Fennel Sausage Recipe | Traditional Italian Sausage
This fennel sausage recipe is a spicy homemade Italian sausage that brings bold flavor to every bite. Whether you stuff it into casings, shape it into patties, or crumble it into pasta sauce, making fennel sausage from scratch gives you the rich flavor that store bought sausage rarely delivers.
Pork and fennel are the perfect pair
As a very young woman, I was engaged to a butcher — and we spent a lot of time cooking together. One of the things we loved to make was homemade sausage. Lately, I’ve been recreating many of the recipes we made together to bring them back to my table again.
This traditional fennel sausage recipe was always our favorite, and I’ve finally gotten the recipe just right — exactly the way I remember it. The richness of the pork balances perfectly with the sharp, slightly sweet flavor of fennel seed and the heat of crushed red pepper flakes.
If you enjoy making sausage from scratch, you should also try my easy sweet Italian sausage, hot Italian sausage, and homemade Irish breakfast sausage recipes too.
This fennel sausage recipe is incredibly versatile once it’s made. Use it to make a homemade breakfast grilled cheese sandwich, simmer it into a pot of classic sausage pepper soup, or brown it up for skillet Italian sausage dip when you need an easy appetizer or game day recipe.
Recipe ingredients
- Ground pork: Choose ground pork with a good amount of fat content. Traditional Italian fennel sausage relies on that fat for proper flavor and texture, and overly lean pork will make the sausage taste flat and dry.
- Fennel seed: Use whole fennel seed and coarsely crush it yourself instead of buying pre-ground fennel. Freshly crushed fennel gives the sausage a stronger aroma and more pronounced fennel flavor throughout the meat.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: Standard crushed red pepper flakes give this sausage it’s traditional spicy heat. If you are sensitive to heat, start slightly lighter the first time you make it.
- Dry white wine: Use a dry white wine instead of sweet cooking wine. Even in the small amount used here, the wine helps distribute the seasonings through the sausage mixture while adding the subtle sharp flavor note that is characteristic of traditional Italian sausage.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make fennel sausage
Step 1: Place the ground pork along with all of the other ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Spread the seasonings and white wine evenly over the meat before mixing to help everything blend consistently throughout the sausage.
Step 2: Attach the beater blade and mix the sausage on low speed for 5 minutes, or until everything is fully blended together. The steady mixing helps distribute the seasoning through the pork so every portion of sausage has consistent flavor.
Step 3: Transfer the sausage to a covered container and refrigerate it for at least 8 hours before cooking. This resting time allows the seasonings to fully work their way through the pork for a more balanced sausage flavor.
Step 4: Use the sausage loose for recipes like pasta sauce, soups, dips, or pizza toppings, or form it into patties or sausage links depending on how you plan to cook and serve it.
Step 5: If freezing loose sausage, transfer it directly into freezer safe containers or bags. For patties or links, place them in a single layer on a silicone lined baking sheet and freeze them individually, then transfer them to a freezer safe container for long term storage. This prevents them from sticking together in the freezer.
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Top tips
- Toast the fennel seed before crushing it: Briefly toasting the fennel seed in a dry skillet for a minute or two wakes up the oils in the seed and gives the sausage a deeper fennel flavor without changing the traditional profile of the recipe.
- Cook a small test piece before forming all of the sausage: Brown a small portion of the sausage mixture in a skillet first so you can check the salt, fennel, and heat level before shaping patties or links.
- Keep the pork cold while working: Cold meat handles better during sausage making and helps the mixture stay easier to work with when shaping.
- Use damp hands when forming patties or links: Slightly damp hands keep the sausage mixture from sticking to your fingers and helps you shape smoother patties and tighter sausage links.
- Do not overcrowd the skillet when cooking: Leave space between the sausage while browning so the pork develops proper color instead of steaming in it’s own moisture.
Other recipes you’ll love
If you loved this homemade sausage recipe, give these other great recipes a try too!
BBQ Chicken Leg Quarters Recipe
Spicy Grilled Chicken Recipe
Old-Fashioned Baked Chicken
Fennel Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dry white wine
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
Instructions
- Place the ground pork along with the other ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Mix on low speed with the beater blade for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the sausage mixture to a covered container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
- Use the sausage loose, or form it into patties or sausage links.
- To freeze, store loose sausage in freezer safe containers or freeze patties or links in a single layer on a silicone lined baking sheet before transferring to a freezer safe container.
Notes
- Test the seasoning: Cook a small piece of sausage in a skillet before forming the full batch so you can adjust the salt or heat level if needed.
- Shape evenly: Keep patties or sausage links close to the same size so they cook more evenly.
- Keep the sausage cold: A cold sausage mixture is easier to shape into patties or links and holds together better while working with it.
- Freeze properly: Freeze patties or links in a single layer first to keep them from sticking together in storage.
- Store safely: Keep the sausage refrigerated and cook or freeze it within 1 to 2 days for best quality.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
