I love a sausage roll. Let me rephrase that, I have learned to love a sausage roll.  These are quintessentially Australian, I’ve never encountered them on my global travels anywhere else.  The closest thing that I ever had to one was a “pig in a blanket”. But those do not hold a candle to a well made sausage roll. Savoury, slightly sweet sausage mince is baked encased in pastry, either puff or a flakey short crust.  The best ones are found at the local bakery and you should get there around 11 am to get them fresh from the oven.  The worst are either the frozen nuggets doused in sauce (ketchup) served at kids birthday parties or the ones sold at the counter of the servo which have been sitting in the warmer for untold hours. You should just walk, no run, away from those.

In my opinion a good sausage roll doesn’t need any dipping sauce.  The pastry and the filling should speak for themselves. We make our own sausages so the meat has a hint of maple to sweeten the pork. Better yet, my new found pastry making skills have taken our sausage rolls to the next level. Stuart prefers puff while I prefer flakey pastry, but really we are splitting hairs here as they are both excellent.

But you don’t have to make everything from scratch to get a good sausage roll. What is important is that good quality ingredients are used.  While visiting my sister in Northern California, USA my nephews helped me whip up a batch of these Australian treats using ingredients we purchased at the local Safeway.  Definitely better than vegemite and just as Australian.

The key here is to use a breakfast sausage, maple breakfast sausage if you can find it.  I was able to find two brands readily available in the States; Safeway Signature Sausage Breakfast Links Maple  and New York Style Sausage Company are both Migraine-friendly as they are free from preservatives, MSG and all other added glutamates as well as other ingredients that can trigger migraines.  Stuart has eaten both brands without any problems.

Here in Australia it’s a bit more difficult as American-style breakfast sausage is difficult to come by at best, while nearly impossible to find preservative free. Sydney supports a wide variety of artisan sausages that are preservative, MSG and other nasties free, and are available from David’s Larder and Great Sausages.  Unfortunately none of their flavour combinations suite this recipe. Stuart has eaten a variety of these sausages without getting a migraine. In addition, Cleaver’s does have a range of preservative and MSG free sausages sold at Coles and Woolies. Again, none of their flavour combinations are right for this recipe plus we have never tried these so can not confirm that they are Migraine-friendly.

Sorry to my Australian readers, you’ll just need to swing by for a tasting made with my secret recipe Maple Breakfast Sausage. Enjoy my friends.

Maple Sausage Rolls

• Servings: 4 large or 16 party size
• Time: 10 min prep & 30 min baking
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A moorish party snack and lunch time favourites.

Credit: headachefreefoodie.com

Required skills: egg breaking with no shells in the bowl.

You'll Need

• 500 gms (1 lb) breakfast sausage or maple breakfast sausage removed from the casing. Ensure that the sausage is free from preservatives, MSG and glutamates in all its forms and celery and/or rosemary extracts.
• 1 carrot grated
• ½ red capiscum (pepper) finely diced
• To make maple flavoured breakfast sausage – omit if using maple breakfast sausage.
  • 1 tbsp whole milk
  • 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 sheet of good quality frozen puff pastry, thawed
• Egg wash
• Sesame seeds (optional)
• Large bowl
• Pastry brush
• Baking sheet

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Move oven rack to top position.
2. If you are using breakfast sausage and need to add the maple flavouring then in a small cup whisk together the milk and maple syrup. Set aside while you grate the carrot and dice the capiscum.
3. In a large bowl combine the sausage meat, carrot, capiscum, and if using the milk-maple syrup mixture, with your hands. Squeeze the ingredients through and lightly knead the mixture in the bowl. It will be very sticky at first but with a little work will come together quite well.
4. Lay out your puff pastry on the bench. Cut into strips approximately 13-15 mm (5-6 inches wide). This is one half of a standard Australian sheet of puff pastry. It seems as though US puff pastry sheets are 10 inches wide so just cut down the middle.  You’ll have two strips of puff pastry.
5. Divide your filling in half.  Roll out into a log and place in the center of the puff pastry strip. Fold up the edges to create an overlapping seam. Seal with a bit of egg wash.
6. Flip over so that the seam is on the bottom and cut in half.  These are the size of your standard sausage roll that is eaten as a snack or lunch.  I prefer the party size, two-bite size morsels, so cut each half into quarters.
7. Place on a baking sheet and lightly coat with egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.
8. Bake on the highest oven rack for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and puffy.

So my friends, what is your secret moorish treat?

Informed by science, cooked by you.