Homemade Pork Sausage

Admit it: you've always wanted to make your own pork sausage.

No? Well, then I guess that makes me weird.

But you'll just have to trust me that the results are worth the effort.

*

Attempt Number 1:

Searching the world famous Internet, I found a recipe that seemed promising.

But I'm really not sure where the paprika came from now that I think about it.

I do know that since I didn't have savory on hand, thyme is a handy substitute.

Do yourself a favor and get whole nutmeg.

There is not contest between freshly ground nutmeg and that sawdust that comes in the jars.

The pork sausage seasonings are ready to be mixed in.




I made four 2-ounce patties out of this test batch.





Then I fried up two for a taste test.






And what can I say?

Yikes!

What was the recipe author thinking with adding both nutmeg and ground cloves?

And in those ratios in the recipe?

In the end, all I could taste was the cloves.

So, out of my scale of one to five stars, I gave this recipe one star.

*

Next recipe, please...

Ah, here we have Attempt Number 2.

This recipe looked promising.

However, I made a couple of changes.

These are my ingredients:

2 teaspoons dried sage

2 teaspoons ground sea salt*

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pound ground pork

*Please note that kosher salt tastes "saltier" than ground sea salt, so you might need to adjust the seasoning accordingly. I would suggest only adding 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt to the recipe, depending upon your tolerance to salt.

I started off making a 1/4 scale recipe to make sure that I would like the final results.

I cooked up a patty and tasted the results.

Yum!

But still, I waited for the Foodie Daughter so I could get a second opinion.

And her response?

This recipe is a go.

Satisfied with the results, I made the rest of the recipe and prepared the 2-ounce patties for freezing.

Oh, you want to know the ratings?

Well, I give this take on the recipe a five.

The Foodie Daughter was all set to give it a five until she bit into a red pepper flake.

Then she gave it four and one-half stars.

Still, not bad, says I.

Do give this a try.