This is a recipe for homemade Italian Sausage Meat – just the meat, not actual sausages in casings. Use it for US recipes calling for “bulk Italian sausage meat” or any recipe where sausage meat is needed, rather than squeezing meat out of sausage casings. Or make patties and meatballs and fry them up!
Homemade Italian Sausage Meat
I never thought I’d have a big bowl of raw mince as a headline photo, but here we are! 😂
I feel like there are more and more recipes these days that use sausage meat. I get why – it’s a terrific shortcut for adding loads of flavour because all the seasoning is already built in.
In the States, sausage meat is readily sold without casings in packets like beef mince, usually labelled “bulk Italian sausage”. Here in Australia – and most of the rest of the world I believe – it’s not something we commonly see, so we have to buy sausages and squeeze the meat out of the casings. Not hard, but it can be a bit tedious if you get sausages with thin casings that tear easily.
So sometimes it’s just easier and cheaper to make the sausage meat yourself. It’s dead easy – just pork mince, a handful of herbs and spices, mix – done! Ready to use in any recipe calling for sausages, or fry up sausage patties.
This is not a recipe for actual sausages!
To be clear, this recipe is just for the meat mixture inside sausage casings that is used in recipes where it is cooked like beef mince. It’s not a recipe for making actual sausages. For that, I’d be more particular about the cut of pork, fat percentage and texture of the mince to get the right juicy sausage consistency, not to mention the whole business of stuffing the meat into casings!
Ingredients in Homemade Italian Sausage Meat
Here’s what you need to make homemade Italian sausage meat. A little glug of wine (optional), fennel seeds and a pinch of red pepper flakes is what makes this Italian rather than just any generic pork sausage!
Pork mince (ground pork) – Sausages are fatty, that’s why they’re so tasty and juicy! So the higher the fat percentage, the tastier your sausage meat will be. 20 – 25% fat would be great, otherwise just standard pork mince (usually ~17% fat). Lean “heart smart” pork mince will also work fine, the meat just isn’t as juicy. 🙂
Other proteins – Turkey and chicken will work fine too, though bear in mind they are leaner and the meat is not as soft as pork. If you’re going to cook it as mince (rather than making meatballs, patties etc) and it’s in a soup or saucy (like a Sausage Ragu) then that should be fine.
Dry red wine – Anything that’s not too sweet or woody. Pinot noir, shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, whatever you’ve got lying around. For non alcoholic, just skip this.
Spices – The spice mix is a classic Italian sausage blend:
Paprika (sweet/regular, not spicy or smoked)
Onion and garlic powder – you can substitute the garlic with finely grated fresh garlic
Fennel seeds – key spice that gives Italian sausage its distinctive flavour – don’t skip it!
Red chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) – can skip for non spicy
Dried basil, oregano and thyme – these are used in smaller quantities and brings a familiar Italian herb mix flavour to the sausages.
Black pepper – The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of black pepper, a good amount!
Salt – Sausages are well seasoned, which brings out the flavour of all the spices and the pork. So don’t be tempted to cut back on the salt!
How to make Homemade Italian Sausage Meat
Put everything in a bowl and mix well with your hands to combine. If time permits, refrigerate overnight to let the flavours meld, then use as called for in the recipe. To be honest, I usually skip the marinating because I’m making it for something I want to cook right now!
What to use homemade sausage meat for
So. Many. Possibilities!
Use in any recipe that calls for “bulk Italian Sausage meat” or “sausage meat removed from casings” where the meat is cooked like mince – like Creamy Tomato Orecchiette Sausage Pasta, Sausage Ragu (note: you need 700g/1.4lb of sausage meat for that one), Baked Breakfast Hash, Pork and Apple Stuffing (I am made for this!), Sausage and Egg Stuffed Potatoes. Also from DINNER, the popular Zuppa Toscana, a creamy sausage and potato soup (page 160).
