home made Italian sausage for pizza

[cal1956]

let me start by saying my wife and i like the taste of the sausage that come's on most places like Dominos , Pappa Johns and others
with that said we also like to make our own homemade pizza's
i bought a jar of Italian mild hot seasoning from " sausage maker ". to start with the label is confusing ! how can it be mild and hot ?
so let me clear that up right upfront , .....the word "hot "does NOT belong anywhere on the label (cause hot , its not )
so this morning we ground a small Boston Butt , trimmed the fat, and ended up with 6 lbs of ground meat
i did the calculations and added 1/2 oz seasoning per pound of meat , for a total of 3 oz for 6 pounds (plus a tad more just for good measure )....then i mixed it well, test cooked 2 small pieces , when we tasted it we both said the same thing " something is missing"
at 1st i thought it might need more fenal , then we decide what was missing was " Oregano and red pepper " after testing 2 more small samples ,we ended up adding a total of 2 teaspoons of oregano and a good 3 teaspoons of red pepper , we settled with this but still the taste is not quite what we are looking for, so we will keep experimenting till we get it right

 

[kilo charlie]

I'm not a sausage maker yet.. but I like where this is going! Keep up the experimenting!

 

[Winterrider]

I have used that seasoning previously also, wasn't impressed. I used AC Legg mild last time. We do enjoy that. Good luck with your trials.

 

[cal1956]

I have used that seasoning previously also, wasn't impressed. I used AC Legg mild last time. We do enjoy that. Good luck with your trials.

where do i find that seasoning ? i'm not familiar with it

 

[zwiller]

Same as Winterrider I've tried several SM blends and not a fan but like Leggs. I got mine from Amazon. I ordered the Hot Italian but have not used it yet. Not sure if you are aware but in pizza making forums they say it's best to put sausage on the pizza raw and not cook in advance.

Here's the Leggs mild:

 

[thirdeye]

Once you have a base of proportions it's easier to fine tune a sausage recipe to your liking. In a store bought seasoning you don't have a real reference point to change. Here is one to start with.

Hot Italian (10 lb. recipe)
I have made links with this but mostly I package it in bulk.

10 lb. pork butts (trim some of the fat)
1T cracked black pepper (more if you really like pepper)
2T to 3T kosher salt
5 t fennel seed
2 - 1/2 T crushed red peppers
1/2 C minced garlic
1 - 1/4 t thyme
1 - 1/2 t crushed bay leaf
1 - 1/2 t nutmeg
1 - 1/2 t coriander
6 t sweet paprika
1 -1/2 C ice cold water (adjust as needed for stickiness)

Coarse grind the pork, blend all ingredients, chill for several hours or overnight, then stuff or package in bulk.

 

[cal1956]

i just found "leggs " on Amazon , i think next time i will try that

 

[zwiller]

Once you have a base of proportions it's easier to fine tune a sausage recipe to your liking. In a store bought seasoning you don't have a real reference point to change. Here is one to start with.

Hot Italian (10 lb. recipe)
I have made links with this but mostly I package it in bulk.

10 lb. pork butts (trim some of the fat)
1T cracked black pepper (more if you really like pepper)
2T to 3T kosher salt
5 t fennel seed
2 - 1/2 T crushed red peppers
1/2 C minced garlic
1 - 1/4 t thyme
1 - 1/2 t crushed bay leaf
1 - 1/2 t nutmeg
1 - 1/2 t coriander
6 t sweet paprika
1 -1/2 C ice cold water (adjust as needed for stickiness)

Coarse grind the pork, blend all ingredients, chill for several hours or overnight, then stuff or package in bulk.

Bookmarked that Wayne, thanks.

 

[olaf]

i just found "leggs " on Amazon , i think next time i will try that

I've been using leggs hot italian and its the best I've found so far, more fennel would probably help

 

[Winterrider]

I will also bookmark to try. Really have to watch the "heat" issue as the wife won't touch if to hot.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I also a Leggs fan. The original makes a really good sage breakfast sausage.

