Family Favorites...Homemade Breakfast Sausage

This recipe is for those folks who want to know what is in their breakfast sausage.  If you have a meat grinder or a food processor, you can grind your own too...pork shoulder is a good choice to grind.  I have also used ground lean turkey with this recipe and it is delicious.  

For company, try baking the sausage to simplify preparation.   The directions call for making a roll and slicing it; I patty mine in 2 ounce patties – they take about 5 minutes on each side over medium low heat.  We like this in our recipe for Biscuits with Sausage Gravy, I added it below.           

                           Indiana Farm Sausage

  2          pounds  ground pork -- room temperature

     1/3    cup  onions -- finely chopped

  2          teaspoons  fresh parsley -- finely minced

  1          teaspoon  dry sage

  1          teaspoon  dried basil

  1          teaspoon  marjoram

  1          teaspoon  chili powder

  1          teaspoon  black pepper

     1/2    teaspoon  ground red pepper

  2          dashes  dried thyme

• ·        Combine lightly.  Shape into 2 logs 6" long and 2" in diameter.  Wrap tightly and chill overnight.  Slice into 1/2" thick rounds and fry 3-4 minutes on each side over medium low heat.
• ·        Or shape into large, marble-size balls.  Freeze if desired.  To serve, bake from frozen on a rack, starting in a cold oven, for 20 minutes at 325°.

Alternately, crumble 1 pound sausage, add 2 tbsp fine onion, cook.  Drain all but 4 tbsp fat, add 4 tbsp flour, cook 1 minute, add 2 cups milk, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning, dash Tabasco and dash Worcestershire.  Cook as gravy and serve over biscuits.  Serves 4.

"Cooking from Quilt Country "

Yield:  "2 pounds" of sausage

Per Serving: 304 Calories; 24g Fat (72.6% calories from fat); 19g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 82 mg Cholesterol; 67mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 3 Fat.