1lbsboneless pork butt/shoulderthis cut is recommended for the right ratio of lean meat to fat
12tbspchopped fresh sage
1tbspchopped fresh thyme
1.5tbspsea salt
1tspground ginger
¼tsp white pepperfreshly ground
¼tspblack pepperfreshly ground
1tsp garlicminced fresh
⅛tspnutmegground
1 .5tbsphoneyraw
Instructions
Chill the meat in the refrigerator while you assemble the spice mixture.
In a bowl combine the salt, sage, thyme, ginger, white and black pepper, garlic and nutmeg.
Remove the ground meat from the fridge and place it on the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the spice mixture. Mix it with the paddle for 3-4 minutes until threads begin to appear in the meat (if you take a clump of meat and pull it apart with your fingers you will see tiny threads pulling apart).
Cook the sausages by heating up some oil in a frying pan and frying the sausages on each side for about 3 minutes until browned and done in the middle (internal temperature of 155 degrees F).
OR you can poach the sausages (do not boil) in lightly salted water until their internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F, then let them cool in ice water, wrap them and store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
*It is essential to keep the meat sufficiently cold throughout the process so that proper definition between the lean meat and fat is visible, otherwise if the fat is mashed and smeared in the meat the sausages won't have a good texture (if this happens use the ground sausage for cooking as you would ground Italian sausage). Keeping the meat properly chilled will also prevent bacteria growth.
* If you prefer, you can skip the sausage-stuffing process and simply form the mixture into patties and fry them. (Feel free to half or quarter the recipe if not making it in bulk.)