This was our first attempt at breakfast sausage patties – I`m not sure I was thrilled with the results though I will definitely make these again and learned a lot in the process – part of which was just how easy these are to make.
Here`s what I found interesting:
- It was surprisingly easy to take apart 5 pounds of butt roast and turn it into chuck using only a carving knife. I thought it was going to take a whole lot more work than it did.
- The patties freeze very well.
- The key to the sausage feel (and taste) is about 30% fat to meat.
Here`s what I would repeat:
- Chucking the large chunks of fat separately from the meat was a good move. The fat was tougher to chop and doing it separately made the rest a breeze.
- Add lots of flavor. We used paprika, oregano, salt, pepper and our own dehydrated onions and apples. Use so much that it makes you uncomfortable.
- Mix the concoction with your hands it`s just that easy.
- Let the flavors mingle in the fridge for several hours after mixing – this will help bring the flavors together.
- Don`t be afraid to ask the butcher to cut the butt in half if you don`t plan on using the entire thing.
- edit: Darryl points out in the comments of the importance of grinding meat that is as cold as possible (even nearly frozen) – this indeed was a key I missed explaining when first publishing and wanted to add it as it’s so important – thanks Darryl!
Here`s what I would do differently next time:
- Not add honey. It was a good idea but the lack of casing on this sausage means that the honey will quickly burn when cooking. It`s tasty, just not so pretty.
- Cook slower. A slower cook would have changed the entire texture and not blackened the outside.
- Chopped my meat once more. I would have gone just slightly finer than I did – it ould have added less than 5 minutes to the entire process and would have made the final results more sausage-like – although I would still leave some good ‘hunks’ as the texture is just so much better than a commercial meat slurry.
We’re hoping the photos tell the story – ask away if they don’t!
