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Homemade beef sausage

Homemade Beef Sausage

A real delicacy—wholesome and seriously appetizing! What could be tastier than beef sausage? Only beef sausage you've made yourself! You can use pork or poultry instead of beef, or better yet combine a few kinds of meat for a richer flavor.

Pearl

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Beef

800

Pork fat (lard)

300

Pepper (a blend of ground peppers)

0.5

Garlic powder

0.5

Sausage casings

Nutmeg

Salt (half table salt, half curing/nitrite salt)

Sugar (optional)

0.25

Cognac (optional)

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 36 % 16 g

Fats 64 % 28 g

Carbohydrates 0 % 0 g

329 kcal

GI: 0 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make beef sausage at home, and what's the best meat to use? Lean beef is perfect for these sausages—pick a fresh, boneless cut. Have some fresh pork fat on hand too; it makes the finished sausage juicier and more flavorful. Rinse the meat and fat under running water and pat dry with paper towels.
Step 2:

Cut the beef into small cubes or thin slices, trimming away any sinew and membrane. Chop the fat the same way. To make this easier, pop the meat and fat in the freezer for a bit—partially frozen, they're much easier to cut.
Step 3:

Add the spices, salt, and sugar to the meat and fat. The original recipe doesn't list sugar, but I always add a pinch for a more intense flavor. You can leave out the alcohol, too—the sausages get cooked, so the cognac is optional. Choose spices to your taste, and stick to dry seasonings so the mixture doesn't turn sour while it rests in the fridge.
Step 4:

Mix everything thoroughly so each piece is evenly coated with salt and spices. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or for 6–8 hours. Then give the mixture another good mix.
Step 5:

Soak the casings in cold water for a while, then rinse them again. The amount in the recipe is approximate—it depends on the casing diameter and how tightly you pack the filling. Using a meat grinder with a stuffing attachment, fill the casings and form sausages of the length you want. I ground half the mixture on a finer plate and left the other half in larger pieces.
Step 6:

Place the sausages in a pot and cover with cold water. For aroma, I added a bay leaf and a quarter of an onion. Set the pot over heat, and as the water nears a boil, lower the flame to just below medium. The water shouldn't boil hard—just barely bubble.
Step 7:

If the water boils too vigorously, the casing can burst and the filling will spill into the water. After 5 minutes of gentle simmering, prick the casing in a few spots with a needle; this keeps it from splitting, since the sausages expand as they cook.
Step 8:

Simmer the sausages for 50–60 minutes.
Step 9:

Drain the water and let the sausage cool completely. Slice thin and serve!
Step 10:

Here's a cross-section of the sausage made with the finely ground filling.
Step 11:

And here's the one with the hand-cut filling.

Don't pack the casings too tightly with the raw filling, or they may burst during cooking. Homemade sausage makes wonderful breakfast sandwiches. Serve this beef sausage as an appetizer on the holiday table. Enjoy!
For this recipe, use fresh rather than frozen meat, or the finished sausage may come out dry.
Since everyone's tolerance for salt, sweetness, bitterness, heat, and acidity is different, always add spices and seasonings to your own taste. When trying a seasoning for the first time, remember that some are especially easy to overdo (chili pepper, for example).
If you use a store-bought spice blend, read the label first—these mixes often already contain salt, so account for that or you risk over-salting.