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This made-from-scratch Mild Italian Sausage is sweet with fresh basil and toasted fennel seed, and coriander. Since I left the restaurant and meat processing biz, I have not made sausage links at home because stuffing links is a messy process and requires more space than I had. I do, however, regularly make fresh bulk sausage, with some shortcuts (like buying already ground meat) in batches small enough for my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer to handle. I consider this Mild Italian Sausage a kitchen staple and I use it in pasta sauces, soups, white beans, meatballs, and stuffed vegetables. I have yet to find a store-bought Italian Sausage that comes close to the flavor of this recipe.
This small batch version of this sausage formulation has been modified to be easy to make at home. If you have meat processing equipment (grinder, kitchen scale, meat mixers, sausage stuffer, ample fridge/freezer/prep space), and/or you hunt or have farm animals and a certain amount of meat trim that you want to use, I recommend this post: The Best Mild Italian Sausage from Scratch – Master Recipe. The Master Recipe is designed for scaling to whatever size batch you want to make.
I highly recommend using a kitchen scale and going by weight, however, I have provided volume measurements as well. Just be aware that these are approximate and can get way out of wack if you are scaling the recipe up or down.
I’ll run through the steps for making sausage in the recipe but if you are new to sausage making or would like more detailed instructions, read How To Make Sausage first.
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The Best Mild Italian Sausage From Scratch – Small Batch Version (2lbs)
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 lbs 1x
- Category: Charcuterie
- Method: Sausage Making
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
A staple food in my kitchen used in pasta sauces, meatballs, braised white beans and grilled stuffed summer vegetables. This recipe has been scaled to 2 lbs for you, a perfect size for one batch of bulk sausage in a kitchen aid mixer (or other stand mixer).
Ingredients
2 lb (4 cups) Ground Pork (70% lean)
14 grams (2 t) salt
8 grams (2 t) sugar
5 grams (1 1/2 lg) garlic cloves
6 grams (3 t) whole fennel seed
4 grams (1 t) whole black peppercorns
6 grams (2 T) dried basil
3 grams (1/2 T) whole coriander seeds
2 sprigs fresh basil, stem removed and minced
1.2 oz (2 1/2 T) cold water
.4 oz (2 1/2 t) cold red wine vinegar
Instructions
Place the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if you are hand-mixing your sausage) in the fridge or freezer to cool it for at least 30 minutes.
Measure out the water and red wine vinegar into a small container and place in the fridge.
In a dry frying pan set over medium heat, add the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns and toast until fragrant. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, place in a spice grinder (or mortal with pestle) and grind into a fine powder.
Grate the garlic cloves on a Microplane over a small mixing bowl. Add to the bowl the toasted ground seeds, salt, sugar, and basil (fresh and dry).
Place the ground pork into the chilled mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the spice mixture. Set the mixing bowl into the stand mixing fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the chilled liquids and continue mixing on medium speed for another 4 1/3 minutes.
When it is done the sausage meat will look tacky. You cannot really overmix it (unless it gets warm) but you can undermix it. If you are not sure, cook up a small patty in a frying pan to test the texture.
Equipment
| Kitchen Aid 6 Qt Stand Mixer |
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[…] are dabbling in meat processing, I recommend starting with the Small Batch Version of this recipe ( The Best Mild Italian Sausage From Scratch – Small Batch Version) which has been modified to be easy to make in a home kitchen with just a stand mixer and makes 2 […]