Turkey Sausage Recipe
This simple recipe will show you how to make delicious, economical sausage from lean ground turkey. You can use this basic turkey sausage in countless other dishes.
Is turkey sausage actually healthier?
My family loves pork sausage and pork dishes in general. This wild boar ragù recipe is a new favorite! But if you need to watch your saturated fat intake, then yes, turkey sausage will be a healthier choice than ground pork.
Made with lean ground turkey, this sausage is lower in fat and calories than traditional pork sausages, especially when you use wild turkey. And it’s still a great source of protein to fuel your muscles and keep you full.
Why make your own sausage?
Here are some of the advantages of making your own sausage at home:
- It’s a great way to use up large amounts of meat that might be sitting in your freezer too long otherwise. You can freeze this turkey sausage for a year or so.
- You’ll save money. Making your own sausage probably costs about one-fifth of the cost of store-bought sausages.
- You can find sausage making kits that tell you exactly how much seasoning and meat to combine to make Italian sausage and other different flavors.
- On the other hand, you can spice up your sausage however you want. You can make it as sweet, spicy, or savory as you like. Whatever your preference, the taste will be incredible.
What to do with turkey sausage?
The possibilities are endless. On an episode of this season’s The Sporting Chef, I made several mouthwatering dishes with ground wild turkey. Top of the list is turkey pizza!
You can use homemade sausage as a starter for many other recipes, substituting the spice blend that best fits your dish. Thyme, paprika, black pepper, and chopped onions are all great additions.
This recipe also yields delicious homemade turkey breakfast sausage. Try cooking a batch of sausage patties in a large skillet and serving them in breakfast burritos or sandwiches with cheese, or serving eggs with turkey breakfast sausages and maple syrup. Make sausage balls for pizza, spaghetti or zucchini noodles with tomato sauce, or homemade soups featuring sausage balls. You can also serve sausage as a main dish in itself with the sauce of your choice.
How to Make Homemade Turkey Sausage
For some reason, a lot of folks think making sausage is tricky, but it can be just as easy as making a hamburger patty or meatball. Be sure to check out my post The Lost Art of Sausage Making for more details and tips.
You can make sausage with pretty much any wild game meat along with the seasonings of your choice. For turkey, this preparation method is a great way to cook older, tougher Toms.
This turkey sausage recipe calls for breast meat, but you can also use a turkey mixture with the tougher meat stripped from the legs and thighs. Ground chicken works, too.
Stacy Lyn’s Turkey Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of ground turkey breast about 2 turkey breasts
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients with your hands until fully incorporated. At this point, you can use the meat mixture to cook immediately, or you can make the sausage into patties or a log and freeze it for later.
Notes
- Allowing the sausage to rest in the refrigerator overnight will help to distribute all the flavors before cooking.
- Adding brown sugar or maple sugar to your turkey sausage will give you a variation with a hint of sweetness.
- You can freeze patties, a log, or meatballs in freezer bags for up to three months.
- If you want to make your sausage with casings, I recommend natural hog or sheep casings. Learn more about sausage making here.
