Italian Chicken Sausage

My husband speaks in idioms. “You don’t want to see sausage being made” is one I’ve heard him say frequently. I beg to differ. I think we should all see sausage being made. In fact, we should all be making sausage regularly. At least this italian inspired chicken sausage. People often stare at me in disbelief when I tell them this sausage is homemade, but they don’t know how easy it really is. If you have 5 minutes, then you can have this flavorful better-for-you add-in that I use in my roasted butternut squash and chicken lasagna. Did I mention, it freezes well (if you even have any left!) and stores in the fridge for up to a week. And, its a much leaner alternative to traditional, red meat sausage.

I like to make this ahead of time and store in the fridge so I can do quick breakfasts, as needed. I’ve  added it quiches, omelettes, sandwiches, pastas, and as a stand alone brunch staple.

The key to keeping this sausage moist is to, first, make sure that they chicken has as little liquid as possible (so it can bind itself to the breadcrumbs and cheese) and second, don’t skip the breadcrumbs!

Italian Chicken Sausage

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 10 mins
• Yield: 12 1x

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Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground chicken breast
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper (more for hot sausage)

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Instructions

1. Remove all excess liquid from chicken. In a large bowl, mix together chicken, fennel seeds, oregano, basil, salt, and red pepper. Mix until well blended.
2. Slowly add in breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and mix well.
3. Form 12 round patties, in 1 inch thickness.
4. Set aside for 15 minutes before cooking or if storing, place in air tight container, and refrigerate for us to 5 days. Lasts 3 months in the freezer.
5. To cook:
6. Lightly grease a medium skillet and heat on medium heat. Add the sausage patties, cooking for 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Alternatively, to add sausage into sauces etc, break up patties with the back of a spoon until no large pieces remain. Cook as normal.

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