A Family Tradition

From the time I was young, making homemade sausage has been a tradition in my family. Some time ago, I inherited the meat grinder used by my paternal Italian grandparents for years. I was so thrilled to have this part of our family history handed down to me! In light of that fact, I thought it would be nice to start off the New Year with a day of doing this memorable tradition with my family. 

This is a bowl of gorgeous pork butt roast cut into chunks.

Next, it was seasoned with the spices our family likes in our sausage. A simple homemade sausage recipe is easy to find on the internet so you can get an idea of the typical spices generally used.

This is what the chucks of meat look like once they have gone through the grinder.

Now my father, my husband, Dean, and I run the meat through the grinder (notice it's a hand crank one!) a second time, this time into the casing that will hold it in the sausage shape.

The tray is getting full of our delicious homemade sausage!

My father cut the very long sausage link into smaller links just like you see them packaged in the store.

My mother, my daughter, Becca, and Dean are in charge of packaging the individual links into meal size portions. The sausage is then put into the freezer for safe keeping until we're ready to pull some out for a meal!

 I can tell you, there's just nothing like the taste of fresh, homemade sausage. We had a great time tasting the delicious results and making fun, family memories that will last a lifetime!

~ ♥ ~ 
What tradition is passed down in your family from generation to generation?