Homemade sausages are soo rewarding and, folks, they only require nothing more than mince/ ground meat, seasonings, natural casings and a mincer although it is a simple task nowadays to get your meat minced by your butcher. How easy and wonderful, right?!
I did grow up making sausages at home every Christmas time with fresh meat, oh it was smelling in the air because everyone was making it. I used to LOVE IT and my parents will always ask for help with making these beauties. All such great memories.
We now, make sausages several times a year, whenever we fancy, smoke them if we want (we normally do as a form of preserving) portion them and freeze. We make small batches (2-3 kg or 4-6 lb of meat at the time to have for up to three months and then we make it again.
Making these homemade sausages is one of those lost activities and I am not sure why as it really is not so difficult as it sounds. At its heart, a sausage is solely ground meat, some fat (many times I don't even bother with that but I know my parents would tell me off if I try and cut that out), salt, and flavourings such as spices and dry herbs.
It really is not much more involved than grinding your own hamburger; you don’t even have to stuff it into links if you don’t want to and end up with something like these open sausages that we call mici.
How to make homemade sausages
A good sausage is all about balance, the balance of salt, amount of fat, spices and herbs. Knowing a proper ratio of salt to meat (and fat) is essential, but once you understand it you can adjust to your own preferences in terms of saltiness, which varies massively amongst people.
Sometimes adding some liquid helps tighten the bind when you mix the sausage meat which is important. The amount of fat is also important and as much as some argue that this should be, at least 20 per cent. I would say up to 20% - I really do not like them when they are too fatty. Sausages are guilty pleasures already but let's not make them total heart killers and keep them still on the healthier side. We have tried and made 5% fat sausages..... errrr, no! Too dry. Not worth it, if you make them yes, add some fat, it is essential.
So, beyond all these “house rules,” your ingredient list is limitless go wild with your imagination. You can toss in as few or as many flavourings and spices as well as herbs. What liquid to use? I would only recommend water or some wine 😜, nothing else!
Here's how to fill the casing - a pretty easy task I'd say especially if you have someone to help. We always make homemade sausages in two ;-), it is easier if one handles pushing the meat into the casing and the other person (the expert 😜 ) who will be responsible for handling the sausages😅 so these do get into the casing in the right shape, not too thick, not too thin, without air bubbles and so on. 🤗 Making sausages is a bit of an art, I admit, the more you make the better you will become.
What is the point of making sausages at home when you can buy them ready-made, you may ask? Well, unless you have a good source where they are homemade, you cannot compare any shop-bought sausages with the homemade ones. The preservatives, powders that we don't know, nitrates and god knows what else they have in them are simply not worthy, I might as well forget about sausages altogether. Home cooking anything in general and sausages, in particular, has no comparison really. It is a rewarding experience, it's fun, the laugher you can have making sausages, togetherness, time to feel Christmas is coming (it was for me as a kid for sure) but most importantly, you know EXACTLY what you are eating!
How to store homemade sausages
If you make a larger quantity (we always do min 3kgs/6lbs meat) and we cook some freshly. The remaining ones we divide into portions, wrap in some absorbent paper (only if they are dry) and place them in bags and freeze. They are ok to be frozen for up to 3 months although because of the higher fat content they should be consumed within 2 months. So make little and more often to get the best fresh taste.
How to smoke homemade sausages
Cold Smoking:
The smoky flavour is more effectively given when sausages are smoked while raw. Meats will start to cook at 50°C or 120°F so the cold smoking process should take place at temperatures that are below 30°C or 85°F. It is important to keep the temperature in the smoking chamber as low as possible and in principle the longer you cold smoke, the more intense the smoky flavour will be.
You can hang your sausages in your smoking chamber, on rods making sure these don't touch one another. We don't actually have a designated smoker as such but our BBQ is designed to serve as a smoker too, so we just lay the sausages out on wire racks. This can leave a crosshatch of light marks on the casing where the smoke will not be able to take hold. Not an issue, there is a solution to this, quite a simple one. To reduce the impact of the marks, simply turn the sausages every now and then. Problem solved, besides, we don't even mind these marks 😜.
We just burn some coconut and walnuts shells, little by little so the temperature doesn't rise to a cooking point. I will put up a video as soon as I will be getting one done.
Note: Remember, your sausages need to be hung prior to smoking so that these can dry. This can be done in a smoking chamber just before smoking them (if smoking these at all).
