Chicago-Style Italian Sausage

By J. Kenji López-Alt

Published March 21, 2023

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
5(105)
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Chicago-style Italian sausage is a true regional specialty, but thankfully it’s simple to make at home. This version, meant for topping a Chicago thin-crust pizza, uses whole fennel seeds toasted in a skillet, then roughly cracked with a mortar and pestle — a spice grinder, food processor, blender or the bottom of a heavy pan will work. It gets mixed into fatty ground pork seasoned with salt, black pepper, fresh and granulated garlic, a bit of dried herbs, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. The key is to knead the mixture (whether by hand or in a stand mixture fitted with a paddle) until the proteins begin to unravel and cross-link, giving it a tacky texture that turns springy and juicy as the sausage cooks, releasing its flavorful fat to mingle with the sauce and cheese as the pizza bakes. This recipe is part of our complete recipe for a Chicago thin-crust pizza. View the recipe for the finished pizza, as well as recipes for the dough and accompanying sauce.

Featured in: Kenji López-Alt Spent 5 Months Studying Chicago Thin-Crust Pizza. Here’s What He Learned.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 pound

  • 1 tablespoon whole dried fennel seeds

  • 1 pound ground pork shoulder

  • 4 medium garlic cloves, finely minced

  • 7 grams salt (about 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 1 ½ teaspoons Morton’s coarse kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt)

  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder

  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano

  • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram

  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

  • Large pinch of red-pepper flakes

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

2 grams carbs; 54 milligrams cholesterol; 190 calories; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 187 milligrams sodium; 14 grams protein

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the sausage: Heat the fennel seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted and very aromatic. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and lightly crush.

  2. Step 2

    Combine the pork, fresh garlic, salt, garlic powder, oregano, marjoram, black pepper, pepper flakes, and toasted fennel in a large bowl. Knead aggressively with your hands until the mixture turns tacky and leaves a film behind on the bowl, a couple of minutes. (Alternatively, make the sausage in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Knead the mixture at low speed until it forms a film on the inside of the bowl as instructed in Step 2.) Transfer to a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week until ready to use. You will have enough for 2 pizzas.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
105 user ratings
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Comments

stefanie

Pork turns quickly, I wouldn’t keep for a week in the fridge. Portion out and freeze what you won’t use in a day.

Antonine

My father, a Chicago Italian with a mother born in Italy, said NEVER put garlic in your Italian sausage. We always used fennel, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes - nothing else. We ground pork shoulder (multiples sometimes) and kneaded it for quite a while in a big stainless bowl until it got that sticky texture adding a few dribbles of ice water to assist the mix. The rest of the process was pretty much the same. Relatives conveniently stopped by to get a share!

Lance

@Rachael Kenji has mentioned in previous pork sausage recipes that you can use store-bought ground pork. You need a good fat ratio in pork sausage, something like 80% lean at most. I imagine store-bought ground pork varies in fat content from store to store, so some experimentation may be necessary. When I make his Food Lab sausage, I grind a pork shoulder and add some pork belly for extra fat. There's a big difference in taste and feel with the extra fat.

PJ

I made this with chicken, made them into small meatballs. The flavor is fabulous, and the meatballs can be an appetizer, sliced for pizza, in pasta and on and on. I whizzed up a pound of boneless, thighs and a pound of boneless, skinless breasts with the spices, and then used my regular meatball recipe (an egg, oats, 1 c some kind of mild cheese, like fresh Mozzarella) So easy to make, and nice to have on hand.

Equitraveler

Excellent sausage recipe. I used store bought ground Duroc pork and made small changes. For a half batch, I added 1 TB of red wine, reduced the salt to half tsp, and used a scant 1/4 tsp chili flake. It was definitely salty enough and only a little spicy. I let it rest for 6 hours, but overnight would be even better. Great on our pizza and also in stuffed poblanos with beans, onions and cheddar.

David

I love this recipe. I make a vegan version with Mushrooms. I cook them ahead of time so that they are not wet in the pizza.

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