I want to make myself an Italian sausage sandwich like they have at street fairs and the like. As a kosher-observant Jew, I can’t buy them there, but they smell soooo good. I have a box of kosher sausages that claim to be “Sweet Italian” (I make no claims for how authentic they might be), and I know that the guys at the fair fry them on a griddle with onions and peppers, but there has to be more to it than that, because when I tried just doing that, the aroma wasn’t there at all, and the final product was pretty bland. So what am I missing? Is there garlic involved? Spices? Sauce of some sort? Please help me out, folks.
Fennel or anise.
The aroma is pork fat.
Lightlystarched:
I’d been afraid that might be the case (or, alternately, some sort of cheese product) in which case, I’m just SOL. But I’ve smelled bacon frying before, and that smell, I hated. Maybe different pig parts have different qualities of fat? (Or maybe you’re wrong, and I’m smelling fennel or anise as per runner pat.)
Bacon is smoked.
The sausage itself should have visible fennel seeds inside. If you don’t see that, it’s not going to have “italian sausage” taste.
This recipe indicates how to make beef italian sausage at home. In meatball form its not going to be quite the same but maybe you’ll get the balance of flavors.
Took a look at several recipes and all call for fennel, a couple add anise and one included sage.
Curing.
You might also try hot Italian sausage, which is spicier than sweet Italian. I usually saute my onions and peppers in butter until they’re sweet and cooked through, then add the pan-fried sausage (also in a bit of butter and oil) to the pepper mix to coat it with the butter. Place on a soft roll and hit it with some brown mustard. Not all Italian is created equal. You’ll have to shop around for one that’s made properly with fennel seed, or make your own.
Homer Simpson had it right: the pig is a magical animal.
Which I’m afraid doesn’t help you much.
The spices used are going to vary depending on who makes the sausage. Maybe you should try some other brands.
All Italian sausage is usually going to have fennel and garlic as spices. Hot Italian sausage usually adds red pepper.
In the US, to be sold with the “Italian Sausage” label, apparently it must contain salt, pepper and fennel or anise. All others are optional, but fennel or anise there will be.
An Italian-from-Italy friend tells me that this is not the case in Italy, and that the closest thing we in the US have to a generic Italian Sausage in his region of Italy is a Polish Sausage. But he was also quick to say that Italy has dozens or hundreds of sausages with different flavor profiles, and that grandmothers will argue to their last breath what “real” sausage should taste like.
But for American street fair Italian Sausage, you’re looking at coarsely ground pork, salt, pepper, fennel, red pepper flakes and oregano. Garlic or no garlic inspires wars, so you’ll have to try that out on your own and see what you like.
If you can’t use pork, veal is a pretty good substitute. Not perfect, but closer texture wise than chicken or turkey, and closer taste wise than (regular) beef.
The fresh generic sausage I buy in Southern Italy always has fennel, as well as garlic and paprika. It’s very distinctive.
No, I eat chicken Italian sausages (for the calories) and the smell and taste are very, very close to right.
It might just be that manufacturer that has no clue what they’re doing. Also, hot Italian sausages are going to be closer to that street fair smell than sweet Italian sausages.
What is known as “Italian sausage” in America is not a cured sausage. It is a fresh sausage with its predominant spice as fennel (or anise). Just take ground pork, add salt, pepper, and fennel and you’ve got yourself “bulk” Italian sausage (“bulk” meaning not stuffed into casings.) It’s super easy to make.
This makes some sense, as Southern Italy/Sicily has had the most influence on American-style Italian cooking. That said, I’ve also been told by many an Italian that the fennel-spiked sausage is not that common throughout Italy. (Although there is a cured and dried one–think salami–called finnochino that is somewhat well known.)
That I can believe, as they are so obsessed with super local ingredients - and prejudiced against anything foreign (ie from the next Italian region).
Cracked fennel seed is the defining non-pork flavor in most “Italian” sausages here in the US. Like others have said, various makers include garlic, oregano, basil, pepper flakes, paprika, wine, etc… but they’re not the primary flavors.
I don’t honestly know if a beef version would be any good; I’d imagine maybe dark meat turkey might be more akin to a pork one than anything else I can think of.