Homemade Breakfast Sausage is simple to make and so much healthier than its store-bought counterpart. Freezer-friendly and preservative and gluten-free!.
Ive been all about cooking with sausage lately as evidenced by exhibit A, B, and C.
My reason is pretty simple: sausage tastes great with just about anything. Nope, no complicated thought process going on here, just pure laziness.
Glaring obvious problem with cooking with sausage 3 nights in a row. weeeelll, if Im being completely honest with myself, sausage is probably not the healthiest of choices. Ok, ok. no probably to it. Chicken and turkey are going to out rank the stuff Every. Single. Time.
Except today. You guys. It took three test batches, but I finally made my own breakfast sausage from ground turkey! Now, before you get too excited, let’s talk about what we should expect. Its good. Really really good. Buuuuuut. You will be caught if you try to sneakily switch my homemade version for the fatty pork version. Just felt I should give fair warning, not trying to ruin any Easter morning brunch action.
Sooooo, bottom line. If you want to make a dish with sausage for a special event, for company, or just because you want to, use the real thing.
This one is GREAT to put on your daily breakfast sandwich, a sausage egg breakfast casserole that you can make ahead of time, or even a sausage-based pasta dish. Its got all the flavor and WAAAAAYYY less calories and fat. Youre going to love this!.
This recipe is 1-bowl and super simple to throw together. I like to batch prep these guys because it doesn’t take any extra work to dump twice or even three times as much of something. It can be frozen in large amounts, or you can make patties ahead of time and freeze them. Follow your bliss, lol.
As someone who loves a good sausage, I often wondered if making my own at home would actually be healthier than buying pre-made sausages from the store. With all the news about processed and cured meats being linked to cancer and other health issues, it made me start to question my sausage obsession. Could I satisfy my cravings and make a healthier sausage right in my own kitchen? The answer is a resounding yes! Here’s why making your own sausage is so much better for you.
Avoid Harmful Preservatives and Additives
One of the biggest issues with store-bought sausage is all the artificial preservatives and flavor enhancers they contain. Brands load up their sausage with things like nitrates, nitrites, and sulfates which all get converted to carcinogenic nitrosamines when cooked at high heat. No bueno They also pump the sausage full of MSG, artificial flavors, tons of sodium, and other nasty additives
When you DIY your sausage, you control exactly what goes in it. I like to keep mine super simple with just ground meat, herbs, spices, and sea salt. No weird chemicals needed! By making your own, you skip out on all those health-harming preservatives that are in commercial sausages. It’s processed food versus whole food, no contest.
Use Quality Lean Meats
Another bonus of homemade sausage is getting to choose quality lean meats. Beef and pork sausage from the store often contains fatty trimmings and mystery meat bits. Making your own allows you to select exactly which lean cuts you want for the healthiest nutrition profile.
I like using 97% lean ground turkey or a 90/10 ground sirloin. Both make an excellent base for flavorful sausage that isn’t weighed down by a ton of saturated fat and calories. You can also experiment with lean game meats like bison, venison, elk, and boar which are all great in homemade sausage.
Cut Down on Sodium
We all know too much sodium is no good for your ticker. But when you check the label on store-bought sausage a single link can contain up to 600mg of sodium! That’s a quarter of your daily limit in one sausage. Yikes.
Homemade lets you control the salt content so you don’t go overboard. I merely use a dash of sea salt and let the herbs and spices do the heavy lifting for flavor. This light touch on the salt shaker cuts the sodium substantially compared to packaged versions. Your blood pressure will thank you.
Amp Up Nutrition with Veggies
In addition to less bad stuff, homemade sausage lets you pack in more good stuff too. I like mixing in shredded veggies like carrots, zucchini, and spinach into my sausage which amps up the vitamin, mineral, and fiber content. Can you imagine seeing actual vegetables in those mystery meat tubes from Jimmy Dean? I’ll pass.
Getting a serving of veggies alongside your morning protein is a easy way to up your nutrition. Other fun additions include grated apples or pears, dried cranberries, and roasted red peppers. The options are endless when you make your own.
Avoid Breadcrumbs and Fillers
Ever take a close look at the ingredient list on mass-produced sausages? You’ll probably see things like breadcrumbs, flour, oats, and other fillers used to bind the sausage. These starchy fillers just add empty calories and carbs you don’t need.
