With a meat grinder and a little patience, you can make yourself the BEST fennel sausage ever. This homemade sweet Italian sausage is half pork and half chicken. It's a leaner option but doesn't require extra oil to cook it! You won't regret taking the time to try this Italian fennel sausage recipe using a meat grinder. If you have nothing to do this weekend, consider making this artisanal homemade sausage!
Do you own a meat grinder and want to learn to make your own sausage? This homemade Italian sausage recipe is AWESOME; there's pretty much no end to the dishes you could make with these! Spend a little time now and enjoy the homemade fennel sausage goodness when life gets busy.
Jump to:
- 💰 What's the cost of making your own sausage?
- 🌭 Fennel Sausage vs Italian Sausage
- 📋 Calories, Net Carbs, Protein
- ⭐ Benefits
- 🥘 Ingredients
- 🧂️ How to Season Italian Sausage
- 🍽 Equipment
- 🔪 How to Make Italian Fennel Sausage
- 👨🍳 How to Stuff Sausage with a Grinder
- ❌ Avoid this Mistake
- 😢 What to Do if Your Casings Break
- 🥨 How to Tie Sausage Links
- ️⏲ Cooking Time and Temperature
- ️🌡️ Leftovers
- 🐖 Recipes with Pork Sausage Meat
- 💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian
- FAQs
- 👩🏻🍳 Other Recipes to Make with a Meat Grinder
- The Disclaimer…
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
💰 What's the cost of making your own sausage?
The main costs to discuss with this or any slow food recipe are money and time. Ultimately, you may end up saving on food when you make your own.
Pork prices seem to be up in my area right now. Using half pork and half chicken in this homemade sausage not only lightens things up, it also saves money!
The biggest upfront expense in making your own sausage is going to be the meat grinder, if you don't already have one. A major shortcut you can take is to season store-bought ground meat with sausage seasonings. That’s what I used to do before I had the grinder, as I talked about in the post on cooking pork sausage.
The benefit of the grinder is that you can use cuts of meat and poultry that are not typically sold ground. Also, you can make sausage links with casings if your grinder has a sausage stuffer attachment.
There are only three main steps that will take you from whole cuts of meat to sausage links:
- Make the seasoned pork mixture
- Grind pork in the meat grinder
- Stuff the forcemeat (the meat mixture) into sausage casings
It’s simple, but even the speediest sausage maker will need a couple hours to fill the freezer with homemade Italian fennel sausage. Please recognize the time commitment involved if you want to try sausage making. I recommend setting aside a few hours on a weekend (or another non-work day) when you do not feel rushed.
Making slow food is always the most enjoyable when things feel relaxed. You don't want this to turn into one more thing on the to-do list. Have fun with it!
🌭 Fennel Sausage vs Italian Sausage
What is fennel sausage? Fennel sausages are simply a type of sausage made with fennel seeds. “Italian sausages” sold in the United States usually contain fennel seed. Authentic Italian sausages (i.e., sausages from Italy) may or may not contain fennel seed in the sausage.
📋 Calories, Net Carbs, Protein
One serving of Italian pork sausages has 185 calories, 0.7 grams net carbs, and 17.7 grams protein. Nutrition information is for a 4-ounce (113 gram) serving of the sausage and does not include the sausage casing.
⭐ Benefits
Why make this garlic fennel sausage recipe? I covered some reasons above (such as cost savings). Here are some nutrition benefits of this recipe:
- Keto and low carb: You get a serving of this sausage for under 1 gram of net carbs. Additionally, the combo of chicken and pork (with no added fat) makes a lower fat, high protein sausage. If you’re using a very low carb diet for weight loss, you may appreciate that this is a lower calorie sausage.
- Gluten free, Paleo, Whole30: This fennel sausage is gluten free, dairy free, soy free, and fits Paleo and Whole 30 plans. People on a variety of special diets can enjoy this homemade sausage.
- Essential nutrients: Both pork and chicken are a rich source of B-complex vitamins, as well as high-quality protein. You can also get certain B vitamins from grains. However, grains don’t naturally provide vitamin B12 or some of the highly bioavailable forms of minerals you get in meat.
