Quick Sweet or Hot Italian Sausage Meat Recipe

Since we've raised our own pigs I wanted to figure out how to make my own sausage, but that turned out to be more challenging than I thought. I haven't figured out a sausage recipe for the meat to have lovely, tender, succulent roasted fresh sausages, but I have figured out a quick herb and spice mix for Italian sausages that I can use ground pork with for braised recipes.

1lb ground pork (not lean)

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

½ tsp brown sugar

1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed

1 tsp cracked black pepper

dash nutmeg (optional?)

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried thyme

1 to 2 Tbsps fresh parsley, minced

1 tsp dried basil

¾ tsp paprika

FOR HOT = ¾ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

1. Place the pork and red wine vinegar in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the remaining ingredients. Knead until you can see flecks of spice evenly distributed through the meat.