Like Breakfast Sausage? Disappointed in the mystery meat the man is trying to pass off as breakfast sausage? Its time to go toe to toe with Jimmy Dean! Besides, you know you have a meat grinder somewhere collecting dust and if you or your Grandma don’t, consider picking one up. The grinder I use is an attachment for my stand mixer which made the purchase much easier to rationalize. Now, take a deep breath, and lets do this!
Breakfast Sausage Recipe…
3lbs. Pork Shoulder, diced in roughly 1 in. pieces
1lb. Pork Fat, diced in roughly 1 in. pieces
1.5 Tbl. Sage, dried
1 Tbl. Oregano, dried
1 Tbl. Crushed Red Pepper
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbl. Brown Sugar
1.5 Tbl. Kosher Salt
1 Tbl. Black Pepper, Coarse Ground
Before you get started, here are a couple of tips…
- In my opinion, dried herbs work best for this recipe. During the cooking process, the fat melts & it wakes up the concentrated dried herb flavor. However, if you grow your own sage and oregano, use them!
- BUY YOUR SPICES IN BULK! I have found that bulk spices are fresher and they are a fraction of the cost of the jarred.
- Pick the pork shoulder that appears to have the most fat. I know, this is the opposite of what you have been taught but pork fat can be hard to find and every little bit helps. I save the trimmings from other cuts of pork and freeze them till ready to use. If there is an old school butcher in your town, ask and s/he will most likely sell you some.
- If you have no access to a grinder, you can purchase ground pork meat. This will result in a less unctuous sausage due to the lack of pork fat.
- Refer to manufcturers instructions on the specifics of grinding meat with your machine.
- The key for extending the life of your food grinder is to immediatly clean all parts. I keep a bottle brush handy because it can get to those hard to reach places. Also, I store the dies in a plastic bag submerged in cornstarch. This will help to prevent them from rusting.
Instructions for Basic Sausage…
1. Mix together all spices & herbs 
2. Add mixture to diced pork & pork fat 
3. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hrs. 
4. Grind sausage through a large die 
5. Cook off test patty, adjust seasonings if needed 
6. Store, label, date & freeze
You can store your breakfast sausage in freezer bags. If you prefer to freeze in a log shape, here is how.
1. Lay out sheet of plastic wrap and mound desired amount of sausage in the shape of a log.
2. Roll up plastic around mounded sausage & tear off plastic. Twist the right end backwards and the left end forwards like a piece of candy. Continue twisting until there is enough tension in the plastic wrap to force the sausage in to a cylindrical shape.
3. Repeat process with foil
I like this method because you can make sausage patties quickly. Tear back the foil, as much as you want, let the sausage temper at room temperature for about 10 min., slice as thick as desired, then remove the plastic before cooking & return remaining sausage to the freezer. Don’t forget to wrap up the exposed end.
I find freezer bags are good if you are going to be making sausage gravy or for mixing in to scrambled eggs. After squeezing out the air, I like to mash the full freezer bag as evenly flat as possible. This accelerates the thawing process. If you like your breakfast sausage linked, you’ll need sheep casings but that my friend is the subject of another post.
~ Marla
