So this isn't the best food photograph in the world, but I LOVED the baby reaching for the sausage as I'm taking a picture of it. How's that for great verification that it is super tasty! I started experimenting with making homemade sausage a few months ago to avoid the nitrates, MSG, and other suspicious ingredients in the premade sausage rolls. I have now found a combination of seasonings that we actually like better than even our previous grocery store brand. I usually watch & get the really, really lean ground pork at our local Walmart on sale for 2.09/lb, and mix it with ground chicken if I have that also. If you had a meat grinder, or the meat grinder attachment for your kitchenaid, you could really make it homemade by grinding your own meat. Or maybe try it with deer? My husband doesn't hunt, so I'll let Jana & Sara try that one out and let you know how it tastes. Anyway, I mix up a big batch of the seasoning and keep it stored in a tightly sealed container (I use an old canning jar) so it's no more work than premade to just add it to your pork as you're cooking it. I've also cooked up several pounds at a time, either crumbled or in patties, and then frozen the extra so I have healthy, precooked breakfast sausage to pull out of the freezer whenever I need it.
Becca's Breakfast Sausage
*This makes enough for 8 pounds of ground meat.*
8 teaspoons dried sage
8 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons ground black pepper
4 heaping Tablespoons organic pure cane sugar (you can substitute brown sugar)
a dash of ground red pepper (this is to taste, I use a tiny bit, add more for more 'heat' to the sausage)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Mix all well, and store in airtight container until ready to use.
*Add 4 teaspoons per pound of ground meat and cook as usual. If I'm crumbling the sausage I stir the seasonings in as I'm cooking it; if making into patties, as shown above, I stir the spices in well before forming the sausage patties. Enjoy!
Kyla (6) says: "Try it today, it's tasty; a liiiittle bit spicy, but that makes it better."
This is the recipe that was the most helpful to me:
http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=breakfast%20sausage
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! We love Breakfast Sausage but the preservatives and the cost is really hurting our grocery budget! I am sooo going to do this over the weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Living in PR, it is not always easy to find sausage....sometimes they have it sometimes they don't ...and when they do it is over $5.00 for a 12 ounce package of bulk sausage...
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to try with deer! It is so easy to just process the whole animal into burger, but then I get bored! Thanks for the option!
ReplyDeleteThis sausage = Fantastic. Made w/ low-fat pork means I can eat more sausage for breakfast... Who needs pancakes?
ReplyDeleteThese look delicious. I have really missed sausage since cutting out all preservatives and processed foods. I am going to make some of these this weekend!!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! We are just starting cutting processed and packaged foods out of our house!
ReplyDeleteALSO, I think it is so neat that you are doing this with your sisters! That must be such a blessing - and I am sure a headache sometimes! Glad I found you.
Sara@ http://yourthrivingfamily.blogspot.com/
This sounds wonderful! Just found you through Money Saving Mom.
ReplyDeleteWonderful!! I love to incorporate protein at breakfast, but my family will eat an entire package in a day, and that's just too pricey! (Not to mention the preservatives, etc.) I'm so excited to give this a try!
ReplyDeleteIs this a recipe I could use in my meat grinder to make links?
ReplyDeleteI saw your link on Money Saving Mom, and I am so happy to find this recipe! We live overseas currently and really miss good breakfast sausage. I have tried numerous other recipes, and none of them taste like actual sausage. I am anxious to try this now. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteKristine - I'm sure you could use it in your meat grinder, just adding it along with the meat, as long as it would get mixed through well.
ReplyDeleteCannot wait to try this. Thank you so much. We are also trying to cut out preservatives and cook homemade due to allergies!
ReplyDeleteFound ths through Moneey Saving Mom! Can't wait to try it!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a SMART idea, making your own w/out all those dangerous additives. Thank You for the inspiration. Thank You Irene
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised about the cloves and sugar. Does this really taste like sausage? I love the idea and to be able to use a lean meat for sausage without the high cost and chemicals. can you taste the cloves and sugar in it?
ReplyDeleteHave you ever made it with just turkey or chicken?
ReplyDeleteIt tastes very similar to the J. C. Potter breakfast sausage in a roll you buy at the store! You can't taste the cloves and sugar...sausage bought at the store also has sugar in it. We think it is excellent, and think you will enjoy it too!
ReplyDeleteI have made it with just turkey, and just chicken. It is good both ways! Since those meats are leaner, watch it while it cooks to make sure it doesn't burn!
ReplyDeleteJust made this with deer. Since venison is stronger tasting, I had to use 5 teaspoons of seasoning in order for it to taste right. I also added a couple drops of oil to the pan since deer is so lean. Will definitely be making this again!
