Bulk Recipe: Seasoning for Sausage

I am a huge fan of make-your-own bulk seasoning recipes.

I have to admit, there were many, many years when I frequented that isle in the grocery store where all of those seasonings are displayed in little foil packets. Truly, at that time I had no idea how to season anything on my own, back then I had not yet heard of Google. Teaching yourself to cook in those days meant trips to the library and trying to write down recipes quickly on the back of a napkin as older, well meaning, women spouted them at 100 miles an hour.

What a blessing it is now to find recipes to make my own jars and bottles of tasty blends of spices.

Here is one favorite at my house: sausage seasoning. As you may remember, we do our best to stay with in kosher guidelines, including the Biblical mandate not to eat pork, so I would often substitute hamburger for bulk sausage in recipes. It just isn't the same, however, and was always missing something. A great little trick that I have stumbled on (why didn't I think of this earlier?) is to add this seasoning to raw hamburger before cooking to give it that familiar, savory sausage flavor, perfect for the recipe.

And, what's great, is that being a bulk recipe, you mix it up once and use it multiple times. Streamlined efficiency is always my goal!

SAUSAGE SEASONING

3 tbsp. rosemary, ground
10 tbsp. sage, ground
7 tbsp. salt
3 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. marjoram
3 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. basil, powdered
3 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. garlic powder or garlic salt
3 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. cayenne, if desired

Mix all ingredients. Store in a glass jar. Shake well before using. Makes about 1 cup of seasoning. Use three tablespoons per pound of meat.