In this post I will show you how you can make delicious Breakfast Sausage yourself.
A Breakfast Sausage is perfect for a delicious breakfast as well as for brunch or as a sandwich.
The best part is that I also show you a way to make them without a meat grinder and casings.
So you can also fry them for a breakfast burger as patties and have full control over the quality of the ingredients. Simply awesome!
You can read the whole breakfast sausage recipe below or watch the video.
Table of Contents
Breakfast Sausage – What do you need to make it?
Ingredients for your breakfast sausage
Meat (1000 g):
- 60 % pork shoulder (600 g)
- 20 % pork belly (200 g)
- 20 % bacon (200 g)
Spices per 1000 g of meat:
- 14 g salt (Even if it might look like the amount is too low, it is enough, because the bacon is already salted)
- 6 g finely chopped parsley
- 2 g chili flakes
- 1,5 g black pepper
- 1,5 g fresh sage
- 1,5 g fresh thyme
- 1 g fresh ginger
- 1 g fenugreek
- 1 g nutmeg
- 75 g maple syrup
The equipment to make breakfast sausage
You need a meat grinder to “grind” the meat. The meat is chopped into small chunks and can then be mixed.
You need a sausage stuffer to get your meat mass into the casing. If you are starting out you can also add an attachement to your grinder or use a modified plastic bottle or funnel.
Sausage casings
Breakfast sausage is traditionally filled into natural casings.
I recommend hog casings caliber 28 / 30. If you like to make thinner sausages, sheep casings caliber 20/22 are very good.
If you would like to prepare the sausages without casing: You can just form the mass into patties and fry them out without a casing.
Make breakfast sausage at home – Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Cut the pork shoulder, belly and bacon into strips which can fit into your grinder. Put the meat and the movable parts of your grinder into the freezer for 1 – 2 hours. This will help with the grinding process and the meat temperature.
2. Grind up the meat. I used the medium perforated disc (4.5 mm). Depending on how fine or coarse you want the sausage you can adjust this step.
3. Add the salt, spices & maple syrup to the ground meat and mix it for 3-5 minutes. It should form a homogeneous mass.
If you want to them into patties you can do so now and you are done.
4. Fill the meat mass into the casing. Hold the casing tightly on the filling spout and let it slowly fill up more and more. This part needs some practice. Do not worry if it does not work 100%.
Important: Do not fill the casing too full, otherwise it will burst later when roasting.
5. Now it’s time to link the sausages. You can decide for yourself how big your breakfast sausage should be. Put the sausage between your thumb and forefinger. Rotate the sausage away from you then move to the next link and rotate it toward you.
As with the filling process you will need some practice to get it perfect.
6. Your breakfast sausage is now ready. Fry it up and enjoy. It’s also great as a sandwich. It tastes great with a homemade mustard, egg or cheese.
How long is the shelf life of the breakfast sausage?
Depending on how you handle it after production, the breakfast sausage has a different shelf life.
Raw, it can be kept in the refrigerator for about 1-2 days.
If you poach it directly after production at 75 °C (167 °F) for 25 minutes, it will keep for about a week in the refrigerator in an airtight package.
Alternatively, you can also freeze it raw or poached and it will keep for up to 6 months without losing any of its taste.
I usually eat the sausages directly or freeze them raw.
Making breakfast sausage without a meat grinder – Is this possible?
You would like to make your own breakfast sausage, but don’t have a meat grinder at home and don’t want to buy one?
The simplest way…
Just ask your trusted butcher if he can grind the pieces of meat for you.
Afterwards you have a finished basic mass and can add the spices and fill them in casings or preserve in jars.