Easy Homemade Sausage

Not only are home cured meats less expensive they are very easy to make. You control the quality of the ingredients and can adjust the seasonings to your own tastes as well. The two basic methods for curing are brining which uses a salt solution and dry curing that uses a mixture of curing salt and sugar. Both methods usually include using spices as well (eg. corned beef) but some like peameal bacon do not. and sausage. Sausage can be uncured (fresh, eg. chicken sausage) or cured and unsmoked or smoked. Fresh sausage must be refrigerated and cooked thoroughly before eating. Cured sausage can be either cooked (usually smoked) or dried. The basic method for curing sausage is to mix the cure ingredients and spices well with the ground meat then wrap tightly in foil or stuff into casings, refrigerate for a short period of time then oven cook, hang to dry or smoke.

Oven Cooking

This easy homemade beef sausage is wrapped in foil and refrigerated for curing then it is cooked. It is important to make sure the sausage is wrapped tightly for the curing process. Shown here is one sausage roll during the cooking process. To cook, place the roll(s) on a lined baking sheet as there will be some leakage. This is normal but will make a baked on mess if the baking sheet is not lined. The easiest liner to make is a shallow tin foil box as the foil will hold the up turned sides nicely. To make the box, fold each long side by about and inch then open so they rise from the sheet. Repeat with the two narrow ends. Pinch the corners together tightly. This will keep your baking sheet clean while keeping the liquid contained.

Easy Homemade Sausage

Pictured is the easy to make homemade beef based sausge I finished yesterday. The curing period is 24 hours. There is no filler in the sausage so the beef flavour shines through and while very similar to salami is not as spicy. The texture is firm for easy slicing. This tasty sausage is perfect for snacking or using as an appetizer. It pairs nicely with cheeses and mustards. I prefer making the roll about 2½ inch diameter for pairing with cheese and crackers however the roll can be made in a larger diameter for sandwiches.

Easy Homemade Sausage
Notes: The ingredients are for one pound of sausage. Multiply as needed for the quantity of beef being used. The sausage can be vacuum sealed then froze for up to 6 months.

1 lb lean ground beef
1½ tsp Morton's Tender Quick
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp liquid smoke
½ tsp mustard seed
½ tsp garlic onion seasoning mix
1½ tbsp water

Measure the ingredients into a mixing bowl. Mix well with your hands. Form into a roll about 2½ inch in diameter. Place on a sheet of tin foil. Form foil into a tight pocket by folding long edge together tightly until it reaches the top of the meat roll. Twist ends tightly. Refrigerate the roll for 24 hours. Pre-heat oven to 300ºF (150ºC). Place the roll onto a lined baking pan. Cook for 2 hours. Cool.