There's certainly something to be said about grinding your meat, seasoning the heck out of it, stuffing it into a tube, and creating something that's way more delicious than any sausage you can buy at the supermarket. Once you've master the basics of sausage making, you'll be able to create just about any type of sausage. There are so many different types of sausage seasoning formulas you can choose to use, but you'll find that our Sweet Italian Sausage seasoning is a perfect addition to your arsenal of sausage seasonings.

 

Sausage 101

Sausage making was first done as a way to preserve and transport meat. Early civilizations found that when dehydrated berries and spices were added to dried meat it enhanced the meats flavor. The first documented recordings referring to sausage dates back more than 2,500 years in early writings from China, Greece and Rome.

There are two primary types of sausages - fresh and cured. Cured sausages are cooked or dried and, while not necessary, are often also smoked. The curing process transforms the meat as its flavors are infused into the meat (particularly when spices are added).

Smoked sausages are always cured, as smoked meat that isn't cured is very susceptible to botulism. Clostridium botulinum is the bacterium responsible for botulism and is known to flourish in the anaerobic conditions present in the sausage's interior with internal temperatures typically ranging from 39° to 140°F. This perfect botulism breeding condition is very common in the smokehouse and in storage holding areas used after the smoking process. So for optimum safety, sausages should be cured before smoking.

 

Italian Sausage Seasonings

There are numerous varieties of sausage flavors available in addition to our Sweet Italian Sausage (also known as Mild Italian Sausage), but this along with our Hot Italian Sausage Seasoning are two of the most popular sausage seasonings in the U.S.  

In this country, Italian sausage is generally pork sausage with either fennel seed or possibly anise seed used as the base seasoning. In Italy, there's a much wider variety of sausages available and the majority of these look absolutely nothing like our Americanized version of "Italian sausage" that we're familiar with.

The biggest difference between sweet and hot Italian sausage is that the sweet version does not include ground cayenne chile pepper.

 

Making Your Own Sausage

When making sausage, most experienced sausage makers prefer using the meat from the shoulder. This is found on the front leg of the pig from the elbow up to the back. The meat to fat ratio (75% to 80% lean) from this section is perfect for sausage. Pork shoulder is also known as Boston butt.

The pork is ground and the spice seasonings are added. The sausage is then either stuffed into casings or portioned into bulk packages to either be used immediately or frozen for later use.

Italian sausage is typically made as a fresh sausage (not cured).

Use 1/3 cup of Sweet Italian Sausage Seasoning and 1 cup of ice cold water per 5 lbs of ground pork shoulder. 1/3 cup of Sweet Italian Seasoning weighs approximately 1.7 ounces.

If you decide to stuff your sausage in casings, we recommend first testing the sausage's flavor and consistency by frying a small patty of your seasoned ground pork in a pan. If you feel that a batch needs a bit more seasoning you can add it at this stage and then stuff your casings. If you determine that a batch is slightly over seasoned you can instead use this meat in pasta sauce or in chili as other ingredients will cut much of the seasoning.

 

Where to Use

Italian Sausage is ideal for cooking sausage and peppers, simmering in a marinara sauce or using as a topping on homemade pizza. The aroma and flavor of grilled Italian sausage is especially delightful at fall tailgating events. I've also used Italian Sausage as a substitute for andouille in a pinch when making jambalaya and gumbo. Another great way to use this seasoning is to make Sausage Tortellini Soup.

 

What's in It

Hand blended from sea salt, brown sugar, fennel seed, coriander, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and caraway.

 

Flavor Profile

Our Sweet Italian Sausage has a warm, anise-licorice aroma with a light sweet flavor, there's also a slight hint of heat without being hot.

 

Helpful hints

If you're serious about making your own sausage then you might also enjoy our Breakfast Sausage Seasoning, Andouille Sausage Seasoning and Mexican Chorizo Seasoning.

 

Read More

Sausage Spices and Seasonings
What Spices Go with What Meat?
All About Ingredients
Flavor Characteristics of Spices