Homemade Italian Sausage: Nonno Filippo’s 100-Year-Old Sicilian Recipe

Some recipes are written down, while others are passed from one generation to the next through flour-covered hands, familiar aromas, and countless hours spent together in the kitchen. This homemade Italian sausage recipe comes from one of our favourite nonnos, Filippo Curcuruto. A familiar and much-loved face on Vincenzo’s Plate, Filippo has already shared traditional Sicilian recipes such as marinated eggplant and homemade passata, which have become favourites among our community. This time, he is inviting us back into his kitchen to reveal the sausage-making method his family has followed for more than 100 years.

You will not find an electric mincer or expensive sausage-making machine in Filippo’s kitchen. Instead, he uses a traditional method known as al ceppo, chopping the pork belly by hand with a sharp knife on a sturdy wooden block he made himself. This requires patience, but it preserves small pieces of meat and fat, creating the wonderfully rustic texture that proper homemade sausage should have. It also leaves plenty of time to catch up, a story you have already heard ten times, and perhaps argue over who makes the best sausage.

More than a recipe, this is a glimpse into the Sicilian tradition of preparing food slowly, carefully, and with very little waste. Filippo transforms a simple piece of pork using little more than his hands, a few seasonings, and generations of experience. Once you see how he does it, those neatly packaged supermarket sausages may suddenly look a little less impressive.

Watch: 100-Year-Old Homemade Italian Sausage Recipe Handmade Like a Sicilian Nonno

This Homemade Italian Sausage Recipe Has Been Passed Down for Generations

Vincenzo’s Plate Tips on How to Make Italian Sausage

The 20% Rule

You can make Italian sausage using pork leg or shoulder, but Filippo prefers pancetta with the ribs still attached. Once separated, the meaty pancetta goes into the sausage while the ribs and bones are saved for the barbecue, so nothing delicious goes to waste. Whichever cut you choose, make sure the mixture contains at least 20% fat. This keeps the sausage juicy and flavourful as it cooks.

Put Down the Meat Grinder

Filippo prepares his pork al ceppo, chopping it by hand on the wooden block. An electric mincer works faster, but it can compress and overwork the meat until the mixture becomes too smooth, almost like a paste. Hand-chopping preserves small, distinct pieces of pork and fat, giving the cooked sausage a rustic, satisfyingly meaty texture.

Save the Skin

After removing the skin from the pork belly, nonno Filippo uses pork skin in other dishes, including meatballs, where it can contribute extra flavor and richness. Every usable part of the pork has a purpose because, as Nonna always says, “We only throw away 2% of the pig.”

Simple Math Behind Great Sausage

Filippo seasons his sausage with salt equal to 2% of the final weight of the minced pork. This means using 2g of salt for every 100g of meat. From the original 5kg cut, he produced 3kg of usable minced pork, so he added 60g of salt.

Black pepper is more flexible and can be adjusted to your taste. Filippo usually adds around 20g to this quantity of meat, but he always buys whole peppercorns and grinds them himself. Pre-ground pepper loses its aroma over time, while freshly ground pepper delivers a much stronger fragrance and flavour.

Treat the Casing Gently

When buying the pork, ask your butcher for natural sausage casing as well. A hank of casing can often hold enough meat to make approximately 10kg of sausage, although the exact amount will depend on its length and diameter.

Before filling it, soak the required casing in lukewarm water and rinse it according to the butcher’s or manufacturer’s directions. Warm water softens it and makes it easier to handle. Hot water may damage it, while cold water can leave it rigid and more likely to resist you at precisely the wrong moment. Any unused casing can be frozen, then thawed and softened in lukewarm water when you are ready to make another batch.

Cleanliness is non-negotiable

You can wear food-safe gloves while mixing the sausage, but Filippo prefers to work with clean, bare hands. This allows him to feel how evenly the fat and seasoning are distributed and whether the mixture has reached the right consistency. Wash and dry your hands thoroughly before beginning and keep the work surface and equipment very clean.

Sausage to Salami

Filippo explains that the plain sausages can also be hung to dry. He covers them with a fine protective food-safe veil or mesh to keep flies and other insects away, then leaves them for around 10 days. Once dried, the sausages can be frozen and saved for later, ready to thaw and cook on the barbecue whenever the craving strikes.