 

[SmokyMose]

I learned a while ago that places called something "hot" when it wasn't really, like "hot wings".
If it doesn't make your head sweat it isn't really hot.
Try making your own mix instead of buying pre-made mixes. There are a lot of recipes around (like thirdeye"s).
Things like Cayenne and Dry Mustard will kick up the heat as well as Pepper flakes. Also Paprika can add a little heat, believe it or not, as well as flavor.
Play with it, and welcome to sausage making!

 

[cal1956]

i have been making sausage for quite a while ,including Italian , just in search of that "special one " for pizza's
in fact we will soon be "making" 130-150 lbs of southern smoked sausage for friends we do this about twice a year, so don't think we are rookies making sausage just because we tried a premade seasoning

 

[SmokyMose]

i have been making sausage for quite a while ,including Italian , just in search of that "special one " for pizza's
in fact we will soon be "making" 130-150 lbs of southern smoked sausage for friends we do this about twice a year, so don't think we are rookies making sausage just because we tried a premade seasoning

Sounds like a misunderstanding. No disrespect intended...

 

[cal1956]

Sounds like a misunderstanding. No disrespect intended...

thank you

 

[PPG1]

I enjoy seeing sausage recipes because as many times I have tried I have yet to produce one i enjoy as much as my store bought "Neese's Hot Italian Sausage." But I will keep trying so keep the recipes coming!

 

[cal1956]

the pursuit of that "special recipe " can be both challenging and rewarding . we all have at least one that seems to haunt us but is always elusive, just out of our reach, one such recipe for me has been to copy "popeyes spicy fried chicken" i have been trying to copy it for at least 40 years and still trying , i have talked to world class chefs all over the U.S and most of Europe and yet while many have claimed to be able to copy it , none of them (me included ) have even come close to doing it .
making that "perfect " sausage is much the same challenge, always elusive, always just out of reach but yet we keep trying
why ? ..................because we love the challenge

 

[zwiller]

On the pursuit... It can be done. I have a few "holy grail" sausage formulas under my belt. I think the key is doing back to back batches and keeping notes. Dead serious that many famous sausages are probably using mixes like Leggs with an additional thing or 2. One last thing, use the freshest spices you can, preferably using whole spice and grind them immediately before use. Leave your wife's 10YO ground nutmeg in the pantry

 

[cal1956]

the southern smoked sausage that we make goes along with what you just said : many years ago long before i started making sausage there was a place that that sold these sausage's and people would drive for miles just to get them , no one knew how to make and he wouldn't tell ( i asked ) then i moved to Colorado
and on my trips to visit family back home i would go and buy his sausage and bring them back to Colorado but i only make the trip back once every few years , so i finally called the man on the ph and explained to him how i loved his sausage and just couldn't bring enough back with me to last till my next visit home , so i asked him if he would send me a bag of his seasoning so i could try to make my own , ( because i lived well over 1000 miles away and could not possibly be any threat to his business ) he agreed and sent me the seasoning ( but he made 1 mistake ) he sent it in its original bag !!!! as it
turned out he was buying a premix seasoning. now i bypass him and order from his supplier and make the same sausage for my friends here in Colorado for free

 

[PPG1]

the southern smoked sausage that we make goes along with what you just said : many years ago long before i started making sausage there was a place that that sold these sausage's and people would drive for miles just to get them , no one knew how to make and he wouldn't tell ( i asked ) then i moved to Colorado
and on my trips to visit family back home i would go and buy his sausage and bring them back to Colorado but i only make the trip back once every few years , so i finally called the man on the ph and explained to him how i loved his sausage and just couldn't bring enough back with me to last till my next visit home , so i asked him if he would send me a bag of his seasoning so i could try to make my own , ( because i lived well over 1000 miles away and could not possibly be any threat to his business ) he agreed and sent me the seasoning ( but he made 1 mistake ) he sent it in its original bag !!!! as it
turned out he was buying a premix seasoning. now i bypass him and order from his supplier and make the same sausage for my friends here in Colorado for free

Great Story!