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These Easy Homemade Skinless Sausages are super delicious and packed full of flavour. So simple to make and even easier to fall in love with!

But really, I can’t express to you how easy homemade sausages are to make. No sausage casings needed, no meat grinders/sausage making machine and no special sausage meat. Just good old ground pork, some tasty fillings and a frying pan. I guarantee after making these homemade pork sausages, you’ll never get store bought again.

pouring gravy over sausages and mash on white plate

Homemade Sausage Meat

Sure, you could use sausage meat, but personally I think ground pork is the better option. It gives you the opportunity to start with a blank canvas and put your own seasonings in.

For the pork itself you’ll need regular ground/minced pork. It’s important however to make sure it’s non-lean pork. You need the pork to be at least 20% in order to keep the sausages juicy throughout cooking. When it comes to seasoning, here’s the usual victims in my sausages:

What is the best sausage seasoning?

  • Sage, Parsley, Thyme – these 3 herbs go gorgeously with pork. Dried herbs work perfectly.
  • Fennel – fennel and pork is a match made in heaven. Here we’re going to use crushed fennel seeds.
  • Onion & Garlic – two staples in any sort of meatball/burger/sausage. You’ll need a small clove of garlic and large spring onion.
  • Cracked Black Pepper – adds a little kick of spice and works perfectly with pork.

What can I use as a sausage binder?

Once you’ve got the meat and seasoning sorted, you’ll want to use breadcrumbs and egg to bind the meat together. Contrary to popular belief, breadcrumbs (in small quantities) don’t dry out ground meat, the breadcrumbs actually retain moisture to help the meat stay juicy. Egg is also a great binder.

Top Tip #1 – When you mix the meat, ensure you don’t overwork it. Just mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you overwork the meat the sausages will come out tough and dry.
How to make sausage meat - 3 step by step photos

Skinless Sausages

Rule number 1 of homemade sausages club – you do not need sausage casings or a sausage machine to make sausages at home. There, I said it. Skinless sausages are as, if not more, delicious than regular sausages.

How do you make skinless sausages?

You’re essentially making long, thin meatballs. Just divide the filling and roll them into large sausage shapes. It’s important at this stage again not to over work the meat or it’ll go tough and chewy.

How do you cook skinless sausages?

The best method of cooking for skinless sausages is to pan fry. This way you get the extra flavour of the caramelization from the direct heat of the pan.

Can you bake skinless sausages?

I have tried this and they don’t come out as well for 2 reasons. Firstly they tend to lose shape easier. Secondly they don’t brown as well on the outside, and if they do the inside tends to dry out quicker.

Top Tip #2 – Make sure the meat is close to room temp before the sausages hit the pan. Frying cold meat tends to result in it drying out quicker.
How to make sausages - 4 step by step photos

Top Tip #3 – As you fry the sausages I recommend you flip them fairly regularly. Unlike a burger, you can’t just chuck the sausages in the pan and flip once. You need to keep them moving to ensure an even browning.

Can I prep these ahead of time?

Absolutely! You can roll them out, tightly cover and either store in the fridge (24 hours) or freezer (1 month, thaw in fridge) then fry as instructed.

How do I store and reheat leftovers?

Tightly cover in the fridge (2-3days) or freezer (month and thaw in the fridge) then pop in the oven at 180C/356F until piping hot through the centre. They won’t be quite as juicy as before still delicious!

What to serve with Sausages?

For me it’s always a classic of Mustard Mash, Red Wine Onion Gravy and either Asparagus or Green Beans!

sausages in frying pan with steam coming off

And there we have it! That’s all the tips I got for you. Just before we tuck into the full recipe make you sure check out my other similar recipes:

Delicious Recipes Using Sausages

Alrighty, let’s dig into the recipe for these homemade sausages shall we?!

closeup shot of sausage sliced open with gravy dripping down with mash and asparagus

How to make Skinless Sausages (Full Recipe & Video)

pouring gravy over sausages on white plate with asparagus and mash
4.77 from 13 votes

Easy Homemade Skinless Sausages

By: Chris Collins
These Easy Homemade Skinless Sausages are super delicious and packed full of flavour. So simple to make and even easier to fall in love with!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 6 sausages
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Equipment

  • Large Frying Pan & Tongs
  • Medium Sized Mixing Bowl
  • Sharp Knife & Chopping Board

Ingredients 

  • 1lb / 500g 20% Fat Minced/Ground Pork, close to room temp (see notes)
  • 1/2 cup Fresh Breadcrumbs
  • 1 large Spring/Green Onion, very finely diced
  • 1 Egg, beaten
  • 1 small clove Garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp EACH dried Sage, dried Parsley
  • 3/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp EACH dried Thyme, Cracked Black Pepper, Fennel Seeds, crushed (see notes)
  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil

Instructions 

  • In a medium sized mixing bowl combine 1lb/500g pork mince with 1/2cup fresh breadcrumbs, 1 tsp dried sage & parsley, 3/4 tsp, salt, 1/2 tsp thyme, cracked black pepper & crushed fennel seeds, 1 beaten egg, 1 diced spring onion and 1 minced clove of garlic. Don't overwork the meat, only mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
  • The mixture should come together nicely, but if for whatever reasons it's too wet to mould (different pork will have different water contents) then just add a few pinches more breadcrumbs.
  • Divide the mixture into 6 (around 1/3cup cup portions). Gently roll into sausage shapes of about 6" length. They will shrink slightly in the pan.
  • Heat up 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add in sausages and turn each one over a few times to sear the outside. Continue cooking, flipping the sausages every now and then until nicely browned on the outside and piping hot through the centre (around 10-12mins).