ReplyDeleteI'm wanting to make with deer meat. One question...the venison recipe books I have say that when you make sausage from deer you need to add hard back pork fat. Our local city doesn't have a butcher anymore, so it's proving to be hard to find. Do you make deer sausage without using fat of some kind?
ReplyDeleteHealth Conscious - glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the tips on the deer sausage.
ReplyDeleteJean Lynd - I'm not an expert on deer meat, but I believe you're adding the fat because the deer is so lean, so the sausage turns out more moist and doesn't burn and/or dry out. That being said, I would give it a try, just being careful to watch & make sure it doesn't burn, and noting 'Health Conscious' advice in the comment above to add a few drops of oil to the skillet & an extra teaspoon of the sausage seasoning(bringing the total to 5 teaspoons seasoning mixture). Let us know how you like it!
I got to your website from MoneySavingMom.com, and I love it! I have been slowly switching to everything homemade, and with my kids still being young (4 & 2), I think it will be an easy transition. Thanks so much for the post!
ReplyDeleteMade this today for Christmas Eve brunch! YUM YUM YUM!thank you for sharing this!! it was soooooooooooo yummy!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks so good, we don't eat pork, so I make my own sausage, such as beef Italian sausage,or breakfast sausage made from beef or chicken or a combo, but I've never found a spice blend that tasted just right, but based on other recipes I've tried, this looks like it might be just about right!
ReplyDeleteI made a batch this morning using brown sugar, and my husband mixed it with ground deer and some pork fat (if you don't put some fat in with deer meat it will shrivel to nothing). It was ECELLENT! He did use 5 tsp. instead of 4, but it is so good! I'm so excited to be able to make our own sausage!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it, my family really does! Becca
DeleteJust tried this and loved it! Tried a different recipe recently, and was very disappointed, so I was hesitant to try again... but it was perfect! Thanks!
ReplyDeletejust wanted to tell you how much we love this recipe. i used it for dinner one night & hubs said it was the best sausage he'd ever eaten. round two is tonight. so greatful for the inexpensive & healthy version of our favorite you gave us.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it! It's one my family's favorites too! Becca
DeleteThis sounds very yummy. We gave up the pork sausage because of all the nitrates and fat so this will be a welcomed recipe for us! I found you through MoneySavingMom.com.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe. I have been looking to cut out processed foods and missed sausage for breakfast. This turned out great and we enjoyed it in sausage gravy, just had to add butter to the pan for the gravy as the meat is much leaner than what you get when buying processes sausage.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU!!! Can't wait to try this!
ReplyDeleteI live in Thailand and have a difficult time getting American food (and English sausage is horrible) I will give this a shot. Thank you
ReplyDeleteI think you'll like it, it tastes very similiar to JC Potter, but slightly better even! Let us know how you like it!
DeleteWoohoo! Now I don't have to wait until sausage goes on sale. I can make it whenever I want. :)
ReplyDeleteTrue! My family actually prefers the homemade kind over "store bought" even :) Becca
DeleteCould you detail a little more about pre cooking, precooked storage and how you reheat :) I freeze everything raw right now but my husband asked for me to maybe precook so it's easier for him at o'dark-thirty. thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming you mean sausage patties? I just cook them normally, and put them in either an airtight freezer safe container or good ziptop bag in the freezer. I like it best when I take the sausage we're going to use out the night before and put it in the fridge to defrost, and then heat 2 slices for a minute or so in the microwave when we're ready to eat it. The length of reheating time will, of course, depend on your microwave and how thick & large you've made the sausage patties, but a minute should be a good starting time for 2 slices. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions! Becca
DeletePerfect! This was the exact info I was looking for :) looking forward to making this recipe this weekend when I buy 30# of Boston butt for $1/lb
DeleteGreat! That's a great price, I'd stock up too! Becca
DeleteThx for the info, good to know.
ReplyDeleteI've looked for several months to find a good recipe for venison breakfast sausage. My father and I used this recipe yesterday with venison. Mixed it with 50% pork from a hog I raised this fall and butchered over Christmas. Added one more teaspoon of sage and 1/2 teaspoon more of cloves and we ended up with about 40 pounds total. One word---FANTASTIC! We couldn't get over how good this tasted and being quite lean, hopefully it's a little healthier too. Even our picky 5 and 6 year old kids liked it. I saved the recipe and next year I'll make more. Many thanks!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting me know, I'm so glad your family enjoyed it, we do as well!!
DeleteShared this today with my ketogenic facebook group! We'd have to omit the sugar, but something I think a lot of them would be interested in. Love to pass off any low carb ideas ya'll might have in the future. There's 111,000 followers in my keto group, so it could potentially bring your site some good traffic.
ReplyDelete