Lamb, Rosemary, and Red Wine Sausage

Prep: 2 hrs

Cook: 0 mins

Total: 2 hrs

Servings: 12 servings

Yield: 12 sausages

Homemade sausages are a lot easier to make than you might think. It’s a productive and satisfying activity with delicious results. The sausage will taste great and you’ll know exactly what kind of meat is in them. Almost any kind of meat can be used for sausage-making, as long as you have the necessary amount of fat added in. In this recipe, you mix in additional lamb fat, instead of the more usual pork fat, which is combined with garlic and rosemary and red wine. If you cannot find lamb fat, just use pork fat. You don’t have stuff this sausage into cases, but you can form the sausage into patties and wrap them in plastic wrap for when you’re ready to cook them.

Note the timing of this recipe. The meat mixture needs to sit for 4 to 6 hours or overnight and the bowl needs to be refrigerated for 2 hours, so plan accordingly.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 pounds fatty lamb shoulder

• 1/2 pound lamb fat, or pork fat

• 1/4 cup fresh rosemary needles, chopped

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 cup red wine, chilled

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Cut the lamb shoulder and fat into small pieces that will easily fit into your meat grinder, removing any sinew from the meat as you go.

3. In a large bowl combine the meat and fat with the rosemary, salt, garlic, and pepper. Stir to mix. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

4. Before grinding, place the bowl from your stand mixer and meat grinder in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

5. Remove the meat mixture, bowl, meat grinder, and wine from the refrigerator. Using the finest grind on your grinder, grind the meat mixture into the chilled bowl.

6. Alternate pushing the pieces of fat and meat through the grinder to ensure that the fat doesn't stick inside.

7. Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, mix the ground meat on low speed, adding the cold red wine. The mixture will come together in about 2 minutes and be sticky.

8. Take about 1 tablespoon and form a small patty. Fry it in a skillet. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt if desired. If you plan on stuffing the sausage into casings, refrigerate it for 2 hours.

9. Otherwise, you can simply shape and wrap the sausages in plastic wrap for later use. If you're stuffing the sausages, proceed to the next step.

10. While the sausage meat is chilling, soak the casings in warm water for 1 hour.

11. Rinse the casings in cold water, then run water through them, by slipping one end of the casing over the tap and gently turn on the water to let it flow through the casing.

12. Place the casings in a fine-mesh sieve to drain. You want them to be moist when you fill them.

13. Attach the sausage stuffer to the grinder, and push the damp sausage casing over the tube until about 4 inches is hanging from the end and tie a knot in this piece. (If it's your first time at making sausage, ask a friend to help you with this step.)

14. Add the chilled mixture to the grinder on low speed, and slowly stuff the sausage casings, trying to minimize the air pockets in the casings. As the sausage enters the casing, it should slowly slide off the tube.

15. Once all the mixture is used up, ease any remaining casing off the tube.

16. Roll the sausage on a damp surface to distribute the filling as evenly as possible, then form the sausage into links by twisting the casings at 6-inch intervals.

17. Twist each link in the opposite direction to prevent them from unwinding.

18. Cover the sausages, and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze them.

19. Enjoy!