Fresh sausages are perhaps the easiest and most approachable form of charcuterie. With a few pieces of equipment, you can make your own sausage at home instead of getting it from a processor.
While I personally enjoy lean meat, I realize that fat is a fundamental ingredient for making good sausage. The recipe below uses a 25% ratio of fat to meat, which is still on the lower end of the scale. You can go as high as 35%. Use fat from pork and adjust the ratios to your liking.
The recipe below is for a basic hot Italian seasoned sausage that isn’t too spicy. It’s great for everyday cooking and will yield about 10 links. A lot of times I will measure out double the amount of meat and season half in hot Italian spices and the other half with something else and stuff all at the same time. If you don’t have a sausage stuffer, you can still grind and season the meat using the recipe below for loose sausage to use on other dishes like on top of a pizza or with eggs.
Sweet Peppers
*Note: This is sausage has an 70/30 ratio of venison to pork fat. For a leaner sausage with an 80/20 ratio, use 2 pounds of venison, and 1/2 pound of pork fat.
2
Fresh sausages are perhaps the easiest and most approachable form of charcuterie. With a few pieces of equipment, you can make your own sausage at home instead of getting it from a processor.
While I personally enjoy lean meat, I realize that fat is a fundamental ingredient for making good sausage. The recipe below uses a 25% ratio of fat to meat, which is still on the lower end of the scale. You can go as high as 35%. Use fat from pork and adjust the ratios to your liking.
The recipe below is for a basic hot Italian seasoned sausage that isn’t too spicy. It’s great for everyday cooking and will yield about 10 links. A lot of times I will measure out double the amount of meat and season half in hot Italian spices and the other half with something else and stuff all at the same time. If you don’t have a sausage stuffer, you can still grind and season the meat using the recipe below for loose sausage to use on other dishes like on top of a pizza or with eggs.
Sweet Peppers
*Note: This is sausage has an 70/30 ratio of venison to pork fat. For a leaner sausage with an 80/20 ratio, use 2 pounds of venison, and 1/2 pound of pork fat.
2