Italian sausage is out of this world. Now I’m not talking about commercial, preservative laden frozen sausages you find in the stores. I mean fresh Italian sausages! I never really knew the difference before moving to Italy. But now that I know, and have made homemade sausages, let me share a few tips with you =)

When buying sausages, make sure you buy quality pork meat…organic preferably. Buy the chunks of pork meat and have the butcher grind them for you. That way, you can control what goes in your  sausage and can assure there are no preservatives, mixed meat, etc. Or, if your mixer has a sausage attachment, just make your own sausages from the ground pork you bought and stuff them in the casing….would you believe I once used a cookie press and a pastry tip to make my sausages since I didn’t have a sausage attachment for my mixer…..that’s another story! =) If trying out sausage making for the first time look into buying an attachment for your mixer. Homemade sausages are really the best you can get =)

Recipe for Homemade Sausages…..alla Italiana! 

1 Kilo (2.2 lbs) of ground pork meat

Casing

1 cup of red wine

6-8 garlics, finely diced

2-3 TBSP fennel seeds

1 TBSP red chili flakes

Salt \ Pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients together until well incorporated and stuff the sausages in the casing according to the directions instructed for your machine or mixer attachment.

Marinade for Fresh Sausages (….Prepare at least 4 hours before cooking….I just leave it overnight in the fridge)

1 cup of red wine

2 TBSP olive oil

5 garlics, chopped

4-5 Bay leaves

Place your sausage in a glass dish….here I’m using my trusty old Pyrex….. (I prefer using glass whenever marinating due to the fact that I don’t like marinating with wine in plastic containers as I feel it alters the taste of the food).

Next, poke holes along the sausage and insert a piece of garlic in each hole. Then, pour the olive oil and wine over the sausage….this allows full marination of flavors. Add the bay leaves on top along with any left over garlic pieces. Cover and let marinate.

Now, once marinated just place on the stove top grill, BBQ, or in a pan. Delicious! So try it and let me know what you think =)

Buon Appetito!

Wanita =)

 For more delicious recipes, be sure to check out my new eBook “Cucina Siciliana” filled with lots of truly authentic recipes given to me by family and friends here in Sicily….it’s only 99 cents!

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