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Several months ago, I was buying ground Italian sausage for a recipe (I also use it for homemade pizza). I looked at the nutrition information and it was 700mg of sodium per serving! YIKES! And not to mention - you gotta know how much fat is in it. So, I didn't buy it. Didn't make the recipe. Sad.

I got to thinking, hmmmmm...so I Googled homemade Italian sausage and came up with this wonderful recipe below. I used lean ground pork and cut WAY back on the salt. It's absolutely delicious. I usually render the fat from Italian sausage before I put it on a pizza and I did that this morning. Forgot just how lean this homemade version is and had to add a bit of EVOO!

So, if you're looking to cut back on salt and fat, here ya go. I'm now looking for a meat grinder/sausage stuffer to I can expand the healthy offerings at The Blue Marlin Resort...anyone have experience with stuffing their own sausage???

(Comments within the recipe are not mine.)

Home Made Italian Sausage

2 lbs lean ground pork
1T salt
1t pepper
1t parsley dried (or 1T fresh chopped)
1t Italian herb mix
1t garlic powder
1t toasted fennel seeds
1/2t paprika
1/2t onion powder
1/4t crushed red pepper flakes

Mix it all together. You can form into patties, or use it crumbled up.

Notes: I have used all kinds of meats with this recipe, I usually use pork & beef together.

You can use a clove or 2 of fresh crushed garlic instead of dried for a richer taste. I have also used 1T finely chopped onion in place of the onion powder.

I find the sausage tastes better if you let it sit in the fridge for a day to let all the spices soak in.

ON EDIT: That tablespoon of salt contains 6,900 mg of sodium!!!!

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Can't say as I've ever stuffed a sausage.

This recipe does sound good though and a lot healthier than what they have in the store!

Why don't you get the stuffer attachment for your KitchenAid?

VickieP wrote:Why don't you get the stuffer attachment for your KitchenAid?

Reviews aren't that good. But I think I'll probably try it, although Harbor Freight has one for $59...
I'm on the fence...(SHUT UP!)

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Sounds good. Do you think the the Italian herb mix is just Italian seasoning?

I haven't actually stuffed sausage but been there when it's been done. I was always my job to wash the casings. Guess they didn't trust me to handle the press.

Mitch, why did you add the salt? With all those spices I would used none or very little. Also since you are watching salt read the labels on your onion and garlic powder for salt or MSG. 'Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein'' is another name for MSG. Most health food stores sells spices in bulk bins where you can buy just a little and it is all usually organic. The other spices have preservatives that I won't go into here....of course don't know where you would find a health food store in your neck of the woods!

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BJ, I'm a salt addict. It's impossible for me to not have some salt...for years and years, my beverage of choice at work was a nice big cup of hot bouillon (which I always referred to as a nice cup o' hot, salty fat!) - I'd drink at least 5 or 6 cups every day, and some at home on the weekends. So, giving up bouillon was really hard! I now have a cup maybe twice a year as a special treat. Man, a cup of salty fat as a comfort food??? (I never buy "garlic salt" or "onion salt". )

I sure didn't know about hydrolyzed vegetable protein! I'll be on the lookout for that now, too.

Acid-hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP,[1] is produced by boiling cereals or legumes, such as soy, corn, or wheat, in hydrochloric acid and then neutralizing the solution with sodium hydroxide. The acid hydrolyzes, or breaks down, the protein in vegetables into their component amino acids. The resulting dark coloured liquid contains, among other vegetable based amino acids, glutamic acid. It is used as a flavor enhancer in many foods. Hydrolysis is a digestive process natural occurring in the human and animal stomach and also part of our kitchen cooking process. The neutralization of acid generates salt (sodium chloride); hence HVP products (such as Bragg Liquid Aminos) are quite salty.

Other sources of glutamate, sometimes used in conjunction with HVP, include autolyzed yeast extract and hydrolyzed yeast extract. Other vegetable sources are tomato and mushroom. A similar product, from dairy origin, is hydrolyzed whey protein.

On that note, I guess I'll go have some chemicals for breakfast!

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mitch5252 wrote:..

On that note, I guess I'll go have some chemicals for breakfast!

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Try Draino.

Check these links out:

http://www.monkeysee.com/play/965-itali ... ff-sausage

http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/vi ... ff+sausage

http://www.ehow.com/how_5004626_stuff-s ... sings.html

http://www.ehow.com/video_2337301_stuff-sausages.html

If I wasn't divorced from the man - he'd be able to give you great info on making Italian sausage - and lots of other goodies - as he did so. He used mainly fresh ingredients (meaning in this recipe, fresh parsley and whatever herbs he had on hand fresh). Onion and garlic would have been from real onions and minced garlic, not the dried. You get rid of lots of that extra stuff by not using the dried. Just a suggestion - you would have to play with amounts, but you don't need to often use garlic powder or onion powder. The ones I own are so old, I can't remember the last time they were used (in other words should toss them). There are some spices I use tho - just so convenient.

Mitch, let me suggest that you not put any salt in when making the stuff- just add it at the table. You won't add nearly as much as you cook with. Therefore you get the salt, but not as much of it.

Oh, when he didn't make the It Sausage, we purchased it from a local place where it was handmade.

Ya know, there are things I miss about that man

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Thanks for the links, Carolyn! I'm enjoying the heck out of the first set of videos...my connection is pretty slow, so it'll take a while to see them all. But very informative and helpful to see what needs to be done and how to do it.


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Like that'd help you!

VickieP wrote::roll: Like that'd help you!

Listen, next time we're together, I will have perfected my recipe for Road Kill Sausage, Italian style.
And of course, you will be told it's pork/chicken sausage...



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So it wouldn't taste any different than what you normally serve?