Making Healthy Italian Sausage Without the Casing

Have you ever wished you had a sausage making machine and the know how to make a healthier sausage than what you get at the market, which is usually around 25-30% fat? Well, here is a way that you can do it. I have made sausage as a hobby for years, at home and abroad, with and without my Hobart and casings.

Low Fat   Spicy Italian Sausage Recipe

• 2 ½ lbs of chicken thighs boned with skin and fat removed and cut into 1 in chunks
• 2 ½ lbs of lean pork (use the “pork shoulder “tri tip” cut. It has very little fat on the outside that must be trimmed off)
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp of anise seed
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicier)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp of white or black pepper
• 1/2 cup of white wine optional 

Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate the mixture for about 30 minutes or more (or overnight, if you prefer and have the time. The longer it has for the flavors to blend, the better the sausage.)

Line a"makisu" (bamboo sushi mat) with plastic, and put a handful of the sausage mixture on the plastic covering the makisu.

 Wrap the sausage in the plastic, and roll the mat the same way you would make a California roll using the plastic. Make sure to seal (fold in) the ends so that the sausage does not come out.

 Place the sausage links in hot (almost boiling water) on a pan on your stove. Poach the sausage in the hot water for about 10 minutes, turning once or twice to make sure they are cooked thoroughly.

 To brown them, put the sausages in a skillet with a little olive oil, turning on all sides until brown.
Each them as you would eat any Italian sausage, but with the assurance that they are healthier (much lower in fat) than any sausage of its kind in the market! 




Serving Suggestion: The Dukanini! (Breadless Panini)

The "Dukanini" enjoys all of the pleasures of a panini, but in true Dukan form, completely avoids the refined carbohydrates of bread and high fat content of market-grade sausage. Making your own sausage allows you to eat healthier and still savor those flavors typically associated with high fat, high carb foods.

 In the picture above, this Dukanini starts off with a couple of tablespoons of spicy homemade pasta sauce (see lasagna recipe), grilled onions (which use only 1 tbsp of olive oil for three onions), and spicy mustard on the side (totally optional, since the sauce alone is enough to send this sausage flying through your taste buds!)