Sicilian Sausage

Italian sausage is very easy to make; even easier if you have a meat grinder with the sausage tubes for stuffing. This recipe calls for pork and beef. I prefer using all pork, but that's my taste.





SICILIAN SAUSAGE

3 1/2 pounds pork shoulder or butt (*)
1 1/2 pounds beef
5 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups minced Italian parsley chopped (flat leaf)
3 tablespoons fennel seed
2 tablespoons anise seeds
3/4 cup coarsely grated Romano cheese
3/4 cup coarsely graded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup water
¼ cup red wine (Marsala sweet is best)
1/2 pound sausage casings (natural casings preferred)
4 cloves of garlic fine chopped

Grind pork with beef, using medium blade on grinder, or have butcher do this for you. Combine ground meat with salt, parsley, fennel seed, anise seed, Romano cheese, Parmesan cheese, and pepper. Mix until all ingredients are well blended. Pour in water slowly and mix until all ingredients are bound together. Refrigerate over night for flavors to develop and blend with meat.

Place mixture in sausage press and have fun. If press is not available, stuff skins by hand, or form sausage mixture into paddies and pan fry. Let fresh (thawed) sausage sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to grilling or pan frying.

(*) Don’t use pork loin, as there is not enough fat to give it the proper sausage taste, and they will be too dry.