Breakfast sausage without a "kit" or commerical mix.....

[TasunkaWitko]

I'm looking for a good, basic, non-elaborate breakfast sausage recipe from scratch.

Any suggested recipes? This might sound crazy, but I recently tried some sausage patties that some friends got from Sam's Club and it was absolutely delicious. If anyone has had it, that's pretty close to what I'm going for.

[rbranstner]

I'm still looking for "The One" myself. So far all the recipes I've made havent done it for me yet.

[bkleinsmid]

Morning Guy's.........
This recipe is about as simple as it gets. I got it second hand from another forum so I don't have a name for the original poster.

"I had to make up a new batch of breakfast sausage seasoning, and I follow a recipe by weight:

8 oz. Salt
2 oz. Black pepper
1 oz. Sage
Put in ziploc and shake thoroughly, then use ½ oz. Per lb. Of meat

However, this time, for those that don't have scales, I also dumped the contents of each into appropriate measuring cups and come out with:

¾ cup salt
½ cup black pepper
½ cup sage
Put in ziploc and shake thoroughly, then use 1 tbsp. Per pound of meat

You still have to have a pretty good idea of how much pork you have and the measurements are not as exact as weighing the ingredients (how coarse is the pepper ground, same with salt, etc.) but it should be in the ballpark.
Hope this helps!"

For me it has a bit too much sage so I cut it back by a third but other people that I have made it for love it.

Brad

[barkonbutts]

Here is the one that I use and the family seems to like it quite a bit... or atleast it can be a starter....I find it best if it can sit for a day or so prior to cooking but hey that is me...I use a 85-15 or 80-20 mix on my meat..40% is way too fatty if you ask me.....

Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage Clone

- Per 16 ounces ground pork 45% fat
- 1 t Salt
- 1/2 t dried Parsley
- 1/4 t rubbed Sage (or more)
- 1/4 t fresh coarse ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 t dried Thyme (or more)
- 1/4 t crushed Red Pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/4 t Coriander
- 1/4 t MSG (Such as Accent flavor enhancer)

[BIGGLOPEZ]

I have made this without the MSG ^^^ and it turned out Awesome... Here is the link http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30315 Good luck...

[Mark R]

Here is the one that I use and the family seems to like it quite a bit... or atleast it can be a starter....I find it best if it can sit for a day or so prior to cooking but hey that is me...I use a 85-15 or 80-20 mix on my meat..40% is way too fatty if you ask me.....

Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage Clone

- Per 16 ounces ground pork 45% fat
- 1 t Salt
- 1/2 t dried Parsley
- 1/4 t rubbed Sage (or more)
- 1/4 t fresh coarse ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 t dried Thyme (or more)
- 1/4 t crushed Red Pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/4 t Coriander
- 1/4 t MSG (Such as Accent flavor enhancer)

This is one of the ones I use - without the MSG.

[TasunkaWitko]

many thanks for the quick replies, everyone. i'm beginning to have an idea or two.

i really like brad's idea of having a zip-lock of breakfast sausage seasoning mix on hand for any-time useage - just dump a tablespoon (or whatever) per pound of meat, mix and good to go. something like this would be handy as hell on camp-outs too.

i also like the idea of the jimmy dean-type sausage, since that seems very close to the sausage that we really liked from sam's club. my wife thinks that the jimmy dean one is too heavy on the sage and thyme, so i can cut the sage in half (even though i love the stuff); as for the thyme, i've discovered that summer savory makes a great alternative to thyme. it is milder than thyme, and has a characteristic about it that provides everything you love about thyme, but with its own identity.

so taking these two ideas, what i might try doing is slightly modifying the jimmy dean to fit the family's tastes (dangerous, i know - but a good place to start), and then seeing how much "mix" is produced for 1 pound; I can then mix up maybe 5 pounds' worth and have it on had to add to ground pork as i see fit - or perhaps even to use as a table blend for meats.

more on this as it develops.....

[BBQ Engineer]

Bassman recently did a batch and I tried it using beer instead of water. It is really good, but I'm adding more heat next batch.

