Nuffnang

1/29/2008

Italian Sausages by Ruy

One of the things I got to making courtesy of the long holiday vacation.



Italian sausages. One of my favorite sausages for its distinct flavor, spicyness, versatility and its close ties to another favorite food which is pizza.=)







I made two batches (due to Liv's demand) and immediately realized that the quality of meat is key in this sausage. There was a great difference between the meat of the two different meatshops I bought from. The difference in the freshness of one over the other was as bright as day. For best results, the meat has to be as fresh as can be.

Italian Sausage is very simple to make. All you need is some salt, fennel seeds and some chili flakes.
Approximately:
1kg ground lean pork
1.5 tbsp salt
1tbsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp chili flakes
(some recipes have paprika and minced cloves but i didn't put any in mine)


Just mix them all together and you're good to go.
You can make them into patties or stuff them into hog casings. This was the most exciting but scariest part. Hog casings can be pretty delicate and you need to handle them with care. I just used a sausage funnel and manually stuffed the meat into the casings. It took hours to stuff 4kg of meat (even with help) as I was just doing it manually and for the first time.

I went crazy over the fact that I could make these Italian Sausages as hot as I wanted so I made a separate batch for the chili monsters in the family, throwing in 1 tsp of chili flakes per kg.

At the end of the day my adventure got pretty good reviews from the eaters specially Liv.

How sweet is that.=)

23 comments:

carlotta1924 said...

wow that's such a labor of love. and the eaters' and liv's appreciation makes all the effort worth it. =)

how many sausages did 4kg make?

Anonymous said...

pahingi:(

Ruy said...

Sakai: Next batch I promise to reserve some for you. Do you like it spicy?=)

Ruy said...

Carlotta: It was indeed! Liv's my most ruthless critic. Haha.=)
I made 100g sausages so that made around 40 pcs. You can adjust it according to your specs of course.

Chibog in Chief said...

although im a certified sausage lover..i have never tried making one..not even longanisa..your recipe looks simple and easy to make..i will try to make one and pair them with a fried rice and fried egg..hmmm i could already imagine my morning!! lots of pinoy good memories..oops these sausages are italian..never mind.;cant wait to try

Chibog in Chief said...

by the way what casing did you use??

Oggi said...

The sausages look fantastic! And you stuffed them manually. It takes a long time to stuff sausages with a sausage maker and I can just imagine making them without one, I admire you.:)
I also prefer Italian sausages with just fennel seeds and lots of hot pepper, yumm!

ALiNe said...

gusto ko din humingi :)

Ruy said...

Dhanggit: You're funny. Italian sausages reminded you of pinoy breakfast? Haha.;p
I used the hog casings (hollowed out pig intestines) avalable in the market which they use for longanisa.

Ruy said...

Oggi: Thanks for the compliment! I see you like it spicy as well(it makes me eat so much rice).=)
Awesome!

Ruy said...

Aline: Hmmm... Maybe I should start mass producing these things. LOL.=)

Cynthia said...

It must be such a pleasure to make your own sausage.

Ruy said...

Cynthia: The joy of stretching one's boundaries in the kitchen is priceless I must say.=)

x said...

this is the 1st time i read or heard of italian sausage! ever. and as much as i love italian cooking (and, just now, chefs! haha!)...

Ruy said...

Acey: Hi! I usually find italian sausages in pizzas but they're usually in ground meat form.
It looks like your internship was one nice food trip.=)

Gita Asuncion said...

this is my hubby's favorite! along with kielbasas... i wish i knew how to make them.. or at least have the talent to... your cooking creations look so deelish! specially these.. ;-)

ALiNe said...

Aline: Hmmm... Maybe I should start mass producing these things. LOL.=)
----
What a great idea! Game? LOLZ

Jen Tan said...

wow ruy...homemade Italian sausages! bravo!!!! I am sure it tastes great..I am impressed =)

Ruy said...

Gita: You can definitely make them! If you don't want the hassle of stuffing you can just make them into patties.=)

Ruy said...

Aline: Game! haha.=)

Ruy said...

Jen: Awwww, thanks Jen! Coming from the baking expert, that means a lot.=)

Chibog in Chief said...

hehehe, i dont intend to undermine your italian sausages..in fact they really look good..its just everytime i look at them i think of sinangag with it..:-)

hog casing..hmmmmm where can i find it here..i will inquire.:-)

Anonymous said...

hmmm, this sounds really good, livia, ruy made this himself so this wouldn't have the nitrates that make sausages such a no-no for breastfeeding moms like me right? would you guys care to SELL me some? (note: i almost used the possessive form of you and sausage and that didn't quite sound right)
i'm the one who commented on the racks ribs too. argh, i'm trying to do some budgeting (inspired by these moms I know) but here I am procrastinating instead. grr this is dorothy btw

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