Sausage patties – roll then flatten into patties and pan fry until golden, like an Italian flavoured version of these Pork Sausage Patties, or make Sausage and Egg McMuffins!
Roll into meatballs – Just switch the beef for this sausage meat in my favourite Italian Meatballs (also skip the salt else it will be too salty) or spray and bake and serve with ketchup for dipping.
Pizza – Crumble it on pizza. Think – Meat Lovers! Supreme! Make your own using this pizza dough and pizza sauce, and here’s a whole bunch of toppings to choose from.
Quiche, fritatta, mini frittatas or cheesy muffins – Fry it up in a little oil and use in any of these, to add little savoury pops of sausage meat! I’d keep the meat a little chunky ie when cooking it, don’t break it up finely. Or use it in place of bacon for Zucchini Slice!
I have to stop else this post will end up being a full-blown thesis on sausage meat. 😂
No video today, because….well. Dump everything in a bowl. Mix! 😊
Here’s to a future of never squeezing greasy sausage meat out of slimy sausage casings ever again!! – Nagi x
PS I lie. I will. Because as good as this homemade sausage meat is, the fact remains that sausages from a good butcher are juicier and fattier, and I like not knowing exactly how much fat is in there making them taste so good. 😂 But having this homemade recipe has proven very handy!
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Homemade Italian Sausage Meat
Ingredients
- 500 g/ 1 lb pork mince (ground pork) – preferably 20 – 25% fat, otherwise just standard pork mince usually ~17% fat (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp dry red wine , anything not too woody or sweet, optional (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley , or 2 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp paprika . regular/sweet (or smoked, for smoky flavour)
- 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (half for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (substituted 1 large garlic clove finely grated)
- 2 tsp fennel seeds , toasted and coarsely ground – sub 1 tsp fennel powder (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp dried red chilli flakes / red pepper flakes , optional (for bit of warm spiciness and little red bits!)
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp dried basil
Instructions
- Mix everything together using your hands. If time permits, leave to marinate for 24 hours to let the flavours meld (I usually don't).
Uses and storage:
- Use per any recipe calling for "Italian sausage meat" or "bulk Italian sausage". Just cook it up like regular mince, or make patties or meatballs. See in post for many ideas!
- Keeps for however long the meat is good for, or freeze.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Jaffle
The intensity with which he stares at the microwave……. because I warm his food in it, every morning and night! 😂
Though on this occasion, he was a little disappointed to see carrots emerge…until he realised they’re glazed and they’re French!
Nagi,
I made your homemade Italian sausage meat , wow what a great recipe ! I will make it from scratch from now on ! I put in my Instapot Ziti recipe , my husband loved it ! Thank you so much!
Jan
This was so good! I used it in the orecchiette sausage creamy tomato pasta and it was a real winner. I used the very lean pork mince as I’m not a fan of much fat in my mince and it was perfect for us. I’ll definitely be using this recipe a lot!
Hi Nagi can you or anyone help me out please? I watch some American programmes and they talk about using breakfast sausage meat. What are they using please?
Very tasty. I didn’t have anything to grind the fennel with so used the base of a coffee cup onto a chopping board. It didn’t look very ground! Anyway sure this recipe will be useful as could never understand what ‘Italian suasage’ was in recipes – I’m in Denmark. I’m glad to have a use for minced pork which is a reasonably priced meat here. Used this recipe to make the breakfast hash.
Made this with beef mince , delicious and will definitely make again
Nagi, you’re always thinking about what we need! I’ll use this now for the sausage rolls. ⭐️
Made patties tonight and they were delicious. Thank you Nagi, another regular to add to my repertoire
Jaffle is just so handsome,love him!!
Thank you so much for this Nagi, we have been hanging for something like this!! With allergies to the sausage mince preservatives this solves so many recipes for us – a huge thank you!!!
We love Nagi recipes but this one is far from our favourite. Maybe you need to be a fan of US Italian sausage but it just seemed like a lot of overpowering herbs sorry. We added some onion, egg and panko crumbs but didn’t really change the underlying flavours. The wrong recipe choice for us.
