What Are The Best Cuts Of Meat For Making Pork Sausage?

Sausages are one of those classic, reliable dishes that can be made out of almost anything, helping to ensure excess food doesn't go to waste. But a lot of people don't realize that you can make sausages from the comfort of your home. If you're going to make sausage — particularly with pork, the most common base for it — what sort of cuts should you use? The answer, it turns out, has to do with the meat-to-fat ratios and the fact that you always want to stick to the 80-20 rule. With that in mind, pork shoulder is ideal for sausages, while bacon doesn't work at all.

Making homemade sausages is outside the purview of what constitutes "normal" cooking for most Americans. But it's eminently doable as long as you have a meat grinder attachment (they make those for stand mixers, and meat grinders are easier to clean than you might think) and some willingness to learn new techniques.

There are a lot of different cuts of pork. They're all going to have their advantages and disadvantages, but that ratio really is what it's all about. You need a certain level of fat in your sausages for them to avoid coming out dry; nobody wants a dry sausage. On the other hand, if the fat ratio is too high, the texture will be wet and slimy.

For this reason, any sort of cut with "loin" in the name (pork loin roast, pork tenderloin) is a bad idea, because they tend to be too lean. (The same is true of pork chops, which is also the reason pork chops don't grill well relative to other pork products.) Bacon is similarly a bad idea, because it's mostly fat.

Instead, what you're looking for is that classic grill cut: pork shoulder. Pork shoulder (also called pork butt) is has that perfect 80-20 ratio and works particularly well in a meat tube scenario.

While pork shoulder is the best for the job naturally, you can use other cuts of pork — you just have to get a little creative. That 80-20 ratio is what you're targeting, but don't fret if all you have available is a leaner meat. You can always add some fat to the mixture. 

Butchers will literally just sell you excess pork (or beef, but we're talking about pork here) fat if you ask for it. All you have to do is figure out the math with your meat-to-fat ratios, and you'll be good.

Whether you use one of the pre-existing cuts or creating an amalgamation, the most important thing is to remember to stick to that ratio. As long as you do that, you're free to get creative with it and figure out which flavor combinations are your personal favorites.