Homemade Spicy Italian Sausage

Cut the pork shoulder into bite-sized pieces and place them in a chilled container to keep them fresh while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Using a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic with a small amount of salt until you have a smooth paste. Then, add the chopped fennel, ground anise, and black pepper to the mortar. Gently crush these ingredients together with a pestle to release their flavors and aromas. Add the red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, marjoram, ground coriander, mustard seeds, allspice, sugar, and a splash of water to the mortar. Mix everything together until it's well combined.

Add the spice paste you've created to the pork pieces and mix them thoroughly with your hands. Add any remaining salt and cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap to allow the flavors to meld together over the next 8 hours or overnight.

Using a meat grinder, process the chilled pork through its slowest grinding setting to break it down into smaller pieces.

Attach a sausage casing to the stuffing tube of your meat grinder and feed the ground pork through it, filling the casing as you go. Continue to run the meat through the casing on the slowest speed until all of the casing is used up. Secure the end of the casing with a knot and use your fingers to pinch and twist the meat into individual links if desired.

Arrange the sausage links on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and refrigerate them uncovered for 24 hours to allow the flavors to mature.

Preheat your charcoal grill to medium heat and separate the sausage links. Grill them over medium heat, turning them frequently, until they're nicely browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.