Sicilian Sausages
Moderate
Prep 60 minutes
One of my favourite recipes from my cook book “My Taste Of Sicily”
This Sicilian Sausage recipe is reminiscent of the sausage my Uncle use to make. I was fascinated when I first saw a whole pig being broken down for meat, and then to watch the sausages being made. This was one of those moment in my young life where I was really amazed. The Sicilian Sausage recipe is full of flavor and not only makes a great sausage mix, the mince is also perfect for meatballs, bolognese sauce or hamburgers. It is definately worth while if you are going to make your own sausages as it is a wonderful experience.
Ingredients
- 6 kg pork shoulder coarsely minced (ask your butcher to do this)
- 90 g sea salt
- ¼ cup (40 g) black peppercorns, cracked
- ¼ cup (40 g) fennel seeds
- ¼ cup (35 g) ground allspice of paprika
- 2 tablespoons mixed spice
- 1 large handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
- 1 bulb garlic, cloves chopped
- 10 m natural pork casings (order from your butcher)
Recipe Steps
- Place the minced port, salt, peppercorns, fennel seeds, allspice or paprika, mixed spice, parsley and garlic in a large deep bowl. Mix well with your hands so that all the spices are blended through. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate overnight so that the flavours have time to develop.
- If the casings are salted, rinse them under cold running water, then keep in a bowl of water to ensure they stay moist.
- To make it easier to fill the sausages, remove the meat from the fridge at least 30 minute beforehand to bring it to room temperature; this will prevent the filling from breaking the casings. To test the flavor of the filling, fry a small ball of it in a frying pan over medium heat, then adjust the seasoning accordingly.
- If you have a mincer of sausage machine at home, using the tube attachment, carefully slide a piece of the casing on the tube. If you don’t, you can use a piping bag to stuff the casings with the meat. A good tip is to fill the casing with about ¼ cup (60 ml) water; this will open the casings as you fill them. Start the machine on low until you get the hang of the pace and stuff the casing evenly with the pork mixture, taking care not to break the casing. Once you have a long sausage, you can either leave it as is and coil it around itself, securing with string (this is more traditional), or twist the casing around at intervals to make your desired sausage length. Repeat with the remaining casings and filling. Refrigerate the sausages for at least 30 minute before cooking.
- For thick sausages, pan-fry or barbeque for 4-5 minutes on each side or until the sausage is slightly firm to touch, about 15 minutes in total (thin sausages will take about 10 minutes). Alternatively, roast the sausages in a roasting pan at 200 degrees C for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
- Leftover raw sausages can be wrapped in serving-sized portions and frozen for up to 3 months.