There’s nothing quite like a delicious, homemade sausage. Juicy and flavorful, there are seemingly endless varieties to choose from. True, you can always buy your favorites from the store, but what if you suddenly had the power to make your own? As it turns out, with the right ingredients and the right equipment, you can get started making your own amazing sausages.
The Right Ingredients
To start, you need the meat. Pork shoulder is a great cut to start with, but while pork is often what is thought of when it comes to sausages, you aren’t limited to just pork. Venison sausages can be delicious if you’re inclined to go hunting. Veal is great if you’re making bratwurst. You’ll need a curing salt as well. Curing salt helps prevent your sausages from spoiling and inhibits the growth of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Don’t be fooled by the pink color that a lot of curing salts have – it’s not the same as Himalayan pink salt. You’ll also need a spice blend. This is where real experimentation takes place. Salt, pepper, fennel, paprika, pepper flakes, garlic, and Italian seasoning are all popular spices to use, though far from the only ones. Think about the flavor profile you’re trying to create and let that help guide you in your selection.
The Right Equipment
Having the right equipment can make the process of making sausages so much easier, especially if you want to make links. If you want your sausages to be as consistent as possible, a food scale is a must, especially once you nail down the perfect DIY sausage recipe. Metal bowls for mixing and a thermometer for testing the doneness of the sausages are also helpful. You’ll need a way to grind your meat, so a meat grinder is going to be a must as well. If you want to make links, you’ll need casings and a sausage stuffer. A sausage pricker can be helpful to have on hand so you can release any accidental air bubbles with more precision than a fork would offer.
Now it’s important to keep in mind that there’s a good chance that your first sausages aren’t going to be quite what you were aiming for. There’s something to be said for experience and experimentation. It’s probably going to take some time to get your recipe exactly the way you want it. Just be patient and have fun tweaking it until you get it just right.
Ready to get started? Check out our selection of Sausage Stuffers that will help you get those beautiful links put together in no time.