What is it?

A coarse pork sausage, usually flavored with garlic and fennel and sold in links, the hot version (as opposed to the sweet Italian sausage) also contains hot red pepper and will look reddish when raw. Cook links whole on the stove or grill or slice them. You can also remove the meat from the casing and crumble it before cooking. Hot Italian sausage spices up grinders, pasta, stuffings and more.

Don’t have it?

Use sweet Italian sausage plus some crushed red pepper for heat.

How to choose:

Spiciness varies from sausage maker to sausage maker, so you may need to try a few kinds before choosing one with a texture and flavor you like best. You can usually find patties of hot Italian sausage as well.

How to prep:

To easily remove the meat from the casing, split the casing lengthwise.

How to store:

Keep refrigerated, or freeze for longer storage,

Recipes

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  Recipe

  Orecchiette with Leeks, Spinach, Sausage, and Peas

  Leeks pair well with spring ingredients like spinach and peas. The heat from the sausage balances the vegetables’ sweetness.

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  Spicy Sausage and Artichoke Linguine

  Nutty, buttery artichokes balance spicy Italian sausage, while crispy breadcrumbs and creamy mascarpone sauce make the whole dish hard to resist.

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  Sausage and Pepper Calzones

  Imagine a cross between pizza and a sausage and pepper sub sandwich, and you get the gist of how good these are. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping,…

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  Recipe

  Sausage and Sweet Pepper Grilled Pizza

  Little Italy's favorite street sandwich—Italian sausage and peppers—comes to life on top of this crispy, smoky pizza crust. This way you get more toppings and less bread. Now that's amore!

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  Recipe

  Skillet Lasagna

  Most lasagnas involve a big investment of time and a sink full of pots and pans, but not this one. It has all the pleasures of lasagna—layers of tender noodles,…

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  Recipe

  Risotto with Corn, Spicy Sausage, and Wilted Arugula

  This warming risotto studded with fresh corn kernels and spicy arugula bridges the transition from summer to fall.

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  Grilled Sausage with Summer Squash, Fresh Herbs & Olives

  The possibilities for this dish are limited only by what you've got fresh on hand, so don't hold back—add other summer vegetables, like peppers, eggplant or sweet onions.

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  Recipe

  New England Clambake

  Instead of digging a sand pit, fire up your kettle grill to steam a party's worth of lobsters, clams, mussels, corn and potatoes.

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  Steamed Mussels with Marinara & Spicy Soppressata

  This dish gets better the deeper you get into the bowl. You'll definitely want to serve this with some good crusty bread to dunk into the broth and scoop up…

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  Recipe

  Roasted Sausages & Grapes

  I like to use a mix of hot and sweet sausages for a more interesting dish. Serve this over risotto or polenta to balance the sweetness of the roasted grapes and the…