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homemade romanian sausages arranged on a plate
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Homemade Romanian Sausages (Cârnați de Casă)

Homemade Romanian sausages are made with a uniquely Romanian combination of seasonings that gives them their distinctive flavor. Garlic-forward, heat from ample black pepper, earthiness from summer savory and smokiness from smoked bacon. The meat is coarsely ground and stuffed into natural pork casings. Fried or grilled, they turn golden and crackly on the outside while staying moist and succulent on the inside.
This quantity of ingredients made 48 sausages, which were packaged into 7 bags, 6 sausages per bag (about 110–125 g (3.9–4.4 oz) per sausage, 700 g (1.54 lb) per bag of 6), for a total of around 5–5.5 kg (11–12.1 lb) of sausages.
If you want to make less then see the table in the recipe post.
Course Appetizer, Charcuterie, Dinner, Snack
Cuisine Eastern European, Romanian
Keyword Ground Meat, Ground pork, Pork, Sausages
Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Rest Time 1 hour
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings 48 sausages
Calories 256kcal

Equipment

  • meat grinder and sausage stuffer I used a KitchenAid stand mixer full metal food grinder and sausage stuffer.

Ingredients

  • 3.7 kg pork neck (ceafă de porc) 8.15lbs
  • 700 grams pork belly fat 1.5lbs
  • 200 grams cold smoked bacon 0.45lbs
  • 120 grams pork casings 0.25lbs
  • 80 grams salt 2.8oz
  • 15 cloves garlic
  • 4 tablespoons dried summer savory i.e. cimbru
  • 2 tablespoons black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons paprika (sweet or hot) optional to taste
  • 500 ml water

Instructions

  • Prepare casings: Rinse thoroughly and soak at least 30 minutes for fresh casings or 2 hours up to overnight for salt preserved casings; keep submerged until use.
  • Chill everything: Keep meat, fat, grinder parts, and bowls very cold.
  • Grind: Cut meat, fat, and bacon into chunks. Grind through a medium plate.
  • Season: Add salt, garlic, pepper, cimbru, and paprika (if using).
  • Mix: Mix, adding water a bit at a time, until the meat becomes smooth and cohesive (2-3 minutes).
  • Stuff: Load casings onto the stuffer tube, start slowly, and fill evenly with even tension.
  • Link: Twist into desired lengths, alternating directions. Prick air pockets if needed.
  • Rest: Refrigerate sausages uncovered 2–12 hours, ideally hanging on a rack for air flow.
  • To cook: Grill or pan-fry gently over medium heat until browned and cooked through.
  • To freeze: Put sausages in freezer bags in quantity desired. Freeze up to 2 months for optimal freshness. Defrost before cooking.

Notes

Alternatives to pork neck:
  • Cuts with god marbling like boneless pork shoulder or butt. See post for full substitution information.