Once upon a time, America’s breakfast kitchens filled with the aroma of sage-scented breakfast sausage. Today? Not so much. People think sausage is fatty. They think it must be unhealthy. They’ve convinced themselves they don’t have time to cook breakfast.
Yet homemade sausage is actually relatively lean, takes just a few minutes to prepare and it is many times better than store-bought, especially if you mix it up a day or two ahead of time, so the flavors can blend.
Here’s a tip: Make a batch of this and cook it all on the weekend.
Then freeze whatever you don’t eat. Now you have heat-and-eat breakfast sausage that’s tastier than anything you can grab elsewhere. Give it 60 to 90 seconds in the microwave, and you’re good to go.
Homemade Maple-Sage Breakfast Sausage
Serves 8.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, lean and fat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons each: salt, minced fresh sage
1 teaspoon each: freshly ground pepper, hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Directions
Place the cubed pork on a plate; freeze 10 minutes to firm.
Transfer to bowl of food processor, in batches if necessary; pulse until pork is coarsely chopped in pea-sized pieces. Transfer pork to a large bowl; add remaining ingredients. Using hands, combine ingredients until well blended. Refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days.
Shape into 12-16 equal-size patties about 1/2-inch thick. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook patties, in batches if necessary, until well browned, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.
Nutrition information per serving: 138 calories, 38 percent of calories from fat, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 4 g carbohydrates, 17 g protein, 486 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
