Making your own hot Italian sausage at home is a rewarding and flavorful experience. By customizing the spice blend to your personal preference, you can create the perfect sausage for your next meal. Follow this step-by-step guide to craft a delicious batch of homemade hot Italian sausage.
Watch Aaron walk us through this process below:
Essential Ingredients for Homemade Hot Italian Sausage
To make authentic Italian sausage, you’ll need the following key ingredients:
- Fennel Seeds (1.5 – 3g per kg): Adds a subtle licorice flavor, which is essential to the Italian sausage profile.
- Paprika (up to 5g per kg): Primarily used for color, giving your sausage that deep red hue. If you’re making a very hot sausage, you’d want to use the higher end of this suggestion to ensure the product looks like it is a hot sausage, if you’re making a mild sausage we suggest putting none or very little paprika in.
- Thyme (.5g per kg): A small but necessary addition that enhances the overall flavor. While a lot of herbs have a guide of 1-5g per kg, we suggest that you don’t go over the maximum with Thyme as it is very earthy and can take on a bit of a dirt flavour if too much is used. The maximum suggested for Thyme is 1g regardless of recipe.
- Salt (18g per kg): Enhances all the spices and balances the taste.
- Oregano (1g per kg): Brings a traditional Italian herbaceous flavor.
- Garlic (4g per kg): Provides depth and warmth without overpowering.
- Mustard Powder (20g per kg): Adds a subtle tang and binds flavors together.
- Chili Flakes (optional): Controls the heat level—add more for an extra kick. The maximum is recommended is 7g per kg, we recommend starting around 3g per kg if you’re  looking for something spicy but just starting out as a good baseline.
Final Thoughts
Making homemade hot Italian sausage from scratch is a fun and rewarding process that allows you to experiment with spice levels and flavors. Whether you enjoy it on a sandwich, in a pasta dish, or grilled to perfection, this homemade version will elevate your culinary experience.
