These make great patties, sausages, or crumble, with no casings needed unless you have the equipment and time. I use this sausage in pastas, on breakfast sandwiches, and in stir-fries.
Mechanic
A percentage-based spice formula: salt runs 1.5–2% of the meat’s weight, and every other ingredient scales against the meat, so it’s trivially scalable and easy to dial in. Milk powder improves binding and moisture and adds a subtle dairy richness. Cold water keeps the mix from emulsifying too far.
Ingredients
- 1–2 kg ground pork shoulder (80/20 or 70/30); pork belly also works
Spice mix (% of meat weight)
| Ingredient | % | Per 1 kg | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water, cold | 7.5% | 75 g | |
| Milk powder | 2% | 20 g | Don’t skip it |
| Salt | 1.6% | 16 g | |
| Sugar | 0.75% | 7.5 g | |
| Brown sugar | 0.63% | 6.3 g | |
| MSG | 0.5% | 5 g | |
| Black pepper | 0.4% | 4 g | Toast before grinding |
| Dried sage | 0.3% | 3 g | |
| Dried thyme | 0.3% | 3 g | |
| Garlic | 0.3% | 3 g | Crushed or minced fine |
| Coriander seed | 0.3% | 3 g | Toast before grinding |
| Fennel seed | 0.2% | 2 g | Toast before grinding |
| White pepper | 0.13% | 1.3 g |
Method
Toast the fennel, coriander, and black peppercorns in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind them in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Add the remaining spices and the milk powder and mash together until smooth; a few drops of cold water help.
In a large bowl, combine the pork, spice mix, and half the water. Mix with a pastry blender or a stand mixer with the paddle. Knead by hand 3–4 times, adding the remaining water slowly, until the mix is tacky but still soft. Work it more than just folding in, but don’t overmix.
Fry 1–2 tbsp of the mixture and taste for seasoning. Adjust.
Refrigerate at least an hour, or up to overnight.
Form into sausage shapes or patties. For sausages, roll them in parchment and refrigerate to set.
Bake unwrapped at 200°C (400°F) until lightly browned, 15–25 minutes, or pan-fry in a little oil until browned. Cook until the centre reads 68°C (155°F); the last minutes of cooking count toward the safety hold (see Food safety: time and temperature). Or leave it as bulk sausage and brown it in pieces.
Variations
Sage-forward
A punchier, less sweet mix. Per 1 kg pork: 20 g salt (2%), 6 g dried sage, 4 g black pepper, 3 g each dried parsley, dried thyme, ground coriander, and minced garlic, 2 g each red pepper flakes, ground fennel, and MSG, 40 g milk powder, and 100 g cold water. No sugar. Stir the dry ingredients into the water, then mix into the pork as above. Marjoram at 0.2–0.3% gives a softer, more floral version.
Notes
- Many restaurants make casing-less breakfast sausage to reduce costs and reuse cuts of meat. These don’t have the snap of a cased sausage, but are still quite delicious.
- Aim for a softer grind (if grinding yourself) and less fennel than a typical Italian sausage.