How to cook sausages
There are a few ways sausages can be cooked:
- Grilled - definitely, a great winter method when BBQ isn't an option get the grill pan out and grill for as long as 20 min turning them on both sides until cooked all the way to the middle;
- BBQ'd - my favourite method if I am honest - it is the best - depending on how thick or thin they are, bbq on both sides until they are cooked all the way to the centre.
- Pan cooked - 15-20 min with a little water to start with on medium fire. Ideally covered with a lid halfway through and then uncovered.
- Baked - not longer than 30 min at 180-190C /375F. You may also cook with vegetables cut into chunks.
Meat variations
Mix and match any meat you may like, if you cannot or don't like pork, substitute this with lamb, veal, any game meat you may like or eat. The idea is that you need to choose a lean cut and a slightly fattier one to it counterbalances and the sausages are not to try. I personally do not like to use more than 25-30 %fat content but you can go 50-50.
Serving suggestions
Serve with some nice mashed potatoes and a yummy gravy and some seasonal baked vegetables, make some nice Yorkshire puddings, or why not use these for best ever one pan English breakfast. It is not a bad idea, to use a small casing and use these sausages to make some homemade sausage rolls. A plethora of ideas really to choose from.
Other Recipes you may like and homemade sausages can be a great addition to:
- Haricot beans salad with yacon and sweet Marmande tomatoes
- One-pan curried wild rice, red quinoa
- Potato sausage and Parmesan cheese bake
- English breakfast in a pot in a flash
Let's get on with the stuffing, let's have some fun!
Easy Homemade Sausages
Equipment
- mincer with funnels
- large pot or bowl
Ingredients
- 5 m sausage casing natural
- 3 kg minced meat (6lb) 20% fat (pork and beef 60/40) *
- 1 cup water or white wine (optional)*
- 3 tbsp dry herbs thyme, rosemary
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp chilly flakes or 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper powder
- 20 g salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Meat and equipment should be super cold so place meats in the freezer for at least 1 -1½ hours. This should be very firm but not frozen. Place all meat grinder parts in the freezer and refrigerate the mixing bowl at least 30 min prior to using them.
- Rinse the casing well to remove all salt and run warm water all the way through the casing. Place the casing and soak in warm water (30-40°C or 90-100˚F) for at least 1 hour prior to using these. They should be soaked until they are super soft and slick. Keep casings in water until ready to use as it is easier to use them while wet.
- Remove 1/2 of meat from the freezer and with a sharp knife dice into thick chunks. Place into your chilled mixing bowl. Chop all the remaining meat into approximately 2" (4cm) pieces so these can easily go through the meat grinder. Set up your meat grinder and if using KitchenAid set it to speed 4 using the large holes grinding plate. Grind the meat alternating with the fat if you have these separate.
- Sprinkle all the seasonings (salt, pepper, dried herbs, chilli flakes, cumin and coriander powder) over meat. I suggest using gloves so your hands will not freeze but also help to maintain the meat cool. Toss all meat with seasonings for about 1 minute. Add 1 cup cold water or white wine and mix meat by hand for another minute until the mixture binds to so that can hold a patty shape.Seasoning Tip! To test your meat for seasoning, make a small patty or two (if you are hungry 😉 haha) and cook it in a skillet to sample.
- You have two options here: a) oil lightly the outside of your sausage tube attachment - do not tie the end, not yetb) push through some meat until it starts to come out for about 1 inch. If you chose this you can tie the end as all air has been pushed out. Thread the 1st sausage casing over the tube leaving a long enough tail hanging off the end. If any air bubbles form, don't worry, these aren't an issue as you can prick the sausage to get rid of those.
- Remove ground/minced meat from the fridge. Here it comes the teamwork. I always need hubby or one of the kids here to push the meat through and I make sure I look after the casing to make sure sausage comes out ok. It is a little easier and you could manage on your own if using an electric KitchenAid gadget which you can set on speed 4 and add meat into the hopper, pushing down with the plunger and adding more as you go. You will be able to use one hand to stuff the meat and the other to handle the sausage -let the sausage come out in one long coil, you will make links later.
- The sausages should not be overly stuffed especially if you intend to make links. When you almost reach the end leave a minimum of 6 inches or 15 cm of 'tail' - long enough to work with and tie at the end after making the links. Thread the second casing and repeat until all meat has been stuffed.
- Pinch and spin to make the links. With two hands, pinch off what will become two links, Work the links so they are pretty tight. Spin it towards you several times. Continue this way, alternating, until you get to the end of the coil. Tie off the other end.
