How to Make Homemade Turkey Sausage

Turkey sausage is a healthy alternative to the more fat-laden pork variety. You can make homemade turkey sausage in an afternoon and have it ready for breakfast the next morning or freeze it for later use. Homemade turkey sausage can be very economical if you purchase whole turkeys when they are on sale at your local grocery store.

Things You'll Need

• Whole turkey
• Sharp knives
• Meat grinder
• Large bowl
• Kitchen scale
• Finely chopped onions
• Small bowl
• 1 egg white - beaten
• Quick-cooking oats
• Fresh parsley - finely chopped
• Salt
• Ground sage
• Pepper
• Ground nutmeg
• Red pepper
• Freezer bags

Instructions

1. Thaw the turkey in the refrigerator if it is frozen. Remove the neck bone and giblets package from inside the turkey.

2. Debone the turkey. Use a sharp knife to remove the meat of the turkey from the bones. Cut the deboned turkey into 1-inch cubes.

3. Set up your meat grinder and place a large bowl beneath the grinding shoot to catch the ground meat.

4. Feed the turkey meat into the grinder. If the ground meat appears too course, run the meat through the grinder a second time.

5. Weigh the ground meat on a kitchen scale. This will determine the amount of spices to prepare in Step 6.

6. Mix together 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion, 1 beaten egg white, 3 tbsp. of oats, 2 tbsp. of chopped parsley, 1/2 tsp. of salt, 1/2 tsp. of sage, 1/4 tsp. of black pepper, 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg and 1/8 tsp. of red pepper flakes (for every 1/2 pound of meat) in a small bowl.

7. Use your hands to mix the spices throughout the ground turkey meat.

8. Run the meat through the grinder for a final time.

9. Shape the sausage into patties and package into freezer bags for later use.

Tips & Warnings

• Because turkey sausage contains very little fat, you will need to add a few tablespoons or oil or a vegetable spray before cooking the sausage in the skillet. This recipe will also work with wild turkey meat if you have a hunter in your family. The spices can be increased or changed to suit your own tastes. Feel free to experiment with your favorite spice blends. Place the turkey carcass in a large stockpot and cover with water. Boil for 3 to 4 hours, strain and freeze to make turkey stock for soups and stews.