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31291

[nickelmore]

Fresh breakfast sausage is good if you do two things,

Cut the sage way down or omit. I had some "fresh" garden grown and dried, Just terrible in sausage.

Make the night before so the flavors can meld. Try a side by side comparison of two identical recipes. Make one fresh and fry it and make on a day or two ahead of time and fry it. Some seasonings "pop" with time.

[Mark R]

Fresh breakfast sausage is good if you do two things,

Cut the sage way down or omit. I had some "fresh" garden grown and dried, Just terrible in sausage.

Make the night before so the flavors can meld. Try a side by side comparison of two identical recipes. Make one fresh and fry it and make on a day or two ahead of time and fry it. Some seasonings "pop" with time.

Huh, wanna try that agin?

[nickelmore]

Yea trying to type, drink beer and watch hockey did not work for that one....

1. I really don't like sage.....Even if it the best sage ever....to me it is a seasoning that is easy to overpower the recipe.

2. I really think "fresh" sausage needs to sit for a day.

[RowdyRay]

many thanks for the quick replies, everyone. i'm beginning to have an idea or two.

i really like brad's idea of having a zip-lock of breakfast sausage seasoning mix on hand for any-time useage - just dump a tablespoon (or whatever) per pound of meat, mix and good to go. something like this would be handy as hell on camp-outs too.

i also like the idea of the jimmy dean-type sausage, since that seems very close to the sausage that we really liked from sam's club. my wife thinks that the jimmy dean one is too heavy on the sage and thyme, so i can cut the sage in half (even though i love the stuff); as for the thyme, i've discovered that summer savory makes a great alternative to thyme. it is milder than thyme, and has a characteristic about it that provides everything you love about thyme, but with its own identity.

so taking these two ideas, what i might try doing is slightly modifying the jimmy dean to fit the family's tastes (dangerous, i know - but a good place to start), and then seeing how much "mix" is produced for 1 pound; I can then mix up maybe 5 pounds' worth and have it on had to add to ground pork as i see fit - or perhaps even to use as a table blend for meats.

more on this as it develops.....

The Jimmy Dean clones are really good. But not for everyone. I'm another that's not fond of sage. Usually cut it in half. Thyme can be overpowering too.

I've shied away from the premixed stuff. My brother works for Morton's. Have their sausage and meatloaf seasoning on hand. It's great to use for that leftover pound or so of meat after a sausage project. Once you find a mix that everyone likes, that's the way to go. Mix it up in advance. Add it as needed. A fry test will tell you if it's enough.

Good luck in your search.

[TasunkaWitko]

Thanks to all for the advice - I'll be incorporating a lot of it into my attempt.

I think I have everything I need to give this a shot, and I bought a couple of pounds of country-style ribs yesterday. I've got to grind up our leftover Christmas ham today for a ham loaf tomorrow, so I'll grind this too, and mix up some sort of sausage to sit overnight and then try it tomorrow. I've got a simple patty maker and wax paper to line between the patties - can't think of anything else needed.

2 questions:

a) has anyone ever added paprika to their breakfast sausage? I'm looking at the red pepper flakes above and thinking that half red pepper flakes/half paprika might be good.

b) for a future attempt, if I want to make a maple breakfast sausage, what would I add to and/or take away from this basic sausage in order to achieve that?

[RowdyRay]

Making maple flavored sausage can be tricky. If you use maple syrup, the sugars burn in the pan. Making a big mess. A combination of Mapeline flavoring and syrup will work. But after freezing, it smells great, but the flavor just doesn't come through. Just my experience so far.

[WALLE]

Bassman recently did a batch and I tried it using beer instead of water. It is really good, but I'm adding more heat next batch.

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31291

Very timely post, Tas...as I'm on a similar quest and whatta ya know?!...I know this guy (^^^) ;o)

Santa was very good to me with a new LEM #8 Big Bite and a LEM 5# stuffer.

Made some Hi Mountain pepperoni sticks and am ready to turn out some lil sausage links. I think I'll either start with the Jimmy Dean clone or Bassman's fresh sausage.