- Not ultra-processed: Sausages are usually grouped among ultra-processed foods we should try to limit. However, these raw homemade sausages, made with fresh ground meat and seasonings, are minimally processed. They don’t count as an ultra-processed food.
- Delicious and versatile: Meat grinder fennel sausage is a wholesome food that I think most would agree tastes really good! (And any nourishing food worth mentioning should taste good IMVHO!) It’s a tasty way to give a flavor and protein boost to a variety of meals.
🥘 Ingredients
What is fennel sausage made of? There tends to be some variation between Italian sausage recipes, as everyone has their preferred way to make it. Here’s what you’ll need to make this sausage recipe:
- Pork shoulder or Boston butt (AKA pork butt)
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Red wine vinegar
- Fresh herbs, dried herbs, spices
- Hog casings
Learn about the sausage seasonings we’re using in the next section. One thing you’ll notice is not on this list is added fat.
Most recipes for Italian sausages use ground pork belly, fatback, bacon, or pork rashers. I found that with the fatty pork shoulder, the sausages really didn’t need additional fat.
If you have a favorite brand of sausage casing that works well with your sausage funnels, feel free to use it. I use these natural hog casings. They work well with my largest sausage funnel to make big Italian sausage links.
By the way, these casings don’t initially look like they’ll make big sausages. Through trial-and-error, testing them with the medium and small sausage funnels, I figured out they’re meant for big links. That’s the perfect size for fennel sausages, IMO.
Some other advantages of the casings I use are that they don’t tear easily and they store well. Packed in a container of salt in the fridge, they’re ready for sausage making whenever I am.
🧂️ How to Season Italian Sausage
Everyone seems to have a different opinion when it comes to the best Italian sausage seasoning. Here’s the herb and spice blend I use for seasoning Italian sausage:
- Ground fennel seeds
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh garlic
- Onion powder
- Dried basil
- Dried oregano
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Dried sage
- Sweet paprika
- Salt and black pepper
You can try swapping out some of fresh herbs for dried, and vice versa. For instance, consider using fresh sage in place of the dried sage. In general, you can substitute 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs for every teaspoon of dried herbs.
For salt, I use finely ground sea salt. You’re welcome to use 1 tablespoon of Morton kosher salt or 2 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal salt instead.
🍽 Equipment
The most important piece of kitchen equipment that you need is a meat grinder. I use the Cabela’s Pro Series DC meat grinder and I love it. I really think it is the best meat grinder you can get for the price!
It comes with a coarse and fine grinding plate, as well as multiple sausage funnels. It grinds meat fast, is easy to clean, sturdy, and easy to use. I’ve owned it for over a year, and am being completely honest when I say I have no complaints!
I use large kitchen shears for this recipe to cut the meats. If you have a meat cleaver and good knife skills, that works too. A mortar and pestle is nice for grinding the fennel seeds if they need to be ground.
You’ll need some kitchen twine if you’ll be using twine to tie off the sausages. An alternative is to simply tie knots in the casing.
One more thing you’ll need (since this recipe makes a lot of sausage) is a way to wrap the sausages for freezing. I use a vacuum sealer with food-safe vacuum sealer bags. An alternative to vacuum sealing is to use regular plastic freezer bags and plastic wrap.
🔪 How to Make Italian Fennel Sausage
Let’s learn how to make Italian fennel sausages! Start by prepping your ingredients. Crush the fennel seeds and cut the pork and chicken into 1-inch (2.54-cm) cubes or smaller (1).
Cutting the meat and poultry is probably the most time-consuming part of this recipe. However, it’s important to get the meat pieces small so they don’t jam your meat grinder.
After the meat is cut, mix it together with the red wine vinegar and seasonings (2). Put the mixture in the fridge. It will grind easiest if kept at 38-40 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3-4.4C), i.e., almost frozen.
Set up your meat grinder with a coarse grinding plate. Grind all of the seasoned chicken and pork (3). Then, send the ground fennel sausage mixture through the grinder a second time (4).
This ground sausage mixture can be shaped into patties. If you’ll be making links, put the ground meat back in the fridge while you set up the meat grinder for sausage stuffing.
