be better than a freshly grilled or baked Italian sausage…
Just imagine it – so juicy with tempting fat drops, slowly flowing down the baked sides, shrouded in fragrant smoke and whispering to you: “taste just a little piece and you’ll know what an explosion of taste means”. What could be better than such a sausage? Only two or better three such sausages! And if it’s an Italian fennel sausage in the company of crispy bell peppers, fresh cucumbers, bright salad, sun-warmed round juicy tomatoes, a slice of bread, and your favorite spicy sauce, it’s a win-win! And to double the pleasure, I advise you to make homemade sausages. Believe me, they are not comparable to any of their store-bought “relatives”.
Why should I make homemade sausages if I can buy them ready-made in the nearest shop?
Well, the answer is easy – homemade is always the best, no matter if i’s a homemade sausage or a homemade apple pie. You always know exactly what you put into it.
The homemade Italian fennel sausage is made of:
- fresh quality meat
- fragrant spices of your choice (and no flavor enhancers!)
- the amount of salt you choose
- a pinch (or maybe a pound!) of love you put in it while cooking
Very often (unfortunately) store-bought sausages have slightly different ingredients than those listed above…
Ingredients for homemade Italian sausage:
- ground pork (the more fat in it, the better)
- chicken fillet (cut into small pieces)
- sausage casing (I always use natural hog casings but you can also choose the synthetic collagen ones)
- mustard (paste, not seeds or powder)
- cold water
- salt (the amount of salt can be changed depending on your taste)
- black pepper
- your favorite meat seasoning (optional), I always use a salt-free one
- dried fennel seeds
Italian fennel sausage recipe (step- by -step)
Cut chicken fillet into small pieces
Mix minced pork and chicken fillet with seasonings, salt, pepper, dried fennel seeds, and mustard. Add water too
Mix everything well by hand, cover, and leave in the fridge to marinate overnight
The next day fill the casings with the meat and spices stuffing (I use a hand meat grinder that has a sausage stuffer attachment. Tie the sausages with threads). We put the ready (raw) sausages in the freezer (in this way you can store them up to 6-8 months), and then we just take the number of sausages we are going to cook, thaw them and bake on the grill (or in the oven).
How to make baked Italian sausage
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the sausages on it.
Before baking, prick each sausage with a fork in several places – this will allow excess fat to leak and sausages will not crack while baking.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and bake the sausages for 1 hour.
Bon appetit!
Italian fennel sausage recipe (baked Italian sausage)
Equipment
- Meat grinder with a sausage stuffer attachment
Ingredients
- 4 lbs (2 kg) minced pork (the more fat in it, the better)
- 2 lbs (1 kg) chicken fillet (cut into small pieces)
- sausage casing (I always use natural hog casings but you can also choose the synthetic collagen ones)
- 2 tbsp mustard (paste, not seeds or powder)
- 1 cup + 1 Tbsp (250 ml) cold water
- 4 tsp salt (the amount of salt can be changed depending on your taste)
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp your favorite meat seasoning (optional), I always use a salt-free one
- 2 tbsp dried fennel seeds
Instructions
- Cut chicken fillet into small pieces
- Mix minced pork and chicken fillet with seasonings, salt, pepper, dried fennel seeds, and mustard.
- Add water too
- Mix everything well by hand, cover, and leave in the fridge to marinate overnight
- The next day fill the casings with the meat and spices stuffing (I use a hand meat grinder that has a sausage stuffer attachment. Tie the sausages with threads).
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