Homemade Lamb Italian Sausage (or Goat)

With the perfect amount of fennel and seasonings, this time-tested recipe is one of my favorite sausages to make. you’ve ever wanted a simple, delicious, trustworthy recipe for homemade lamb Italian sausage, this is the recipe you’re looking for. Read on and I’ll explain what you need to know.

Being trained as a butcher and charcuterie maker in a restaurant where I was sous chef to celebrity Chef Lenny Russo, I learned a thing or two about making sausage. When I just want a simple, delicious sausage though, the recipe I reach for is probably the simplest one I know: a basic Italian-style fennel sausage passed onto me by an Italian chef.

The Italian chef was Fillipo Caffari, a butcher and chef from Rome who’s had a storied career in the Twin Cities restaurant industry being at the helm of some of the most accoladed Italian restaurants in the area. I can still  remember the first time I tasted his fennel sausage: the juicy texture, fiery heat from the crushed red pepper and addicting aroma of toasted, coarsely crushed fennel dancing around on my palate.

When I got to make the sausage myself a few times, I was really surprised to see how simple it was. There were only a handful of ingredients: fennel seed, crushed red pepper, black pepper,  and salt. Nothing else. I thought there must be some secret ingredient that got added along the way, some herb or spice or something that made it so delicious. Years later I have a better appreciation for simple food, and I understand now that the lack of a bunch of other spices or ingredients is exactly why it tasted so good.

How to Make Lamb Italian Sausage

Like most things, there’s a couple things to note about the recipe (and sausage making in general) but they’re mostly technique based, and do not require any sort of special equipment or processes beyond the meat grinder and sausage stuffer you’ll need to make any sausage at home. One of the most important parts

That being said, if you don’t have a sausage stuffer or a meat grinder, you can make a decent version of this sausage using our grass-fed, ground lamb or goat, but it won’t be exactly the same, and it may not be quite as juicy since there’s a special sort of magic that happens when you make sausage out of only shoulder.

How to Serve Lamb Italian Sausage

The sausages can be grilled or used any way you would Italian sausage. One of my favorite recipes for them is slow-cooking until very tender until they get the texture of pot roast. The sausages can also be added to mixed Italian meat sauces like Sunday Gravy or Lamb Sugo.

This recipe is by Chef Alan Bergo, the Forager Chef. A chef from Minnesota, Alan is a culinary industry veteran, former executive chef of acclaimed Lucia’s Restaurant, and the Salt Cellar. Author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora, he’s one of the most respected voices in the world of foraging and wild food. He’s best known as the founder of Forager Chef, his website focused on wild ingredients that reaches millions of readers each year. Learn more about Chef Alan and his hunt for mushrooms, wild and obscure foods at foragerchef.com. 

Looking to buy lamb or goat online? Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.

More Lamb and Goat Sausage Recipes

Blood Sausage

Szechuan Sausage 

Lamb Breakfast Sausage