👨🍳 How to Stuff Sausage with a Grinder
Thoroughly clean your meat grinder thoroughly and set it up for stuffing sausage. I used the largest stuffing funnel for these. Rubbing the outside of the stuffing funnel with a little olive oil can help the casing slide on easier.
Remove your hog casings from their packaging and rinse them in cool water. Prepare them for filling as directed on the packaging. The ones I use need to be soaked in cool water for 15 minutes and then untangled and cut into 2-foot (0.6 m) lengths (5).
Open one end of each casing and let cool water (from the faucet) run through the entire length. Let water run through each casing three times, and only rinse the insides of the casings you plan to use. After rinsing, tie a knot in one end of each casing and set them near the grinder on a paper towel.
To stuff fennel sausages, slide a prepared casing over the end of the stuffing funnel. I was able to get the casing to fit by gathering it like I would gather pantyhose I was about to stick my toes into, and then sliding it onto the funnel. My grinder recommends leaving 2 inches (5 cm) of casing overhanging the end of the stuffing funnel, but the directions for your grinder may vary.
Very slowly start sending the ground sausage mixture through the meat grinder (use the sausage stuffing setting). One hand uses the stomper to push the mixture into the grinder while your other hand helps guide the casing as it fills (6).
After you finish filling one casing, slide a new casing onto the machine and continue the filling process. I did not clean out the machine until after all of the sausage mixture was used.
❌ Avoid this Mistake
Don’t take your hands off of the fennel sausage links during the stuffing process! If you do, you may end up with broken casings.
You do really need both hands to make sausage links. One uses the tamper to push more ground meat into the machine. Meanwhile, the other hand helps guide the casing as it fills. Get a helper if you need an extra hand!
😢 What to Do if Your Casings Break
Having your casings break while making sausage is an easy thing to fix, but it can be an inconvenience. First, cut open the broken casing, remove the filling, and discard the casing. Second, put the sausage filling back into the meat grinder to fill a new casing.
That's all you need to do to fix the problem. However, it's a waste of casings if the issue happens repeatedly, and it can be a bit of an annoyance.
🥨 How to Tie Sausage Links
After filling a casing, you can make small links by tying off the casing frequently with kitchen twine. Start tying at the closed end of the casing, making sure there is room for the filling to extend to the open end so the casing does not break. Tie off the open end of the casing last.
You could also simply pinch and make a twist between your Italian sausage links instead of tying them off. If there is enough slack in the casings, you could twist and tie the hog casings. Beware the risk of casings breaking if there isn’t enough room for the filling to shift as you tie each link.
️⏲ Cooking Time and Temperature
How to cook Italian fennel sausage? Italian fennel sausage patties can be pan fried for several minutes on each side. Homemade Italian fennel sausage links can be roasted in an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200C) for 25-30 minutes. Flip them halfway through baking time.
Since these are Italian sausages with chicken, they should be cooked to a minimum safe internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74C). It’s important not to overcook them, as they will dry out on you. My favorite way to use them is in recipes that use a sauce or other liquid to help keep them moist.
️🌡️ Leftovers
These homemade Italian fennel sausages are preservative free, and won’t last as long in the refrigerator as sausages from the store. Any sausages that you are not planning to cook within 24 hours should be double-wrapped in plastic and frozen. If you have a vacuum sealer for food, you can use that for your sausages as an alternative to double-wrapping.
🐖 Recipes with Pork Sausage Meat
Need recipes to use homemade sweet Italian sausage? There are so many ways to use leftover Italian fennel sausage! Here are a few of my favorite recipes using pork sausage meat for you:
- Lasagne con Zucchine (Lasagna with Zucchini)
- One-Pot Sausage and Bean Soup
- Air Fryer Sausage and Peppers
- Crustless Keto Mini Quiche (Low Carb Keto Frittata)
- Air Fryer Stuffed Mushrooms
You can also use Italian sausage in pasta dishes, as well as lentil and bean stews. In addition, fennel sausage is great as a pizza topping, or serve it up over polenta or mashed potatoes.
💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian
This is a level 2 recipe (transition or weight maintenance). Is fennel sausage healthy? These mild fennel sausages are a fresh, seasoned meat adapted from Mediterranean cuisine. I consider them another tasty and nutrient-rich addition to a health-promoting diet of whole foods.
This recipe makes approximately 4 pounds, 4.5 ounces (1.9 kg) of Italian fennel sausage. That means you get about 17 4-ounce (113 g) servings. Sausage generally isn't a lean protein option. However, using chicken in place of some of the fatty pork shoulder here makes this a lighter sausage than most.
Keeping some of the pork means that you should not need to add oil later when you cook the sausage. Additionally, your family may not even be able to tell that there is some chicken in there!
People generally don’t eat Italian sausages by themselves. How low calorie or high calorie your sausage meal will be ultimately depends on what else you’re eating! Here are a few (likely) low calorie ways to enjoy pork fennel sausage:
- As part of a broth-based soup
- Cooked, sliced, and used on a salad with low-calorie dressing
- As sausage and peppers served over spaghetti squash or zoodles
And here are a few (likely) high calorie ways to enjoy pork fennel sausage:
- As part of a cream or cheese-based soup
- With a big plate of sauced pasta
- As sausage and peppers served in hoagie rolls
All the options sound so good, don’t they? Buon appetito!
FAQs
Fennel Italian sausages sold in U.S. stores are hot (spicy), sweet, or mild (not spicy). Spicy fennel sausage (labeled “hot”) includes red pepper flakes. Sweet Italian sausage typically includes sweet basil in the ingredients. Though this recipe for fennel sausage includes some hot red pepper flakes, it’s really a sweet and mild fennel sausage.
You can find fresh fennel sausage at most major supermarkets and butcher shops in the U.S. You can also find raw Italian fennel sausage on Amazon. Alternatively, try these fully cooked and sugar free pork Italian sausages from U.S. Wellness Meats.
Italian fennel sausage recipes are typically made with ground pork, and thus are not vegetarian. Field Roast offers a wheat gluten based vegan fennel sausage, for those looking for a plant based alternative.
Fennel gives sausage an anise-like flavor, that some liken to a mild version of black licorice. (That said, I intensely dislike black licorice, but I really love fennel sausage.)
Perhaps no surprises here, but we call it “Italian sausage” because it comes from Italy! BTW, in Italy, sausages are called salsiccia.
In the U.S., what we call “Italian sausage” typically uses fennel. In Italy, however, sausage seasonings vary by region and may or may not include fennel. Sicilian sausage often has fennel seeds. An example of an authentic Italian sausage from Italy with no fennel (usually) is luganega (AKA luganica).
👩🏻🍳 Other Recipes to Make with a Meat Grinder
Looking for sausage filling recipes? After you make this fennel Italian sausage, check these out:
- Homemade Sausage with Chicken, Feta, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes (a nice breakfast sausage)
- Chicken Bratwurst with Pork
- Chorizo Recipe (Fresh, Homemade Mexican Chorizo Sausage!)
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The Disclaimer…
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don't sweat the numbers too much.
For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to my overnight oats no sugar post. Let's get cooking!
📖 Recipe
Homemade Italian Fennel Sausage Recipe (Meat Grinder)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork butt or pork shoulder (907 grams)
- 2 lbs chicken thighs (907 grams;boneless and skinless)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- ½ tablespoon dried basil
- ½ tablespoon dried oregano
- 1½ tablespoons fennel seeds, ground (they can be crushed with a mortar and pestle)
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 package hog casings
Instructions
- Keep your ingredients at 38-40°F/3.3-4.4°C (almost frozen) for easier cutting and grinding. Cut the pork and chicken into 1-inch/2.54-cm cubes (or smaller).
- In a large bowl, place all ingredients except for the hog casings. Stir to combine. Refrigerate this mixture while you set up your meat grinder.
- Using a meat grinder, coarsely grind the mixture. Send the mixture through the grinder slowly, so that you do not create a jam.
- After sending all of the sausage mixture through the grinder once, grind it using the coarse grind plate a second time.
