Being an American, I love my pork sausage, and was dismayed to find that I can't get it in Australia (where I've lived since 1999). They make lots of sausages, but nothing like what I was looking for. So I learned to make my own (with the help of my American expatriate best friend, heh).

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it. It's nice and lean and worth trying it even if you can get sage sausage in the store. Note that you need to use good-quality pork, and not the pre-made "sausage" pork mix that some places sell. You may need to go to a butcher to get minced/ground pork, but it's worth the trouble.

2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons salt (I use seasoned salt)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 pinch ground cloves (also optional, but a nice addition)
1 kilo (2 lbs.) pork mince (ground pork)

In a small bowl, combine sage, salt, pepper, marjoram, brown sugar, crushed red pepper, and cloves. Mix well.

Put the pork in a large bowl and add the mixed spiced to it, a little at a time, mixing well (preferably with your hands, so take off your rings and make sure your nails are clean, and use room-temperature pork or it can be pretty uncomfortable on the fingers when the meat is really cold).

Allow to stand for at least 5 minutes, but longer is probably better (I sometimes mix it up the night before and let it stand in the fridge overnight, covered with plastic wrap).

To make sausage patties, heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet and cook the patties over medium high heat for about 5 minutes per side. The trick is to get the outside brown and slightly crispy, while the inside is only just cooked. Don't make the patties too thick or the insides don't get cooked properly (rare pork just isn't something you probably want to try ).

This can also be used in other dishes such as stuffing (Yes, I make turkey stuffing with pork sausage; one day perhaps I'll write down the ingredients and post the recipe, heh), that American traditional meal of "biscuits and gravy" or sausage gravy on toast, meat loaf, etc.

Since this makes quite a lot, it's not a bad idea to plan to freeze half of it for later use, unless you have a lot of people eating or you're very big eaters...

(0)