Italian Sausage

Italian Sausage

Ingredients

4 lb boneless pork shoulder
12 large garlic cloves, peeled
4 tablespoons Kosher salt
4 tablespoons fennel seed
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper

Method
(since I don't currently have a meat grinder, these instructions are only for the food processor)

Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes. Spread the cubes out on a cutting board or baking sheet and stick it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, until the edges are stiff but the middles are still pliable. This will help the food processor blade to cut the meat cleanly, rather than tearing or smearing it.

Place about 1 lb of meat in the bowl of your food processor and grind it in 12 to 15 one-second pulses, until it looks coarsely ground. Empty the meat into a large bowl and repeat with the remaining meat, grinding in one-pound batches. If you still see any large pieces, put them all back in the food processor for one more round of pulses.

Put the garlic cloves, salt, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes in a mortar and pestle and smash, grind, work it together until it forms a paste in which there are no large pieces of garlic remaining.

Add the spice paste to the ground pork and, using your hands, mix until well combined.

Use immediately or freeze in portions.

NOTES

I've been making my own Italian sausage for quite some time now, but never thought to blog about it until I put the garlic and spices in a mortar and pestle. I just cannot stress enough how much difference this made in the taste of the cooked product. Ab-so-lute BLISS for someone who loves Italian sausage as much as I do.

As for the seasoning amounts, I do recommend 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt per pound (salt level is very important for sausage, mind you), but otherwise, you can adjust to your own liking.