- You may also leave the sausages in a coil (I normally do both links and coil) and pan cook, bake or grill. Freeze the rest for later use. Prick them if you see any air pockets so they do not burst when cooking.
- Hang the sausages and ensure that the casings are dry before smoking (if choosing to smoke them). If you have smoking chambers transfer the sausages in there and hang those on some rods. Open all the vents to create as much airflow as possible. Bring a fan otherwise. This will take a good couple of hours (fan assisted) or more (6-8h). Once dry you can get on with smoking them. (See more on smoking in the recipe).
Notes
Nutrition
Kay says
I've never made homemade sausage and this recipe looks awesome, this will definitely be getting made over the summer for the BBQ 🙂
Thanks for sharing Ramona!!
Sunrita says
I would have never thought of making sausages at home. But reading this recipe makes sure you have the best of ingredients. You have inspired me.
Chloe says
A really informative post, thank you! It always pays to make things from scratch.
Catherine says
Wow - these look incredible! Definitely inspired to try making my own sausages now!
Debra says
Wow....thanks for breaking down all the steps so thoroughly. So much to learn!
Ramona says
Thank you dear Debra x
Anna says
My grandma used to make her own sausage and it was the most delicious thing ever! I must admit, I never tried making my own, but your instructions and recipe make it look more than achievable!
Shelley says
I have to admit, through all my culinary classes and cooking adventures here at home, I've actually never attempted to make my own sausage. Shameful, right?!? Thank you for making it so easy, with such clear directions and helpful little hints and tips!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
Oh wow talk about perfect timing! I was just telling my husband that I wanted to learn how to make homemade sausages and BOOM! I find your post! I love how easy you made this! Thank you so much for breaking it down into easy steps!
Leslie says
Honestly, I have never made homemade sausage before, but you're right. This really does look easy to do! Thanks for sharing!
Candice says
I'll be making all my own sausages from now on... it was so easy! Thank you for the recipe and the easy steps... I can't believe I haven't been doing this longer. Great recipe!
Kate says
Always wanted to make my own sausages. These look great. Tasted amazing! Making this again.
Ramona says
Thank you so much dear Kate, I am so glad you like the recipe - it is amazing to now what you are actually eating, right?
Amanda says
Wow, I'm so amazed how easy it is to make your own sausage! The seasoning was absolutely perfect, and I love that I know everything that went into it.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
That is such a detailed post and really helpful for someone who has never made their own sausage before. We get to really control the ingredients hat goes into it.
Heidy says
I have to tell you when I found this recipe, and I was a little nervous---thinking Easy Homemade Sausages? Yeah, right! However, they really were SO EASY!!! I loved the flavor, and my family devoured them in no time! I wish I had doubled the batch! Happy Holidays!
Marisa F. Stewart says
For Christmas the kiddos bought Hubby a smoker and I told him about this recipe. We are following it to a "T" and it seems super simple. We have everything we need and we can't wait for our first taste of homemade sausage. We will probably be experimenting with seasoning in the future since we tend to like our sausage H-O-T!!! Thank you for the great instructions.
Ramona says
Wow, such a great Christmas gift - well done to your kiddos! Enjoy the smoker guys, it is great. Yes, hot all the way!
Kate says
Nothing beats homemade sausages. Tried this over the weekend, great recipe!
Ramona says
I agree, thank you so much for your feedback.
Gareth B says
These sausages turned out awesome! A recipe I will definitely keep! Thanks for sharing this simple homemade sausage recipe Ramona - so balanced and well explained too hence easy to follow 😉
Ramona says
Thank you so much Gareth! I am so happy you found my recipe so easy to make and delicious too. I hope you will give these sausages a smoking sesh too if you can 😉
Freya says
Delicious! This was such a great recipe!
Ramona says
Thank you for your feedback Freya, I am so glad you liked my homemade sausages recipe 😉
Chef Dennisa says
I am so excited to make this at home.
Tammy r seed says
Great recipe, thanks for sharing! Going to give it a try for sure.
Monica says
Looks so delicious, my entire family loves sausages, I will definitely try your recipe, looks seem easy to make, hope so :D. Thanks so much for this guide. Looking forward to seeing more recipes.
Ramona says
thank you Monica!
Heather says
nothing beats homemade - I love how you can customize the seasonings to your preference - and even add fresh garlic- excellent recipe!
Tristin says
When I first pulled up your recipe I was a little intimidated to try making my own sausages. With my husbands help we pulled it off! These were soooo much better than store bought.
