A friend who spent time in America was pining for the Italian sausage you can get over there but can’t find here in the UK. This is the recipe I’ve come up with that replicates this missing sausage. You can reduce the heat or increase it as required. The mix can be made in advance and stored. The quantities below should do about 3 pounds of pork mince. This can be frozen in patties and used later. Fried or grilled and added to pretty much any pasta dish. You can also add fresh garlic if you prefer.
3 pounds minced pork
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/4 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder [ or the equivalent of fresh garlic ]
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon minced dried onion
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika [ either hot or sweet depending on preference]
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes [ aleppo pepper or red bell pepper flakes ]
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon mixed italian herbs
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon thyme
For a spicy version add chilli flakes or cayenne as required.
I blitz all of the dry ingredients in a mini processor then add them to the pork.
For every pound of pork you need 1 tbsp of red wine or white wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons of the dry mix.
Using your hands, massage the spices into the meat, cover and leave in the fridge for at least an hour. Form into patties and fry or grill.
This can also be frozen for later use.
If you can’t find minced pork you can make your own using belly pork. You may need to remove a bit of the fat if you use this, or use half belly pork and half pork steaks.
Using half pork to beef this is also good to use for the minced beef roulade below.
Also works well using chicken or turkey mince.
mortsmorsels 