Learn how to make the best homemade Italian Sausage Burgers, perfect for a summer potluck!
This Spicy Pork Burger recipe is one of our family’s favourite dishes to cook at home when a craving for spicy food hits.
We love making these Spicy Burgers when flats of Italian sausages are on sale at our local grocery store. The quick & easy recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make. Simply push the Italian sausage meat out of its casings and form into patties with your hands. Fry on a griddle or large nonstick skillet until crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
We’re sure your friends and family will love this spicy burger recipe featuring flavourful spicy Italian sausages, sesame hamburger buns, creamy garlic aioli, sweet ketchup, mustard, hot pickled peppers and melted mozzarella cheese.
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What Are Italian Sausage Burgers?
In North America, an Italian sausage refers to a style of pork sausage.
The sausage is often seasoned with fennel and garlic. In Italy, however, a wide variety of sausages are made, many of which are quite different from the Italian American grocery store staple popular in Canada and America.
The most common varieties marketed as “Italian sausage” in supermarkets are hot, sweet, and mild. The main difference between hot and mild is the addition of hot red pepper flakes, which gives the sausage links a red colour. The difference between mild and sweet is often addition of sweet basil and omission of chili flakes.
Our Spicy Pork Burger recipe features a handmade patty that is simply prepared by pushing the sausage meat out of each casing.
The sausage is formed into a patty the size of a hamburger and then cooked over a griddle or large nonstick pan until crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
Once the sausage burger patty is cooked to your liking stuff it inside a sesame bun with your favourite mustard, ketchup, creamy garlic aioli, crunchy hot pickled peppers and slices of mozzarella cheese.
History of Burgers
The hamburger first appeared in the 19th or early 20th century.
The modern hamburger was a product of the culinary needs of a society rapidly changing due to industrialization and the emergence of the working class and middle class with the resulting demand for mass-produced, affordable food that could be consumed outside of the home.
Culinary historians suggest that either the Texas, USA or Germany (via the port city of Hamburg) was the first place where two slices of bread and a ground beef steak were combined into a “hamburger sandwich” and sold.
We like to believe the German tale speaks the truth. Minced meat was a delicacy in medieval cuisine as red meat was usually restricted to the higher classes. Russian ships brought recipes for steak tartare to the port of Hamburg during the 17th-century.
During the first half of the 19th-century, most northern European immigrants traveling to the New World departed from Hamburg’s port. New York City was a common destination for ships traveling from Hamburg, and various restaurants offered Hamburg-style steaks to attract German sailors. The steak frequently appeared on menus as a Hamburg-style American fillet.
Shortly after its creation, the hamburger quickly included its typical trimmings such as onions, lettuce, and sliced pickles.
Today, burgers are a ubiquitous and beloved dish found in casual restaurants as well as Michelin Star kitchens around the world. Creative chefs prepare burgers beyond the classic minced beef recipe, utilizing other ground meats like chicken, turkey, seafood and spicy pork sausage.
Where To Eat Spicy Italian Burgers
If you live in a large city in Canada or America you’ll likely have access to a local Italian restaurant that serves Spicy Pork Sausage Burgers. The popularity and proliferation of gourmet burger shops also offers plenty of opportunity to sample Spicy Burgers.
In Toronto, popular Italian restaurants and burger shops that may serve their own interpretation of a Spicy Pork Burger include:
Buca, Superpoint, Amano, Fabbrica, Oretta, FIGO, Nodo, Locale Mercatto, The Good Son, Taverna Mercatto, Ascari Enoteca, Il Fornello, Gusto 101, Bar Vendetta, Wahlburgers, W Burger Bar, Holy Chuck Burger, The Burgers Priest, Great Burger Kitchen or BQM Burger.
My Family Loves Italian Sausage Burgers
My family loves feasting on this spicy burger recipe.
While we do enjoy grilling traditional beef burgers on the barbecue, this easy Italian Sausage Burger can be enjoyed year round as it’s cooked inside the kitchen on a griddle or large nonstick pan.
When you visit the grocery store and skip through the meat aisle you’ll likely notice that prepared sausages are the cheapest and most affordable way to buy meat. During the summer months I find that a lot of supermarkets discount large flats of Italian sausage with sales stickers to entice families to host a backyard barbecue.
Whenever Italian sausages are on sale I buy a large flat and make these Spicy Pork Burgers. My family prefers them to barbecuing sausages on the grill as my dad doesn’t like eating the chewy casings.
If we’re hosting a large lunch or dinner party we’ll often prepare the sausage patties in the morning. Simply form the patties and place them on a baking sheet then cover in plastic wrap and story in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
We often serve the burgers with a buffet of side dishes and snacks like fries, poutine, chips, vegetables & dip, and nachos & salsa.
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Spicy Burger Recipe Health Benefits
Our homemade Spicy Burger recipe is packed full of wholesome ingredients!
Pork is an excellent source of protein and provides several important vitamins and minerals. It’s an excellent source of thiamin, selenium, niacin, vitamin B-6 and phosphorus, zinc, riboflavin and potassium.
Consuming cheese provides health benefits — especially improved bone health. Dairy foods provide nutrients that are vital for health and maintenance of your body. These nutrients include calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein.
Peppers are an incredible source of vitamins C and A, which support your skin and immune system. They also provide beneficial carotenoid compounds such as beta-carotene, which has been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers.
Italian Sausage Burger Ingredient Suggestions
I encourage you to get creative with your Italian sausage burger fixings based on your personal preferences.
When crafting your own recipe think about complementary and contrasting flavours and textures. The tender pork sausage patty is spicy and pairs perfectly with mild melted mozzarella cheese, crunchy and juicy pickled peppers and classic burger condiments like ketchup, mustard and garlic aioli.