I’m sorry to hear this was not to your expectations Jenny. Italian sausages are very boldly flavoured! Much more flavourings than plain pork sausages. I have emphasised how these are different in the recipe intro, to set the expectations more clearly. – Nagi x
Thank you for your reply Nagi. The lesson for me to remember is that just because you love it, it may not be something I love. I should have thought they don’t look to be flavours I enjoy so I should try a different recipe. Because I love your recipes I thought I’ll probably like it more than I think. We don’t all have the same tastes so I should be more discerning. My husband is making the sausage mince into meatballs and adding to passata and pasta. He was a chef so more creative than me!
OMGOSH Nagi, don’t know how i missed this recipe for me to get the cassings off can be mission impossible wiith my RA and sausages are no longer a cheaper option. Maybe I could also use the recipe with seasong for breakfast sausage thankyou…Xxx
Hi Nagi.
Had guests for lunch and serve your oven cooked snitzels.
Turned out perfect. You would have been proud.
Love your “common sense, everyday recipes”.
Cheers to Jaffle.
Evelyn.
You don’t need to squeeze the mince out of sausage casings — just slit them lengthways. Skin pulls away easily! I use it to make a mini meatball tomato based pasta sauce. This recipe will be very useful!
never take it into youre own hands ladies ,you should go to youre local Butcher and he will take great care of you. life’s to short to have to make ur own sausages
I find depending on brand sometimes the meat is very sticky! Which brand do you use??
THANK YOU, NAGI! So often I have seen recipes needing this, and living in a town in North west NSW, well flavoured pork sausages are few and far between, for squeezing. I have always wanted to know how to make this, looked it up in the past and just not been brave enough. Now, my Husband sums it up: “If it’s a Nagi-recipe, it will be great”.
Awww! I hope he approves! 🙂 – N x
It is a very cost saving family recipe to make your own sausage meat. I make something similar already and I omit the wine, only use dry parsley and Italian mixed herbs. Because I have a young school kid I replaced chilli flakes with white pepper instead.
I only use half of the mix (250 g) to prepare my pasta dish to stretch the meal for two nights. I prefer a dry style pasta dish using this sausage meat to appreciate the flavours. I cook it with either Tuscan kale or silver beet it’s a very simple and quick/cheap family weeknight dinner.
Yummmm! that sounds wonderful Shirley! – N x
Yes here in the US, we can buy Italian sausage (not In casings). I was kind of amused to read that you squeeze the meat out of the casings. Just slice the casing the entire length of the sausage, and peel it off the meat. Easy peasy.
Got two friends hooked on your cookbooks. Lots of Little pieces of paper markers sticking out of them, marking recipes.
Aww!! I love hearing that Sharon, thank you for letting me know! – N x
I always save rendered pork fat for future use. The recipe for Italian sausage is very economical compared to traditional sausage especially since I can determine how much I need and what to add to make the type I need; ie, Italian, breakfast, bratwurst etc. Ground pork is usually much cheaper than other cuts of pork. I love to add it to my Tuscan veggie soup. It’s also very easy to use ground pork for Chinese dishes.
Thanks for sharing.
Poor Jaffle, you can see the disappointment on his face.
He really was 😆
You can feed him french glazed carrotts? Hmmmm
This recipe is very welcome, Nagi! I have both your sausage rolls and Zuppa Toscana (Dinner, p 160) on rotation quite often–some of each in my freezer right now. Finding good Italian sausage is hit or miss so I’ll try this next time I buy ground pork.
For anyone who hasn’t tried it, Zuppa Toscana is sinfully good, with both sausage meat and bacon!
Fantastic recipe! I cook for family members who are gluten and dairy sensitive and love scratch recipes where I know everything in the recipe. I will be making this in a big 10lb batch and freezing in one pound portions. Do you think my results would be better if mixed one pound at a time?