Aurelios Pizza Perfected!

[AimlessRyan]

For those of you who want to make their own sausage, here's my recipe:

                 Chicago Style Italian Sausage

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  5             pounds  pork shoulder
  5        tablespoons  fennel seeds
  3        tablespoons  Morton Tender Quick
  1 1/4    tablespoons  black pepper -- coarsely ground
  1         tablespoon  red pepper flakes
  2          teaspoons  garlic powder
  1          teaspoon sweet paprika
  1                cup  Pinot Grigio

I once saw a TV show in which Marc Malnati seemed very offended by the suggestion that deep dish sausage might contain fennel. I think sometimes Marc Malnati uses a little misdirection on TV to keep some of his secrets, but I didn't feel that way with the fennel comment.

[OTRChef]

I once saw a TV show in which Marc Malnati seemed very offended by the suggestion that deep dish sausage might contain fennel. I think sometimes Marc Malnati uses a little misdirection on TV to keep some of his secrets, but I didn't feel that way with the fennel comment.

Chicago's Italian sausage is well known for it's high fennel content. The only sausage maker that I know of in Chicago that does not use a lot of fennel is Bobaks.

[Chicago Bob]

I've seen where Marc shuns fennel but I have always thought that the flavor of fennel sorta defines the "taste" of Chicago pizza. You often here it said that the best Chicago pie is a "sausage only".

[AimlessRyan]

Chicago's Italian sausage is well known for it's high fennel content. The only sausage maker that I know of in Chicago that does not use a lot of fennel is Bobaks.

Yeah, well Chicago deep dish is even more known for having cornmeal in the dough.

[Chicago Bob]

Yeah, well Chicago deep dish is even more known for having cornmeal in the dough.

http://www.realdeepdish.com/pressing-out-deep-dish-dough/  I believe that member Eb "VCB" has been pretty adamant about dispelling that myth on his website...even going so far as to invite Pat Bruno(?) to stop writing/saying that Chicago DD has cornmeal in it. And I'm pretty sure that several other well known deep dish pros on this site are saying/using semolina as the misunderstood addition to the DD dough.

But something tells me you already know that Ryan.

[AimlessRyan]

But something tells me you already know that Ryan.

I'm gonna defer commenting on that until people start calling me an idiot for helping spread the universe's most egregious pizza myth.

(By the way, what does egregious mean?)

[Chicago Bob]

I'm gonna defer commenting on that until people start calling me an idiot for helping spread the universe's most egregious pizza myth.

(By the way, what does egregious mean?)

Uuuuum...gee-whiz, I kinda think it's sorta like when a guy is act'in like a Dufus....not sure...

[ThatsAmore]

I'll have to give this recipe a try.

I love spicy Italian sausage.

The last time I made it, I ran it through my sausage stuffer attachment on my KA mixer and made logs in which I lightly froze and then I cut into nice uniform pieces.  If you look at pic #1, you can see the fennel 

[Chicago Bob]

Look'in real good there Dino!   
Have you ever heard of the trick where you leave out the cutter wheel to get a courser grind?
One of our members,"Meatballs", Ron is a home beer brewer and also knows his stuff about grinding meat. Check Cory's off topic hamburger grinding thread if you'd like....

[OTRChef]

Look'in real good there Dino!   
Have you ever heard of the trick where you leave out the cutter wheel to get a courser grind?
One of our members,"Meatballs", Ron is a home beer brewer and also knows his stuff about grinding meat. Check Cory's off topic hamburger grinding thread if you'd like....

Damn you....I like to leave out the cutter wheeel for the 1st grind, then I refrigerate the grind for at least 2 hours and grind it again using the coarse grind wheel! Quit giving away my secrets...

[ThatsAmore]

Look'in real good there Dino!   
Have you ever heard of the trick where you leave out the cutter wheel to get a courser grind?
One of our members,"Meatballs", Ron is a home beer brewer and also knows his stuff about grinding meat. Check Cory's off topic hamburger grinding thread if you'd like....

Thanks for the tip and suggestions.  I made that batch by myself.  Talk about spinning plates 

[Chicago Bob]

Thanks for the tip and suggestions.  I made that batch by myself.  Talk about spinning plates 

Good for you druddah! Looks to be bout 5 pounds alone there just on the cutt'in board. Gotta love dat fennel, eh?   

BTW, thanks for giving me OTR's secret about leaving the cutting wheel out!!   

[Garvey]

Tender Quick?  Why not just regular salt?  Italian sausage isn't usually cured, from what I understand, so why go the nitrates route?  How does it differ?

Thanks,
Garvey

[OTRChef]

Tender Quick?  Why not just regular salt?  Italian sausage isn't usually cured, from what I understand, so why go the nitrates route?  How does it differ?

Thanks,
Garvey

Nitrates and/or nitrites are used in the making of Italian sausage. Nitrate and Nitrite Compounds – not only help kill bacteria, but also produce a characteristic flavor, and give meat a pink or red color.
Botulism in Latin is "botulus"...or "sausage". This probably refers to the shape of the organism, but the irony is, sausage making can easily produce this serious illness, not to mention E. coli infections also!
BTW, the dextrose in Morton's also helps to ferment beneficial bacteria such as lactobacilli. This process is in fact a form of fermentation, and, in addition to reducing further the ability of the spoilage bacteria to grow - it also gives the sausage it's characteristic flavor!
Especially for the home sausage maker, where sterile equipment is seldom used, I highly recommend the use of Morton's Tender Quick!

[Chicago Bob]

I am really curios about this stuff....particularly this "characteristic flavor" aspect you have mention several times.Is this type of curing salt used in all commercial sausage?

[OTRChef]

I am really curios about this stuff....particularly this "characteristic flavor" aspect you have mention several times.Is this type of curing salt used in all commercial sausage?

Tender Quick, Prague Powder, or proprietary blends using nitrates/nitrites are most definitely are used in commercial sausage. "Uncured" brands still use celery juice, which is a natural source of nitrates: http://ask.applegate.com/applegate/topics/do_applegate_products_contain_nitrites_or_nitrates?utm_medium=widget&utm_source=widget_applegate&from_gsfn=true

[Chicago Bob]

Oh I am definitely going to try this, I 've made pizza sausage only a few times and I am trying to envision the flavor change that this product is going to bring to the pallete. Not a fan of commercial It. sausage so I'm jus having a hard time understanding what you mean by "characteristic flavor"...guess I'll be finding out....

[juniorballoon]

Curious why you use Mortons Tender Quick? I've never seen a fresh sausage that used nitrates and nitrites. Doesn't really seem neccesary from a preserving point with fresh, but maybe it would do something with taste and color.

jb

[vcb]

Chicago's Italian sausage is well known for it's high fennel content. The only sausage maker that I know of in Chicago that does not use a lot of fennel is Bobaks.

For most Chicago thin crust pizzas, I'd agree about the fennel, but deep dish has always been a different animal.
If you're trying to match the taste of a Uno's or Malnati's, leave out the fennel.
I'm happy with it either way, and prefer italian sausage with fennel on thin crust.

There's a Malnati's Sausage thread here: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=12222.0

[OTRChef]

Curious why you use Mortons Tender Quick? I've never seen a fresh sausage that used nitrates and nitrites. Doesn't really seem neccesary from a preserving point with fresh, but maybe it would do something with taste and color.

jb

Creating fresh sausage also creates the kind of anaerobic environment food poisoning pathogens thrive in. Most of us make more sausage than is needed for a single pizza, so storing it IS an issue. Besides, gray sausage is unappealing.

Read this: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0974.html