Homemade Italian Sausage

1 . Stage

Cut pork shoulder into cubes. Place in a bowl and refrigerate while preparing the other ingredients.

2 . Stage

Grind garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar to make a paste. Add fennel, anise, and black pepper. Bruise spices lightly with a pestle to release the flavors. Add red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, oregano, marjoram, coriander, mustard, allspice, sugar, and a splash of water. Stir to combine.

3 . Stage

Add the spice paste to the pork cubes. Mix thoroughly by hand. Add the remaining salt. Cover and refrigerate until flavors meld, 8 hours to overnight.

4 . Stage

Process the cold pork through a meat grinder on the slowest speed.

5 . Stage

Push a casing onto the stuffing tube of your meat grinder. Feed the sausage meat through the filling tray. Run the meat through the casing on the slowest speed until all the casing is used up. Tie casing at the end into a knot. Pinch and twist the meat to create links if desired.

6 . Stage

Place sausage onto a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours.

7 . Stage

Preheat a charcoal grill for medium heat. Separate the links and grill them until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Chef John