Italian Pepper Sausage

Making your own Italian sausage from scratch means you control the heat, the fat, and the spice blend. This recipe uses coarse-ground pork mixed with salt pork for extra richness, then seasons it with a classic combination of fennel, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, and a generous pour of red wine before stuffing it into natural hog casings.

The salt pork is doing more than adding fat. It melts slowly as the sausage cooks and bastes the leaner ground pork from the inside, keeping everything juicy. Coarse-ground pork is key here too. Fine-ground makes the texture dense and hot-dog-like instead of the rustic, chunky bite you want from Italian sausage.

The red wine adds moisture to the mix and a slight acidity that balances all that fat and spice. You’ll taste it more in the finished sausage than you’d expect.

Chef Tips

• Keep everything cold while mixing and stuffing. Warm fat smears instead of staying in distinct pockets, which ruins the texture.
• Don’t overstuff the casings. Leave room for the meat to expand during cooking or they’ll burst.
• Split the links lengthwise and broil cut-side down first for maximum char on the surface.
• These sausages freeze well. Lay them flat on a sheet pan to freeze individually, then bag them.

Variations

• Skip the red pepper flakes entirely for a mild sweet Italian sausage.
• Add a tablespoon of toasted fennel seeds (in addition to the fennel) for a more pronounced anise flavor.
• Use half ground pork and half ground beef for a heartier sausage with deeper flavor.