Apple, sage, and fennel breakfast sausage

By á-3974

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs. vegetable oil; more as needed
• 2 tart cooking apples (15 oz. total),
• such as Granny Smith or Pink Lady,
• peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch
• dice
• 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly
• sliced, white and green parts divided
• 2 lb. ground pork (avoid pork labeled
• "extra tender," if possible)
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves,
• finely chopped
• 1 1/4 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar
• or lightly chopped
• Table salt and freshly ground
• black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oven to 200°F. In a 10-inch
skillet, heat 1 Tbs. of the oil over medium
heat. Add the apples and the scal-
lion whites. Cook, stirring occasionally,
until the apples soften and just begin
to brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool for
10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the
apple mixture with the pork, scallion
greens, sage, fennel seeds, 1 tsp. salt,
and 3/4 tsp. pepper. Mix with your hands
until well combined, but don't compact
the mixture. Gently shape into 16 pat-
ties, about 3 inches in diameter and
3/4 inch thick.

In a 12-inch heavy skillet, or a grill
pan, heat the remaining 2 Tbs. oil over
medium-low to medium heat. Cook
the sausages (in batches so they're
not crowded) until nicely browned and
cooked through, about 5 minutes per
side. Add more oil only if needed after
each batch, and adjust the heat to pre-
vent overbrowning.