Make fish sausage yourself – tasty and easy

Today I’m going to show you how to make a fish sausage yourself. It’s easy and super quick to make.  

The grilling season has started and the fish sausage is a great change from the typical pork sausage and is perfect for a barbecue. It is suitable for beginners and fish lovers.

Which fish you use is up to you. The important thing is that it tastes good. What you should pay attention to, however, is that you take a firm fish meat, because the sausage is already softer by design than a typical bratwurst. 

 If you’re interested in more great bratwurst recipes, my recipe book “24 Bratwurst Recipes For A Perfect Barbecue Experience” is for you!

I also answered some general questions about making bratwurst in my post Making Bratwurst Yourself. Have a look there.

But now enough talking… 

Here you will find the complete fish sausage recipe as a video or to read through.

Have fun and good luck making it!

Fish sausage – What do you need to make it?

The equipment to make fish sausage 

Meat Grinder

You need a meat grinder to “grind” the meat. The meat is chopped into small chunks with it.

Spice grinder / mortar

To grind your spices, it is best to use a spice mill. Alternatively, a mortar is also suitable. Or you can use already ground spices. I recommend grinding them yourself.

Food processor / Thermomix

In a food processor, the ingredients are blended and processed into a mass. This way you can make your own fish sausage without a cutter. If you have a thermomixer, you can also use it for this.

 Sausage filler / attachment for the meat grinder / hand filling funnel

You need this to get your meat mass into the casing. For starters, you can also use a filling attachment for your meat grinder or a hand filling funnel.

Natural casings / jars

The fish sausage is stuffed into natural casings. I recommend you to use pork casing caliber 22/24.

If you want to make fish sausage without casings, you can use jars and boil down the mixture. 

Step-By-Step Instructions

1

Prepare the herbs

Chop the parsley and dill. I prefer doing this by hand so the herbs stay a little coarser and give the fish sausage more texture.

2

Cut and partially freeze the fish

Dice the fish and partially freeze it. If using frozen fish, don’t thaw it completely. Cold fish helps the mixture bind during processing.

3

Put the fish and spices in the food processor

Put the spices and fish in a food processor. The fennel seeds give this sausage a special kick and go perfectly with fish.

4

Process the mixture

Run the food processor until you have a firm, even mixture.

5

Add the cream

Add the partially frozen cream and mix thoroughly. The fish-to-cream ratio affects the firmness; 30 % cream gives a smooth, supple texture.

6

Stir in the herbs

Add the herbs and process only briefly so they don’t become too fine. The mixture should bind well.

7

Fill the casing

Stuff the mixture into casings. Important: Don’t overfill them or they can burst when frying. I use hog casings caliber 22/24. I prefer smaller fish sausages because the mixture is softer than a regular bratwurst.

8

Link the sausages

Link the sausages to your preferred length. Pinch with two fingers on each hand and turn the link forward a few times. Skip one length and repeat.

9

Poach the fish sausage

Optionally poach the fish sausages at 70 °C for about 20–25 minutes. I recommend this before grilling or frying because the softer mixture becomes more stable and makes less mess on the grill. It also makes freezing easier.

10

Ready!

Your fish sausage is ready. Enjoy! 😄