These “Perfect” Sausages Are Just as Delicious as My Italian Uncle’s Homemade Ones (They’re on Sale!)

I grew up in an Italian family and an Italian neighborhood, and sausage was something that frequently made its way into our meals. We’d grill sausages in the summer, eat sausage frittatas on lazy weeknights, have sausage in our Sunday gravy, and for celebratory events like birthdays, we’d break out large trays of sausages and peppers for guests to dig into. While my parents were fine with serving supermarket links to me and my sisters, they upped the ante for special occasions. If we were invited to a barbecue or bringing a sausage-and-pepper tray to a graduation party, we’d get the “nice” sausage from the local Italian butcher shop or thaw out our stash of my Uncle Frankie’s famous homemade sausage, which always earned rave reviews. So, you can see that we took sausage very seriously.

Once I became an adult, I really didn’t put any thought into buying sausage. Anything from the grocery store was fine with me — and the cheaper, the better. They’re all pretty much the same, no? Well, after a recent dinner with my sister and her family, I discovered that the answer is indeed no. I had the opportunity to try Porter Road’s sweet Italian sausage links, and they tasted just like something from an Italian butcher shop — and dare I say, they might even rival the homemade links my Uncle Frankie made.

Iconic Nashville-based butcher shop Porter Road works directly with local farmers to deliver humanely raised, high-quality meat products to its customers. A favorite of The Kitchn team, Porter Road sells top-notch beef, chicken, pork, and sausage that, unlike many supermarket products, is free of antibiotics and hormones. Seventeen different sausages are available on their site, in a variety of meats, flavors, and formats, including ground chorizo sausage (see our review), sage sausage patties, bratwurst links, all-beef hot dogs, and, of course, sweet Italian links. Made from pork, salt, sugar, fennel seed, coriander, paprika, oregano, basil, black pepper, and pork casing, Porter Road’s sweet Italian links cost $11 for one pound, and are delivered frozen to your doorstep. (Through Sept. 3, you can save 15% off during Porter Road’s Labor Day Sale!)

Since my sister was hosting a barbecue, I followed the old family tradition of bringing the “nice” sausages for us to grill. My nephew took over the cooking duties, grilling the sausages until the casings browned and developed a sear. Once they were done, he paired them with peppers and onions that he sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with some salt and pepper. Dinner was served.

The first thing we all noticed was that Porter Road’s sweet Italian links were leaner and more tender than supermarket sausages; the meat seemed more finely ground. But the quality of these links was superior. My sister and I both commented that they were more like the homemade sausages we had when we were growing up. In fact, they reminded us quite a bit of the links our Uncle Frankie used to make. While they weren’t an exact match, all of the same elements were there: the fragrant fennel, the warm spiciness of pepper, oregano, and coriander, and the mild sweetness of basil, sugar, and paprika. 

I’m happy to say that the sausages were a hit, and after devouring them, we started talking about more ways they’d be delicious: in a Sunday gravy with meatballs; slow-cooked with peppers and onions and served on a crusty roll; roasted with potatoes and sprigs of rosemary…You get the idea.

Porter Road has now become my go-to for buying sweet Italian sausage links. I love the convenience of having top-quality sausage stocked in my freezer, ready to be transformed into a delicious dish. These are definitely the “nice” sausages my parents would save for special occasions, but now I get to enjoy them any time I want. 

Buy: Sweet Italian Links, $9.35 (normally $11)