Party Recipe: Turkey Sausage with Fennel and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

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.

Recipe: Turkey Sausage with Fennel Seeds and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

A savory home-cured turkey sausage with whole fennel seeds, peppercorns, sun-dried tomatoes, white wine and a lively blend of spices, perfect for parties and charcuterie boards.

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Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Curing Time: Up to 3 days days

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Mediterranean-inspired

Ingredients Instructions Notes

Ingredients

  

• 3 lbs. ground turkey, 90% lean
• 1½ cups white wine, or substitute water
• 1½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 tsp dried minced garlic
• 2 tsp cayenne
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp whole fennel seeds
• 1½ tbsp onion powder
• 1½ tbsp dried thyme leaves
• 2 tbsp Morton Tender Quick curing mix
• 1½ tbsp sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped

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Instructions

 

1. Combine the 3 lbs. ground turkey, 1½ cups white wine, 1½ tsp ground black pepper, 2 tbsp whole black peppercorns, 2 tsp dried minced garlic, 2 tsp cayenne, 2 tsp red pepper flakes, 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp whole fennel seeds, 1½ tbsp onion powder, 1½ tbsp dried thyme leaves, 2 tbsp Morton Tender Quick and 1½ tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly until the seasonings are evenly distributed.
2. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into a compact sausage log about 1¼ inches thick and 8 inches long. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or wax paper, pressing out any air pockets.
3. Refrigerate the wrapped sausage logs for at least 24 hours before cooking; longer is even better, with a maximum of 3 days.
4. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Spray the rack well with cooking spray.
5. Unwrap the sausage logs and place them on the prepared rack. Bake for 30 minutes, turn the logs, then bake for about 30 minutes more, or until the centers reach 165°F.
6. Remove from the oven and cool completely, then refrigerate.
7. To serve, slice the chilled sausage into rounds about ⅜ inch wide.
8. To freeze, wrap individual sausage logs in foil or plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag.

Notes

Curing salt: Use Morton Tender Quick curing mix, not ordinary salt or another curing salt, and measure it carefully.

Liquid: White wine gives the sausage more flavor, but water works well as a substitute.

Peppercorns: This version uses fewer whole peppercorns than the beef sausage so they complement rather than dominate the milder turkey. 

Flavor profile: Whole fennel seeds and sun-dried tomatoes give the sausage its distinctive Mediterranean-inspired flavor.

Make-ahead: The sausage benefits from a longer cure, so 24 hours up to a maximum of 3 days in the refrigerator is ideal when your schedule allows.

Serving ideas: Serve the sliced sausage on a charcuterie board, buffet platter or appetizer tray. It is excellent with creamy savory dips, chimichurri or spicy mustard.

Freezing: The cooked sausage freezes well, making it an especially useful party recipe to prepare ahead.

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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 savory dips from the Glover Gardens Cookbook archives:

• Spicy Red Pesto
• Tangy-Creamy Horseradish Dip
• Golden Onion Dip

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, once it is fine-tuned.

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