Spice Up Your Sausage: The Best Spices to Add to Ground Pork for Homemade Sausage

As a food blogger and avid home cook, I’m always looking for ways to add more flavor to my meals. One of my favorite tricks is to make my own sausage at home using ground pork and a blend of herbs and spices. The possibilities are endless when you make your own sausage – you can create breakfast sausages, Italian sausage, chorizo, bratwurst, and more!

When I first started experimenting with homemade sausage, I was overwhelmed by the myriad of spice combinations I found in my research. It seemed like every recipe used a different blend of spices. I realized I needed to get back to the basics and figure out which spices are essential for making flavorful sausage with ground pork.

In this article I’ll share my tips on the best spices to use when making sausage from ground pork based on lots of trial and error. I’ll also provide some recipe ideas to get you started with your own homemade sausage creations. Let’s get cooking!

Why Make Your Own Sausage?

Before diving into the spices let me quickly go over some of the benefits of making your own sausage at home

• Control the quality of the ingredients. When you make it yourself, you can ensure you are using high-quality pork and fresh spices.

• Avoid preservatives and fillers. Store-bought sausage often contains preservatives, fillers, and other additives you won’t find in homemade.

• Customize the flavors. You can tweak spice blends to match your tastes and experiment with different ingredient combinations.

• Save money. Homemade sausage costs a fraction of what you’d pay for specialty sausage at the grocery store.

• Impress your friends and family. Your homemade sausage makes for a great weekend breakfast or dinner party appetizer.

• Have fun! There’s something gratifying about making your own sausage from scratch.

Now that you know why it pays to make your own sausage, let’s talk about how to maximize flavor. It all comes down to choosing the right spices.

Best Spices for Pork Sausage

Through trial and many errors, I’ve landed on a basic blend of 5 spices that I think every pork sausage needs:

1. Black Pepper

Black pepper is a must for pork sausage. It adds a bit of heat and a peppery bite that complements the rich flavor of the pork. For breakfast sausage, use 1 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper per pound of meat. Up the amount to 1-2 tablespoons for Italian sausage or chorizo to give it some extra punch.

2. Salt

Salt is necessary for enhancing and balancing the flavor. For most sausage recipes, use 1 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt per pound of pork. Salt also helps extract moisture from the meat, which allows the spices to better penetrate.

3. Sage

Earthy, slightly bitter sage is perfect for breakfast sausage. Use about 1 teaspoon rubbed or ground sage per pound of pork. For a more intense sage flavor, go as high as 1 tablespoon.

4. Thyme

Thyme adds a woodsy, aromatic quality and pairs well with the sage in breakfast sausage. Use around 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried thyme per pound of meat.

5. Red Pepper Flakes

For spicier sausage varieties like chorizo or Italian, you need some heat. Red pepper flakes deliver a punch of heat and smoky flavor. Use 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon per pound of pork depending on your desired level of spice.

While this base group of spices is a great start, you can further customize your pork sausage blend. Here are some other spice ideas to mix and match:

• Fennel seed
• Crushed garlic or garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Paprika or smoked paprika
• Oregano or marjoram
• Coriander
• Cayenne pepper
• Nutmeg
• Cumin
• Parsley
• Bay leaves

In general, I recommend using 1-2 teaspoons of dried herbs/spices per pound of ground pork. It’s easier to add more later if needed. Let your taste preferences and the sausage style guide you.

Now let’s look at how to apply these spices to pork to make magical sausage!

Mixing the Spices with the Meat

Making great sausage is as much technique as it is ingredients. Here is my process for thoroughly incorporating spices into ground pork:

• Start with high-quality pork. I prefer to use pork shoulder for the fat content, but you can also use pork butt. Have the pork ground at the butcher or pulse chunks in a food processor until finely minced.

• Mix the dry spices together. Measure out all the spices you are using and combine them in a small bowl. This way they distribute evenly when added to the meat.

• Evenly coat the pork with the spice mix. Add the spices to the bowl of ground pork. Gently mix together by hand until the pork appears evenly coated.

• Let the sausage rest for 30 minutes. This allows time for the spices to hydrate and flavor the meat.

• Give it a final mix. After resting, do a final light mix to ensure the spices are well distributed throughout the pork before cooking.

And that’s the method! Follow it for any type of homemade sausage. Now let’s look at a few recipe ideas.

Recipes to Inspire Your Sausage Making

The possibilities are endless when making sausage with ground pork and spices. Here are a few of my favorite recipes to get you started:

Breakfast Sausage

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

This classic breakfast sausage goes great with eggs or baked into breakfast casseroles. Play with the spice amounts to suit your taste.

Italian Sausage

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 Tbsp fennel seed
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Flavorful and versatile Italian sausage that you can crumble into pasta, soups, or sautees.

Chorizo Sausage

• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 Tbsp smoked Spanish paprika
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

This spicy Mexican-style chorizo is excellent in tacos, burritos, empanadas, and more.

Bratwurst Sausage

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 Tbsp coriander
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Flavorful bratwurst sausage perfect for grilling alongside sauerkraut and mustard.

Those recipes should give you an idea of how to apply spices to pork to create your own signature sausage. The key is experimenting with different herb and spice combinations.

Hopefully this article has demystified making sausage at home. With quality pork, a good spice blend, and proper technique you can whip up batches of your favorite sausage recipes. Now go forth and spice up that sausage! Just be sure to save some for me.