When you grind and mix the meat yourself, it naturally adheres without any filler. I’m able to keep the ingredient list clean and simple: meat, spices, and maybe a veggie or fruit. No weird binders required. This also allows you to accommodate gluten-free, paleo, or low carb diets more easily.
Save Money in the Long Run
There’s no getting around it – buying quality meats and ingredients will have a higher upfront cost than grabbing a pack of sausages off the discount shelf. However, when you break down the unit price, homemade sausage ends up being cheaper in the long run.
Those cheap mystery meat sausages equate to about $0.50-0.75 per link, not exactly budget friendly. Whereas high quality ground turkey can be found for $2-3 per pound which makes 4-6 sausages equaling under $0.50 each. The initial investment pays for itself after a few batches. Plus it tastes 100x better!
Total Control Over Flavors
Tired of the same old breakfast or Italian sausage flavors? Making it yourself lets you customize the seasoning exactly how you want it. I like getting creative with fun combos like cajun andouille or Thai red curry sausage.
You can also prepare a big batch of plain sausage meat then divide and add different spices and herbs to each for meal planning variety. The possibilities are endless when you’re the chef. Way better than the boring bland sausage from the store.
Ensure Food Safety
Food safety is nothing to mess around with when it comes to raw meat products. Unfortunately, recalls and outbreaks linked to contaminated commercial sausage happens more often than we’d like to think about. Yuck!
Making it yourself eliminates this risk as you control the whole process from start to finish. As long as you maintain proper sanitation and cook the sausage thoroughly, you can have total peace of mind about what went into the sausage and how it was handled.
Enjoy Superior Freshness and Flavor
There’s no beating the incredible flavor of homemade sausage seared up fresh. The subtle spices and herb flavors really shine compared to the salty, greasy commercial varieties. You haven’t lived until you try homemade chicken apple sausage or sweet Italian fennel sausage straight from the kitchen.
With store-bought sausage, you never really know how long it’s been sitting around. The preservatives help extend shelf life but do nothing for taste. With homemade, you can grind, cook, and enjoy your sausage all within the same day for an amazing just-made flavor.
Make Special Diet Accommodations
Many commercial sausages aren’t very diet-friendly, loaded with fat, sodium, and preservatives. Making your own allows you to cater it exactly to your nutritional needs. For low carb diets, you can omit sugar and boost fat. Vegetarians can swap in plant-based proteins like soy crumbles. The options are only limited by your imagination and dietary boundaries.
What to Keep in Mind When Making Homemade Sausage
While homemade sausage comes with some great benefits, you do need to exercise some caution when making it yourself. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Always use fresh, high-quality meats within 2 days of purchase
- Store raw sausage in the fridge for 1-2 days max
- Freeze bulk batches for longer storage up to 2-3 months
- Thaw frozen sausage overnight in the fridge before cooking
- Cook thoroughly to an internal temp of 160°F
- Don’t reuse marinades used on raw meats
- Wash hands and prep surfaces thoroughly before/after
Follow basic food safety protocols and your homemade sausage will be perfectly safe…and incredibly delicious!
The Verdict? Homemade Sausage FTW!
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How To Make Your Own Sausage
FAQ
Are homemade sausages healthier?
Is it worth making your own sausages?
What are the benefits of making your own sausage?
Is homemade sausage considered processed food?
Why should you make your own sausage?
The reason is that making your own gives you control. Control over the meat and fat, control over the seasonings, control over the grind, the size and thickness of the links, control over whether your homemade sausages are smoked or fresh. Anyone reading this who hunts or raises livestock will also want to learn how to make sausage.
Is sausage casing healthier option to eat?
Cellulose casings and some natural casings are perfectly fine to eat. Sausage casings are used to hold and shape filling inside so that it can be cooked. There are natural sausage casings and synthetic varieties, and most of them are edible. The healthiest way to cook them is by boiling or baking. Sausages provide high levels of vitamin B12 and iron, both of which are essential for healthy red blood cells and hemoglobin production.
Is sausage healthy?
Reduced saturated fat content: Healthy sausage should have less than 5 grams of sodium per serving. Also, you can find sausage that is compliant with various diets, including Whole30, keto, paleo, sugar-free, and gluten-free. As with any processed food, it’s all about reading the labels. The fewer ingredients listed, the healthier the sausage.
Can You Make your own sausage?
You can buy such sausages from a grocery store or from your neighborhood butcher, but if you have other concerns about the healthfulness of sausage, you should consider making your own. By making your own sausage at home, you can control the ingredients, spices, and fillers.