Video

Notes

a) Lean/Non-Lean Pork – Supermarkets often sell pork mince in the range of 5%–20% fat. When referring to ‘lean pork’ you’re looking at around the 5% mark. The next section they have is sometimes labelled as ‘reduced fat’ pork (often either 10%, 12% or 15% fat). The optimum range is 20%–25%. Supermarkets will certainly stock the 20% pork, anything higher you’re most likely looking to go to a butcher.
b) Room Temp – Important to take the pork out of the fridge around 15mins ahead of time, to bring it close to room temp before the sausages hit the pan. Frying cold meat always causes it to seize up slightly and dry out quicker.
c) Crushing Fennel Seeds – The best way to crush your fennel seeds is with a mortar and pestle. If don’t have one, pop in a zip lock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Failing that, on a chopping board mix the seeds with a drizzle of olive oil and dice with a knife. The oil will stop them bouncing off the chopping board.
d) Fresh Breadcrumbs – Feel free to make your own by pulsing up fresh bread (1 large slice should do the trick). You can use store bought dried breadcrumbs, just reduce to 1/3 cup. 
e) Seasoning – I find 3/4 tsp salt hits the sweet spot (sausages do tend to be fairly salty). If you’re concerned about seasoning I recommend starting off with less, then make a miniature patty from the mixture and fry it up in a little oil. This will be your seasoning tester, so make adjustments accordingly after you’ve tasted that!
f) Make Ahead – You can roll these ahead of time, then tightly cover and store in the fridge (up to 24hours), then take out 15mins before frying and cook according to recipe. You can also roll ahead of time, tightly cover and FREEZE (up to 1 month) then thaw in the fridge and fry.
g) Storage – Allow any leftovers to cool, then tightly cover in the fridge (2-3days, longer at your discretion) or freeze (up to 1 month), then thaw in the fridge. From there can just reheat in the oven at 180C/356F until piping hot through the centre. They won’t be quite as juicy as freshly cooked but still perfectly fine!
h) Calories – per sausage.

Your Private Notes:

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Nutrition

Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 2.91g | Protein: 15.55g | Fat: 18.35g | Saturated Fat: 4.814g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.233g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9.12g | Trans Fat: 0.097g | Cholesterol: 155mg | Sodium: 378mg | Potassium: 230mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 0.43g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 1.1mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1.39mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

Chris Collins, food blogger at Don't Go Bacon My Heart in white jumper eating a slice of garlic flatbread
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Recipe Rating




60 Comments

  1. Kim Tuffery says:

    Made these yesterday. Flavours were banging! The mixture could be made int meatballs and served with a sauce with pasta

    Reply
    1. Chris Collins says:

      Great to hear they went down well, Kim! C.

      Reply
  2. Lynda says:

    2 stars
    Flavours too strong

    Reply
    1. Chris Collins says:

      Sorry these weren’t to your taste, Lynda! C.

      Reply
  3. Karen says:

    5 stars
    Great recipe! So many ‘shop-bought’ sausages have preservatives and other additives which I don’t want in my diet. This recipe is exactly what I was looking for – and super tasty! I have made them with pork mince and turkey mince. Both work really well.

    Reply
    1. Chris Collins says:

      Thanks so much for the review, Karen! 🙂 C.

      Reply
  4. Matt says:

    As Autumn approaches we are looking to replace our seasonal staple with something not ultra-processed… so these look fab! Silly question though.. is ground pork the same as pork mince? If not would UK supermarkets sell it? TIA!

    Reply
    1. Chris Collins says:

      Hey Matt! Not a silly question. You’re right – it’s pork mince. Sorry for the confusion! C.

      Reply
  5. Mike says:

    Do you use ground sage or rubbed sage? Looking forward to making these thanks.

    Reply
    1. Chris Collins says:

      Hi Mike! It’s ground sage 🙂 C.

      Reply
  6. Lisa says:

    5 stars
    Great recipe used it to make sausage rolls in the air fryer, turned out so good

    Reply
    1. Chris Collins says:

      Ooo I love that idea! Will have to try it myself 🙂 C.

      Reply
  7. Carol Anne says:

    This is such a great idea. I hate the recipes that call for removing the casing off sausage and I think it just makes so much more sense to make your own! I imagine you might also be able to do this with ground chicken or turkey?

    Reply
    1. Chris Collins says:

      Hey Carol! I’d definitely give these a go with pork, I’m not sure the flavour profile would suit chicken or turkey. C.

      Reply