How to Serve Homemade Italian Sausage

The best way to serve these homemade Italian sausages is straight from the barbecue while they are sizzling, beautifully browned, and wonderfully juicy inside. Cook the sausages slowly over the heat, turning them regularly so the casings become golden without burning. Place the ribs Filippo saved from the pork belly on the barbecue too. Because, in his kitchen, no delicious piece of pork is ever forgotten.

Serve everything together on a large tray in the middle of the table with warm Italian bread, grilled vegetables, and a simple salad. The bread is essential for catching all those flavourful juices. You may need an extra loaf once everyone starts making sausage sandwiches.

Homemade Italian Sausage Recipe

Print Recipe

This homemade Italian sausage recipe combines hand-chopped pork belly with salt, freshly ground black pepper, fragrant fennel seeds, diced provolone, and tomato for wonderfully juicy sausages with a rustic, meaty texture. Cook them slowly on the barbecue until beautifully browned and sizzling, then serve hot with crusty Italian bread. Do not expect any leftovers!

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 40 Sausages

Equipment

• ▢
  Sharp knife
• ▢
  Chopping-board
• ▢
  Sausage funnel
• ▢
  Large bowl
• ▢
  Kitchen-grade butcher’s twine

Ingredients

• ▢ 5 kg / 11lb pork belly, preferably with the ribs attached
• ▢ 60 g / 2.1oz Salt, the 60g of salt is 2% of the roughly 3kg of minced pork you get after removing skin, bone and ribs, not 2% of the raw 5kg.
• ▢ 20 g / 0.7oz Black pepper, freshly ground
• ▢ Fennel seeds, add more to taste if you love the fennel flavor
• ▢ Natural sausage casing
• ▢ Extra Virgin Olive Oil, EVOO

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Place the pork belly on a clean chopping board. Carefully separate the ribs and bones from the meat, then set ribs aside to cook on the barbecue later.
• Remove the skin from the remaining pork belly. Cut the meat into very small pieces, then continue chopping it by hand until coarsely minced. The mixture should retain some texture rather than becoming completely smooth.
• Spread the minced pork evenly across a thoroughly cleaned work surface. Sprinkle over the salt, black pepper, and fennel seeds. Mix everything thoroughly with clean hands until the seasonings are evenly distributed throughout the meat.
• Place the natural sausage casing in a bowl of lukewarm water to soften it and make it easier to handle. Once pliable, cut off a piece approximately 1 metre (3.3 feet) long.
• With clean hands, place some of the minced pork into the sausage funnel and press it down firmly with your thumb. Continue until a small amount of meat appears at the tip, as this removes trapped air from the funnel. Rub a little EVOO around the tip, then carefully slide the casing onto it. Gather almost the entire length of casing over the funnel, leaving a short section hanging from the end, and tie this securely in a knot.
• Slowly press the pork through the funnel while gently guiding the filled casing with your other hand. Fill it evenly, but do not pack it too tightly because the casing may split when the sausages are shaped. Continue adding meat until the casing is filled, leaving enough empty casing at the end to tie another secure knot. Repeat with the remaining pork mixtures until all the meat has been used.
• Cut a piece of butcher’s twine approximately one and a half times the length of the filled casing. Decide how long you would like each sausage to be, then tie the twine securely around the casing at regular intervals to separate the long coil into individual sausage links. Continue along the entire length until all the sausages have been shaped.
• Check "How to Serve" section for barbecue instructions. Cook them slowly until beautifully browned and the internal temperature reaches 71°C (160°F)

Video

Bonus Recipe: Filippo’s Cipollata

While making the homemade Italian sausages, you can reserve approximately one-third of the pork belly to prepare Filippo’s cipollata, a simple Sicilian favourite made by wrapping thin slices of pork around green onions.

Ingredients

• Green onion stalks
• Toothpicks

How to Make Cipollata

Cut the reserved pork belly into long, thin slices similar in thickness to bacon. Place one slice at the thicker end of a green onion stalk, then wrap it around the stalk in a spiral, slightly overlapping each turn.

Continue until approximately three-quarters of the green onion is covered. Secure the pork with a toothpick, trim away any excess green onion, and repeat with the remaining ingredients.

How to Cook and Serve Cipollata

Cook the cipollata slowly on the barbecue alongside the sausages. Turn it regularly until the pork browns beautifully and cooks completely. As the pork belly cooks, its fat melts into the green onion, making it tender, smoky, and slightly sweet. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions About Homemade Italian Sausage

E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!

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