Colleen says
Thank you for this informative post. Your instructions are very clear and I am confident that I will be able to make sausage now. I'm excited to try!
Jere Cassidy says
I never made homemade sausages, have had them and they are so much better than anything storebought. I am craving a good sausage right now. Really the ingredients are so simple, and all of your tips are great.
Kacie Morgan says
Gosh, I bet you can REALLY taste the difference with your own homemade sausages. I haven't made my own before but you've inspired me to consider giving it a go one day.
Jacqueline Debono says
I'm so impressed with your homemade sausages! I l have never done it myself but you make it sound pretty easy so now I want to try for myself!
Tammy says
I've not made my own but I love this thorough guide and now I'm very tempted to try my hand at it. Homemade is always better and since we're keeping the holidays small this year, I might try it then! Thank you!
Stine Mari says
I've been thinking for a while that I'd love to try to make my own sausages as I can't really find exactly what I'm looking for sometimes. I will definitely save this recipe for when I make my own! So helpful to know all the ratios etc.
Leslie Sawmiller says
I have never attempted to make homemade sausage before. I had no idea it would be this easy!
Jessica says
I don't have the equipment to make these right now but I sure wish I did. I've always wanted to make my own sausages. I'm saving this recipe for later because the directions are so thorough and at some point, I will get around to trying it out....hopefully sooner rather than later.
Sophia says
This was my first time making homemade sausage and this post was really helpful! They turned out really good too, thanks!
Liz says
We follow a very similar recipe as your's! I agree - making homemade sausage is pretty simple!
Loreto and Nicoletta says
I get so excited when I hear homemade sausages. It is this time of year that us Italians are making sausages. Next week I will be making my dad's recipe which is incredible, can't wait! Thanks for bringing back those memories! ❤️😁👍🙏
Andrea Howe says
Thank you for sharing this easy recipe! My family and I love cured meats and sausages, but I don't love all the fillers most brands have. I really like the idea of making my own but never considered it or thought I could do it. Thank you for providing the detailed recipe, can't wait to try it!
Marie says
I'd never ever considered making sausage from scratch but you're making the process really clear and approachable. Like most things, I bet homemade is so much better than anything else! This is now something I want to try, and your recipe will be my guide!
Chenée says
I never knew how simple it could be to make sausage at home! Thanks for this recipe!
Natalie says
I'm sharing this recipe with my husband. He's the one in charge of making homemade sausages. Yum! Can't wait to give this recipe a try.
Alexis says
Such a delicious and simple sausage recipe. My entire family enjoyed this with dinner last weekend. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Katie says
Homemade sausages really are the best! Can't wait to try this recipe!
Katie xoxo
Allyssa says
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing sausage recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Colleen says
I finally got around to trying it out and it wasn't as complicated as I expected. The sausages turned out delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Veronika Sykorova says
This is so cool! Making homemade sausages always seemed way too daunting to try but now I realize it's not even that complicated. Bookmarking this for later!
Jere Cassidy says
I love sausages and luckily have a friend who makes their own so I always get some. Next time they make them, I'm going over to help. This so intrigues me.
Amy Liu Dong says
Wow! How easy and simple it is to make homemade sausage.
I ask my husband to help me buy the ingredients for me to make this.
Thank you!
GUNJAN C Dudani says
I am intrigued and cant wait to try it. Looks attractive and doable. This recipe is well explained and very nicely written.
Ramona says
Thank you so much!
silvia says
This is the first time that I feel I want to make my own sausage after reading your recipe. It sounds straightforward and flavorful. Nothing better than preparing a dish from scratch and without additives. Where can I get the casings?
Ramona says
That's right Silvia, you have to try this recipe, nothing compares to a good homemade sausage, for sure! I purchase the casings from local shops, they are only available around Christmas time but I have seen them on Amazon too 😉
Chandice says
What a fantastic way to make homemade sausage! I never would’ve thought of doing it myself but this was actually pretty easy… Thank you thank you!
Ramona says
Thank you dear Chandice! It was worth the try, right?
Sara says
Someone was telling me that you can get an attachment for stand mixers that stuffs sausages. I have been thinking that would be so fun to do for a while. Your tips make me sure I can handle it!
Ramona says
yes, that's right Sara! You can certainly get an attachment for the stand mixer. I am sure you'll have a lot of fun making sausages at home 😉
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says
Your homemade sausages look fabulous! My husband is the sausage maker in the house, he has always helped his mom and dad make them. All your tips and suggestions are spot on. You just cannot beat the flavor of a good homemade sausage!