- You can shape the mixture into sausage patties at this point if you would like. If you would rather have links in casings, refrigerate the sausage mixture while you do the next steps.
- Clean your meat grinder thoroughly and set it up for stuffing sausage. I needed to use the largest stuffing funnel for the hog casings. Rubbing the outside of the stuffing funnel with a little oil can help the casing slide on easier.
- Remove your hog casings from their packaging and rinse them in cool water. Prepare them for filling as directed on the packaging. For the ones I am using, I had to soak them in cool water for 15 minutes and then untangle a few and cut them into 2-foot (0.6 m) lengths. Then I opened one end of each casing I was using and let cool water (from the faucet) run through the entire length. I let water run through each casing I was using three times, and I only rinsed the insides of the casings I was planning to use. After rinsing, I tied a knot in one end of each casing and set them near the grinder on a paper towel.
- When you are ready to stuff sausages, slide a casing over the end of the stuffing funnel. I was able to get the casing to fit by gathering it like I would gather pantyhose I was about to stick my toes into, and then sliding it onto the funnel. My grinder recommends leaving 2 inches (5 cm) of casing overhanging the end of the stuffing funnel, but the directions for your grinder may vary.
- Very slowly start sending your ground sausage mixture through your meat grinder. One hand can use the stomper to push the mixture into the grinder while your other hand can help guide the casing as it fills.
- After filling a casing, you can make small links by tying off the casing frequently with kitchen twine. Start tying at the closed end of the casing, making sure there is room for the filling to extend to the open end so the casing does not break. Tie off the open end of the casing last.
- After you finish filling one casing, tie a new casing onto the machine and continued the filling process. I did not clean out the machine each time I had finished filling a casing.
- Once all of the sausage mixture is used, turn off and unplug your meat grinder. I recommend cleaning out your grinder immediately. I was able to salvage an additional 9 ounces (255 g) of sausage mixture that was stuck to various parts inside the machine. You can press these leftovers into patties, pan fry them, and enjoy them right away. (Yay, snack time!)
- Your homemade sausages will not stay fresh as long as the cured sausage you buy in the store. Any sausages that you are not planning to cook within 24 hours should be double-wrapped in plastic and frozen. If you have a vacuum sealer for food, you can use that for your sausages as an alternative to double-wrapping.
- Follow the directions on your casing packaging to store the casings that you did not use. For the brand I purchased, I dried the unused casings (the ones where I did not rinse the interiors), repacked them in salt, and stored them in the fridge where they will wait until my next sausage-making adventure.
- Note: Don't miss the updated Italian Fennel Sausage recipe video here! It is far more detailed than the video below!
Video
Notes
- As part of a broth-based soup
- Cooked, sliced, and used on a salad with low-calorie dressing
- As sausage and peppers served over spaghetti squash or zoodles
- As part of a cream or cheese-based soup
- With a big plate of pasta and tomato sauce
- As sausage and peppers served in hoagie rolls
Nutrition
This recipe has been updated from 2020 to include new photos, a new recipe video, and more nutrition information. Enjoy!
Terrified Amateur says
Summer, yours must be the happiest freezer in the world, filled as it is with the most extraordinary wonders. Seriously, who among still takes the time to make sausage? You do, for one, thus inspiring a splendid example for others to follow. Just maybe...
It's not just the sausage either. From breakfast parfaits, to soups, to any one of two-or-three-thousand other creations, the sheer quantity must overwhelm. Not long before realization of the exquisite quality involved would blow the mind.
Enough to keep a small army well-fed and deliriously happy, what, for months?
No help filming the sausage, huh? Well, he also walked away from the chance to help stock the freezer later. There you were, occupying the only cool spot for half a mile, trying to decide how best to store the links. Filling the ice-pantry is refreshing work.
Summer Yule says
Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my house who is really into food. I noticed that someone shared this one on their social media saying something like this would be a great project for the boys. Maybe in other households, but not apparently over here! Hahaha I think the casings can make folks a little squeamish if they aren't accustomed to this whole process.
That said, at least my family likes to eat! I have far too much to enjoy all by myself. I'd love to try bratwurst next. I might take that project up in time for Oktoberfest 🙂