Get the Sweet Italian Sausage Recipe
Make sausage in house with this Sweet Italian Sausage recipe. Homemade sausage can separate your pizzas, pastas and other menu items. Sweet Italian sausage is a popular pizza topping. In fact, sausage is the second most popular pizza topping in the US. In Chicago and parts of the Midwest, sausage is the no. 1 pizza topping.
Sweet Italian sausage gets its flavor from pork, pork fats and a blending of seasonings including fennel seeds, sweet paprika, salt and pepper. It is sweetened with sugar.
Sausage can be precooked before it is topped on pizza. It can also be pinched on top of pizza. If using the pinch method, be sure that the raw sausage is fully cooked. We suggest placing the sausage on top of the cheese.
When making the sausage, it’s always a good idea to pinch a piece off and sauté it to test it’s flavors as you add ingredients. This can prevent over- or under-seasoning the sausage.
You can also kick up the heat of this recipe by adding crushed red pepper, cayenne or even hot honey to intensify sweetness. Note: if you are adding hot honey, you will need to balance the liquid to dry ingredients for a good sausage consistency. Try this Sweet Italian Sausage recipe now.
- 1 ½ pounds pork shoulder
- ½ pound pork fat
- 2 ice cubes
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 50 inches natural pork casing
- Grind pork and pork fat together (add ice cubes during grinding to keep meat cold if using an electric grinder attachment or food processor).
- Add salt.
- Mix well.
- Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
- Add to the ground pork and combine well.
- Refrigerate, covered for at least two hours.
- Sauté a small amount of sausage in a lightly oiled frying pan until it's cooked through.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Use sausage as is for pizza topping. If stuffing the sausage into casings, slip the wet casings onto a hand-stuffing funnel or the stuffer attachment of a meat grinder.
- Tie off into two-inch long links.
- Refrigerate.
- Sausage will keep in cooler for four days, or frozen for longer periods.
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Find tips on making homemade sausage in our Guide to Making Sausage in House and Pizza Topping Combos.
Explore more on house-made sausage, including a Spicy Italian Sausage recipe.
