Homemade Breakfast Sausage

By Kathy C.

http://quietlyrunningtherace.blogspot.com/ "We love breakfast sausage, but we don't like all the nasty extra ingredients they put in it.

A while back I set out to find a way to make my own. I don't have a meat grinder or any of the paraphernalia required to make cased sausage. But it is really easy to make sausage patties. The first time I made this recipe, I bought a pork roast and cut it into large cubes and ground it by pulsing it in batches in my food processor. The second time I picked up a pound of clean ground pork from Whole Foods and whipped up the same recipe super fast. You will never buy breakfast sausage again when you see how easy this is. I love being able to control exactly what is in our food and still getting the flavors that we have enjoyed in the past."

Ingredients

• Jimmy Dean Type Pork Breakfast Sausage:
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp rubbed sage
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp crushed coriander
• (I found the whole coriander was a little intense. I collect the coriander seeds when my cilantro goes to seed and crush it in my mortar and pestle. The coriander is that "something" spice that gives most sausage it's sausagey flavor.)
• For a Hot Version just add 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
• Maple Sausage:
• 1 lb ground pork
• 3 Tbsp Maple syrup
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp crushed coriander
• Maple Garlic Sausage:
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp Maple syrup
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• This combination ends up tasting like Chinese food to me. The combination of the salt, the syrup, and the garlic is very reminiscent of a soy sauce flavor with garlic. Odd but true, and very tasty!

Preparation

Step 1

*Posted on THM website: I use any ground meat for this but increase the spices except for the salt on strong meats like ground beef.
*Makes great Homemade Turkey Sausage.

Jimmy Dean Type Pork Breakfast Sausage:

In a large bowl place ground pork. Sprinkle the spices over the pork or mix the spices seperately and then sprinkle over the pork. Mix well (I just used my hands). Form into small patties. And cook in a pan on medium heat with a little oil for each batch of sausages. Turning and cooking until cooked through and golden brown. Drain on paper towels or brown paper and serve.

You can also store these in the freezer in zip-top bags, just place waxed paper between the patties to prevent sticking.

Maple Sausage/Maple Garlic Sausage:

These two sausage versions cook quickly and brown faster because of the sugar in the maple syrup. So watch to be careful you don't burn them.

In a large bowl place ground pork. Sprinkle the spices over the pork or mix the spices seperately and then sprinkle over the pork. Mix well (I just used my hands). Form into small patties. And cook in a pan on medium heat with a little oil for each batch of sausages. Turning and cooking until cooked through and golden brown. Drain on paper towels or brown paper and serve.