With crunch from whole peppercorns and a savory burst of flavor from fennel seeds, sun-dried tomatoes and blend of spices, this easy-to-make home-cured turkey sausage will wow your party guests.
It Started with Mom
My Mom was my Kitchen Mentor and a wizard at finding great recipes from great cookbooks and then refining them to fit our family’s tastes. I’m following in her footsteps, and today’s turkey sausage recipe is a riff on her adaption of Beef Peppercorn Sausage, which I updated and posted waaaaaay back in 2018.
I noted when I posted the beef sausage recipe that I wanted to experiment further, and I finally did! A few weeks ago, using the beef recipe as my foundation, I did a “three-fer”, adding extra spice in the beef version, and creating pork and turkey variations. I started with 9 lbs. of meat (3 lbs. for each recipe) and had a sausage extravaganza.
All three new versions turned out to be winners. For the turkey sausage, I cut back on the peppercorns and enhanced its subtle flavor with whole fennel seed, white wine and sun-dried tomatoes, giving it a Mediterranean feel.
Turkey Sausage with Fennel and Sun-Dried Tomatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. ground turkey (90% lean)
- 1½ cup white wine (you can substitute water)
- 1½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 2 tsp. dried minced garlic
- 2 tsp. cayenne
- 2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons whole fennel seed
- 1½ tablespoons onion powder
- 1½ tablespoons dried thyme leaves
- 3 tablespoons Morton’s Tender Quick Salt
- 1½ tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped
Cooking Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed. Divide into six equal portions, and then roll each portion into a log about 1¼ inch thick and ~8 inches long. Roll the log tightly in plastic wrap or wax paper without leaving air bubbles. Store in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 12 hours before cooking; 24 – 36 hours is even better and up to 3 days is fine.
Preheat oven to 300°. Line a cookie sheet with foil and top with a wire rack. Spray well with cooking spray, then unwrap the sausages and place them on the rack. Cook for 30 minutes, then remove and turn, cooking for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely, then refrigerate. To freeze, wrap individual sausages in foil and then place in a freezer bag.
To serve, slice the sausage into rounds.
Party-Worthy
All of these home-cured sausages are super-durable and easy to take to parties. If you make a big batch early in the holiday season and freeze it, you can grab a couple of logs from the freezer any time you need a throw-down party dish, whether at your home or a potluck at someone else’s. My freezer now has an ample supply of these yummy sausages, although we’ve put them out a couple of times since their debut and I probably will need to replenish my stock before Christmas. 😎
Accompaniments
All of these sausages are fabulous on a charcuterie platter and taste great with any creamy savory dip from the Glover Gardens Cookbook archives:
The sausages also work well with a fresh, herbaceous dip like Churrasco’s Chimichurri, or just a spicy mustard. But you don’t have to dress them up with a dip – they’re delicious when you just grab a slice or two as a quick snack.
Stay Tuned
Still to come: the pork sausage recipe.
© 2024, Glover Gardens
mmmmm, this looks and sounds so tasty! I love me some turkey sausage. I think they would go great with dried tomatoes. And your presentation looks delicious. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you, Willy! I appreciate the affirming words. I was trying to re-create a Thanksgiving/Mediterranean-style taste, and it was pretty successful. I have realized that this message with the curing salt is super flexible, and will be trying out lots of other variations. Let me know if you try it, and if you have any other ideas.