Other Italian ingredients you might like to serve with Spicy Pork Burgers include sweet marinara sauce, antipasto stuffed cherry peppers, ciabatta rolls and cheeses like Boschetto al Tartufo, Parmigiano Reggiano, or Gorgonzola.
You can add an additional layer of spicy sausage to your Italian-inspired burgers by slathering a layer of ‘Nduja onto one of the buns. ‘Ndjua is a spreadable pork sausage from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. It is similar to sobrasada from Mallorca in Spain.
How Long Do You Cook An Italian Sausage Patty?
Always cook sausage to a minimum internal temperature of 160° F using a meat thermometer. Italian pork sausage patties require around 3-4 minutes of cooking time on each side, depending on how thick they are. Use a spatula flipper to turn patties until golden brown to ensure your nonstick skillet or griddle does not get damaged.
How Do You Keep Sausage Patties From Falling Apart?
We recommend using a griddle or nonstick skillet to cook fresh Italian sausage patties. If you want to use a barbecue grill we suggest wrapping the patties in plastic wrap and freezing them. Once ready to cook, unwrap the frozen sausage patties and place on a hot grill.
What Is Italian Sausage Made Of And What Makes It Different From Regular Sausage?
Italian sausage is usually sold fresh in the meat section of supermarkets, either as loose meat or in casings. It traditionally consists of ground pork and seasonings like fennel, garlic, anise seeds and other spices. The main difference between Italian Sausage and regular sausage is the unique seasoning, which comes from the licorice flavour of the fennel and anise.
Spicy Pork Burger Recipe Cooking Tips
This yummy Italian Sausage Burger recipe is quick and easy to make at home. We’ve included a few tips for first time burger makers!
- We’ve used Spicy Italian Sausages to form the burger patties but you can also use mild or sweet Italian sausages for those who can’t handle the heat!
- The ground pork meat squeezed out of one large Italian sausage produces one burger patty.
- Do not cook the fresh patties by grilling them on a barbecue. The raw sausage meat is very sticky and will fall apart when flipped on a grill. The best way to cook sausage burgers is by frying them on a griddle or in a large nonstick pan.
- We like to use Mezzetta Pickled Peppers but you can also make homemade Fermented Jalapenos.
- Our burger features mozzarella, one of our favourite cheeses from Italy as it melts so easily. You can substitute for other Italian cheeses like bocconcini, asiago or pecorino.
- We like using traditional sesame buns when making these burgers but you could also use ciabatta rolls from your local Italian bakery.
- You can add an additional layer of spicy sausage to your Italian burgers by slathering one of the buns with spicy ‘Ndjua, a spreadable pork sausage from Calabria.
What To Serve With a Spicy Pork Burger
We love serving homemade Spicy Italian Sausage Burgers with fresh salads or snacky side dishes.
Hosting a burger-themed dinner party or potluck to a crowd? You may also enjoy like to serve these popular burger recipes:
- Brandy Caramelized Onion French Burger
- Thai Red Curry Prawn Burger
- Air Fryer Burgers
- Pineapple Plantain Jamaican Jerk Chicken Burger
- Crispy Chicken Schnitzel Burger
Pair our Spicy Burger recipe with some of our favourite snackable side dishes like:
- Baked Jalapeno Poppers
- Cheesy Mexican Queso
- Crunchy Onion Rings
- Fully Loaded Nachos
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Spicy Crispy Roasted Harissa Potatoes
- Cheesy Bacon Air Fryer Potato Skins
- Viral TikTok Air Fryer Pasta Chips
- Homemade Air Fryer Pizza Rolls
- McCain Tater Tot Poutine
You May Also Enjoy These Italian Recipes…
- Traditional Tagliatelle alla Bolognese Pasta
- Lumache Rigate Snail Pasta with Garlic Butter
- Creamy Saffron Tagliatelle Pasta with Ricotta and Mint
- Vegetarian Mafalda Pasta Noodles
- Ndunderi Amalfi Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi
- Sartu Di Riso Italian Baked Risotto
- Maccheroni al Ferretto Pasta with Beef Ragu
- Vegetarian Gorgonzola Risotto al Radicchio
- Creamy Prime Rib Pasta
- Crispy Roast Chicken and Leek Risotto
- Easy Caprese Gnocchi Cheese Bake Casserole
- Homemade Corzetti Pasta
- Fresh Fig Prosciutto Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Burrata Bruschetta Crostini with Tomato Chutney
- Culurgiones Sardinian Cheese & Potato Stuffed Pasta
How To Make A Spicy Italian Pork Sausage Burger Recipe
Spicy Italian Sausage Burgers Recipe
Equipment
- French knife
- Nonstick Skillet
- Spatula Flipper
Ingredients
- 4 Spicy Italian Sausages casings removed
- 4 Hamburger Buns
- 4 tbsp Garlic Aioli
- 4 tbsp Ketchup
- 4 tbsp Mustard
- 1/3 cup Pickled Peppers
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
Instructions
- Squeeze meat out of spicy Italian sausages and discard casings.
- Using your hands, form sausage meat into 4 burger patties.
- Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and fry patties on each side for 3-4 minutes until browned and cooked through.
- Slice open the hamburger buns. On the bottom of each bun slather garlic aioli, ketchup, mustard and mozzarella cheese slice.
- Using a spatula flipper, top with spicy Italian sausage burger patty. Top patty with sliced pickled peppers and gently press the top of the hamburger bun to form a sandwich.
- Serve Spicy Italian Sausage Burgers with a fresh salad or chips.
Nutrition
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