A Guide to Making Fresh Sausages at Home
This guide shows you how to make fresh sausages at home with a starter kit, from setting up your equipment to cooking your first batch. We know you're as excited as we were on our first sausage project, but before you start, it's important to get familiar with all the equipment and read the instructions carefully. That way you'll prepare your food like an expert. Now, let's get the fun started!
Equipment setup
Take a seat and don't miss any steps!
- When you unbox the kit, you'll find a drawing that shows how to assemble "the mincer". Make sure the blade's cutting surface faces out, in the direction of the mincer plate.
- The hand-operated grinder in this kit is the best-value item in its category and is suitable for mincing small quantities of meat. For better performance, we suggest upgrading to Premium Italian Mincer Knives / Plates.
TAB TIP: If you only want to fill your casings, you must remove the blade and the plate and replace them with the "Funnel Clamp" to support the worm. Place the plastic funnel against the threaded end and screw on the retaining nut. 
Cleaning your equipment
Neat is our middle name! Even though the equipment is new, it still has to be washed (plastic parts are dishwasher safe). Metal items should be hand washed, then towel dried or air blown immediately.
The ingredients
And we just can't get enough, because we LOVE IT!
- One of the greatest parts of home sausage making is that you are "The Producer". This means you have full control over what goes into your one and only Perfect Sausage.
- Think about your spices and salt content (our spice pre-mix uses 15g/kg). The quality of the meat cut you use (leg and shoulder) and the percentage of back fat (15-20%) are also important. The back fat is needed to balance the flavour and keep the sausage moist during cooking.
TAB TIP: The quantity of fat may vary if you use leaner meat like beef or venison. Pork shoulder, lamb leg, chicken thigh and beef bolar roast are generally the best cuts to use thanks to their fat marbling. Ask your butcher if you need help.
The use of filler mixers
We don't tend to suggest using fillers, but some recipes require them. Why is it so important to get this right? Read on.
- If a recipe calls for a filler, use breadcrumbs (2-5%) combined with white wine or some chilled water, and mince them with the finest plate (4-6mm).
- Stay away from protein powders and nitrite preservatives (unless you're thinking of hot smoking the sausage, in which case temperature and bacteria will need to be monitored). If 95% of the ingredients are premium, your sausage will be perfect!
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Natural Fat Content |
Mincing Tips |
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Fat undoubtedly gives flavour to our sausage, and it will render down in the pan/BBQ while cooking. For example, if you are making a total of 2kg of sausage mince, you'll need to deduct 20% = 0.4kg of pork fat. That will be minced twice with 30-50% of the other 1.6kg of lean pork shoulder. |
To avoid the fat blocking up your mincing plate, be sure that it is solid, clean and in 2 cm cubes. It should be easy to cut with a knife. Beef fat and lamb fat will also work. However, they do have a distinctive taste, which may not suit the flavour you're looking for. |
TAB TIP | Make sausages with less fat content: To reduce the fat content, you can also use cooked rice, mushrooms, fresh herbs, tofu, raisins, apple and other moist fruits and vegetables, breadcrumbs, low-fat powdered milk, or olive oil (up to 2tsp per 1kg of lean).
Casing options
Traditionally, the intestinal tracts of pigs, cows and sheep were used to make sausages. These are still sold today as "fresh natural casings" packed in salt. In our starter kits we use dried collagen casings, which have a shelf life of three years when stored in dry ambient conditions.
TAB TIP: Collagen casings, like all casings, tend to burst if you fill them too fast or cook them too fast. Cook sausages on a low heat and use a sufficient amount of fat. Keep an eye on them and rotate them once in a while. Try pricking any bubbles (but not too many, to keep the sausages moist), avoiding the centre area, because this fat is good! Refrigerate your sausages overnight before cooking.
| Using our prepared Spice Mix in your minced meat | Making your own Sausage Spice Mix |
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TAB TIP | Herbs and spices: Spices are important in defining the type or style of sausage you are going to make. You can use them fresh or dried, just make sure they are chopped or pestled finely. Disperse them in wine or water so you don't get lumps. Adding peppercorns, sugar, white/brown honey or maple syrup, spice and salt may help you get a delicious sausage!
Now it's magic time: how to make fresh sausages step by step
Let's start cooking.
- Preparing your meat: As this is the first step, make sure you trim off all the hard bits of gristle. Cut the meat (lean and fat) into 2-4cm cubes, or larger strips are fine too. Place the mincer plate and knife in the freezer for about 30 min to cool before grinding. You can use icy water for less time.
- Preparing your equipment: Make sure all the pieces of your mincer have been thoroughly cleaned before use. Assemble your mincer as explained earlier.
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Mincing the sausage meat: Grind the meat by feeding it into the top of the mincer and turning the side handle clockwise.
TAB TIP: You can use a plastic plunger to push the meat down the hopper. Add the seasonings and ingredients to the minced meat according to your sausage recipe, and mix through quickly with clean hands. Take a small sample (tbsp) of the minced meat, form it into a patty and fry it in a pan. Taste it and, if needed, add extra seasoning.
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Stuffing the sausage into the casing: This is one of the most important steps, so please read carefully and follow our process. First, disassemble your mincer, then reassemble it using the sausage stuffing attachment configuration. Use approx. 1.5 to 2 m (1.5 to 2.5cm shirred section) of sausage casing per 1kg of sausage meat. Cut this length and slide it onto the nozzle attachment, then tie a knot in the casing at the open end. Slide the casing back to the tip of the nozzle and prick it 1-2 times with a skewer to release the initial air that will push through the nozzle once you start rotating the handle and feeding the meat into the casing. At an even pace, stuff the casing, gripping it and letting it slip through the tension of your thumb and forefinger so that it flows evenly at 85-95% of its intended full diameter. Try filling workable lengths of 60-100cm, then start again. It can help to have someone feed the meat into the hopper while you rotate the handle.
TAB TIP: If you overstuff the casing, it's simple: squeeze the last 10cm of meat out of the burst section and place it back in the feed hopper. Tie off a fresh end of casing and start filling again until all the mix is used. Try not to waste anything!
- Twisting the casing into sausages: Take the filled casing, closed at one end. Spray a bit of water on the outer casing if it seems dry to work with. If you want to make a larger sausage into several smaller sausages, pinch the casing at the desired size with your thumb and forefinger. Twist 2-3 revolutions clockwise, then repeat and pinch again 8-12cm ahead and twist in a counter-clockwise motion. Continue to the end, then tie off with a final knot.
- Time to cook or preserve in a vacuum pack: Place the sausages in the refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours before cooking so the flavour can develop, or best of all, overnight. Cook and eat within 2 days, or vacuum pack and place in the freezer to use later.
- And now, it's time to cook: This is the final step of our sausage making. Place a little water (2mm) and a few drops of oil in a cold non-stick frying pan. Cook / steam on low heat for 10-15 minutes (this helps keep the casing moist). By this point the water will have evaporated and some of the fatty juices will lubricate the pan. Rotate until fully cooked. Or place the sausages in thin foil to let the internal heat finish the job, leaving them moist and full of flavour!
And this is it! You should now be enjoying your first homemade sausage!
Congratulations! Now you are an official "sausagelicious maker".
If you make this recipe, don't forget to tag us on our socials @artisans.bottega and let us know what you think of it. We love getting in touch with our TAB family!
