I truly believe that homemade foods taste better because in the words of Curt "you can taste the love". That is only one of the reasons we started making our own sausage. With prices being what they are sausage didn't always fit in the budget and it was missed. After lots of trial and error we have gotten pretty darn good at it. Yesterday we came up with a new recipe and our niece came over to learn how to make sausage. We had a good time and she was a great helper. I should have taken pictures.
Sundried Tomato Italian Parmesan Sausage
2 1/2 lbs of fresh ground pork
1/4 cup ground sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup good Italian seasoning
1/8 cup of good grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp roasted red pepper and garlic seasoning
2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Combine all your seasonings together and stir well. Sprinkle over your ground pork and work in with your hands. After it seems to be mixed in I run it through the meat grinder one more time it seems to combine it more evenly. Now comes the best part. Make a small patty with the sausage and cook it up and taste it. If you are happy with the taste you can either shape your sausage or bag it up in bulk. If you feel it needs more seasoning then reseason but remember even in the freezer the flavor will continue to intensify.
This is a great sausage and has tons of flavor. I shaped it into fairly large links and plan to serve them grilled on some whole grain rolls.
Enjoy and please tell me what you think!
** A note on grinding your own meat. I know some of you might be intimidated by the idea but it really is a money saver and it is very satisfying. If you have a Kitchen Aid they sell a great attachment but you can also get a manual grinder for a very reasonable price. It is a great tool to have around. Having a meat grinder allows me to purchase meats on sale and make my own ground beef and sausage for a fraction of the cost. If you have no interest in grinding your own meat you can purchase pre ground pork and after adding the seasoning just work it in more so that the flavors are evenly distributed.
Okay Jenn, you had me going with the meat grinding until you mentioned a MANUAL meat grinder. Have you ever tried one of those beasts (YES, they are BEASTS, especially to us left handed people)! I have a recipe for cheese roll my dad requests in lieu of gifts. He gave me the "family heirloom" manual meat grinder from my great-aunt and uncle. Needless to say, its really old and thank goodness I still have a teenage boy at home that's strong enough to operate the silly thing! Your sausage recipe sounds fantastic. I might have to go borrow my sister's Kitchen Aide meat grinder or make a batch with her and try it out! I'm loving your blog.
ReplyDeleteJackie, I have the manual that I make Curt and Trevor use and I have the Kitchen Aid that I use. Let me know what you think if you try this sausage. I am glad you are enjoying the blog I am having a wonderful time with it.
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