Hannibal Lecter’s Sweet Italian Sausage

Today we invite Hannibal the Cannibal back into my kitchen and make his sweet Italian sausage. Does that make this a Wiener Wednesday??? I think it does!

If you recall, I purchased 3 recipe cards that were used as props on the most excellent TV show, Hannibal (R.I.P.). And, as with Hannibal’s Pork Liver With Bacon (check it if you missed it), I had to do a little research on making sausage, since the ingredients on the front of the card didn’t correspond to the cooking directions on the back.

Let’s just say that I have watched A LOT of sausage videos on youtube.

As with the Pork Liver, this recipe card is from the Season 1 episode “Sorbet.” In this episode, Will Graham and company think they are tracking someone who is harvesting organs to sell them on the black market…or are they?

This is one of my favorite moments of the entire series. I love ya, Scott Thompson!

spleen1spleen2spleen3

And then:intestines

Cut to:

hannibalsausage2hannibalsausage1hannibalsausage3 hannibalsausage4

Hell yeah, the Chesapeake Ripper made sausages! And here’s the recipe…(plus video of me actually stuffing the sausage!)

sausage recipe 1
As always, I had to figure out certain ingredients hidden behind the scrapbook corners
sausage recipe 2
These directions are from another recipe card

Mr. Kinsey, noted author, and travel vlogger, did me a solid and filmed the sausage-making process from grinding to stuffing to cooking. He even bought me the sausage attachment to my KitchenAid mixer and the sausage casings.  If you’ve forgotten, he is a hardcore vegetarian. Whatta guy!

Sausage making isn’t the prettiest thing in the world–you can’t make it not awkward. Check it out for yourself and watch the video!

(As always, the clips at the end are the best part, so be sure to watch all the way through. Yay, gag reel!).

Coming soon: Beef Tongue with Horseradish!!!

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21 thoughts on “Hannibal Lecter’s Sweet Italian Sausage

  1. Hi Yinzerella-

    I really loved your video. Thanks for tagging me when you tweeted it.

    We too had trouble (and laughs) making sausages on set for the scene. Mads got quite good at it. But it’s a messy spurt-y squishy business. The sausage-making guy at my butcher makes it look so easy…but you need to twist them as you go or put much less meat in the casing so they don’t spring back into one big long sausage.

    Sorry about the recipe inaccuracies – blame the art department who made them up and rarely had time to consult me. They couldn’t even use real recipes because of copyrights.

    If you want recipes that work (what a concept!), you can get my cookbook, Feeding Hannibal, after October (or pre-order fr Amazon)

    Keep up the spirit and the good work! Cannibals must be fed!

    1. I knew that the recipes wouldn’t be full (or that accurate), but it’s been so fun making them!
      I pre-ordered your book as soon as it was announced however many months ago. I can’t wait!

  2. When I made sausage, I got the skins free from the meat dept in the grocery store. I also twisted the links as they were coming out of the grinder.It’s easier if it’s a 2-person job: one pushing the meat through the grinder while the other twists the links. Yours looked really good!

    1. Thanks!
      Well, there was no way that Mr. Kinsey was going to handle the sausages. He had a hard of enough time just looking at it. LOL
      Next time I will enlist the assistance of a carnivore friend 🙂

  3. Ok I actually want to give this a try. we have a Mi Pueblo here and they have all the “weird” meats so I’m wondering if they have back fat and what have you.

    1. Yeah there is no washing the smoke off of bacon since that is what is used to cure it. So you make a fancy breakfast sausage. How awesome would that be in a jambalaya or that other one with the see food that I can’t remember the name of or a jumbo. I doubt they will go to waist. I just wouldn’t use them to make a red sauce.

      1. Yeah, I knew it wasn’t going to work, but I had no other option at the time!
        I plan on cooking the sausages up withe some peppers and onions and serving it on rolls. Should be good!

  4. I love watching you make things! It’s entertaining (and reassuring) to see someone struggle with the hard parts. And I’m so happy to see even a little part of Hannibal live on….

    Occasionally I make Italian sausages, but Hannibal would be horrified because they’re a vegetarian seitan-based version. They are waaay easier to make (No casings! Just steam them wrapped in foil), but they also don’t give me a good excuse to get a new KitchenAid attachment.

    1. And boy oh boy do I struggle with the hard parts! LOL. I’m glad you like the videos 🙂
      Hannibal may be horrified, but Mr. Kinsey would like those seitan-based ones. I’ve learned that vegan casings exist. Send me over your recipe sometime!

    2. I use my grinder attachment with dried fruit to make homemade Lara Bars, that way I don’t blow out my food processor. It is a sticky clean-up, though.

      1. I would never have thought of that! I did once put nuts through it, however for little cheese balls I made a while ago.

  5. Impressive! Hilarious! Very fun! Much more realistic than all those other uTube videos who make it look so easy! Loved the opening zoom shot.

    1. That’s what Mr. Kinsey said–“this is probably the most realistic sausage-making video on youtube.”

      It was a mess. A mess!

    1. I have a freezer full of sausage. Like, over 4 pounds of sausage in my freezer.
      I think I’m going to make a lot of sausage with peppers and onions once football season comes around.

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