Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage

I've recently started experimenting with making my own fresh sausages and I've been loving it. I really love sausages but I am always skeptical about the length of time some sausages spend in supermarket coolers. Seems like there must be a lot of preservatives in there to give them the kind of shelf life that some of them have printed on the label; plus you never know what they are using for binders and fillers. They are almost always way too salty for my taste too and I just want to feel a little better about indulging in one of my favorite things to serve for weekend brunch.

Southern style breakfast sausage is one of my favorites and I have been working on getting the seasoning just right in a good easy homemade version. I think this is it. Everyone loved this sausage, even the boy child who isn't a big fan in general. They even had them for lunch when they came home from school the next day, made into delicious breakfast sandwiches with the leftover Buttermilk Biscuits from the day before. Be sure you have plenty of those light flaky biscuits on hand to serve with this tasty sausage.

Make a larger batch to freeze for up to a couple of months and enjoy these at brunch for several weekends to come.

Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage - deliciously seasoned breakfast sausage with very little salt and no preservatives. Remarkably little effort is needed to make this easy, delicious sausage.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 7 to 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 1 dozen sausage patties

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds ground pork shoulder or butt
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp marjoram (or oregano)
• 1 tsp ground sage
• pinch cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
• 1 tsp dry thyme

Cooking Directions

1. Mix the salt and spices together until well combined.
2. Cut the pork into small cubes.
3. Toss the pork cubes in the spice mixture until they are completely coated. (Note: If you are using pre-ground pork add it to a bowl a little at a time, sprinkling some of the spice mix between the layers before mixing together well. This ensures an even distribution of the spices throughout the sausage.)
4. Coarsely grind the spiced pork cubes. Cover and place in the fridge for an hour or two or preferably overnight for the flavors to blend together.
5. Form into 3 ounce patties and fry to lightly golden brown.
6. If freezing the sausage, place each patty between 2 pieces of parchment paper to more easily separate them when frozen. Stack a few at a time and wrap in plastic wrap or place in ziploc bags to freeze. 

Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage