Breakfast sausage recipe?

I have given up trying to find a breakfast sausage that both my partner and I like. Too fatty, too lean, too coarse, too much gristle (or goombahs as his brother calls them), etc. Besides, who needs nitrates/nitrites in fresh sausage?

So, I've decided to grind the pork and make it myself. I'll freeze the patties and we can take them out as we need/want them.

It's the spice blend that has me perplexed. I've tried about four basic versions fro recipes found online and I haven't found them too exciting. Also not sure about the sugar level. It seems to vary tremendously recipe to recipe. What is the purpose of sugar in breakfast sausage (excluding that you are making some version of a maple syrup flavored one).

Does anyone have a blend/recipe that they use and particularly like? We tend more toward savory than sweet for breakfast sausage, though I would enterain fruit in it, I think.

(reposted from another thread)

After making about 10 adjusted batches of breakfast sausage, I finally came up with a recipe I liked. My starting point was the recipe in Charcuterie but what I ended up with, barely resembled the original formula. I wasn't thrilled with the ginger or the fresh sage in the original. That recipe produced a tasty sausage but it wasn't what I think of as breakfast sausage. This recipe has only a slight maple note but it's definitely noticeable. I'm pretty sure the maple sugar in the recipe is from Spice House but I'm not 100% sure. Here, sage is the dominant note and that's pretty much what I was seeking. I love this sausage with eggs and it was an excellent addition to my Thanksgiving stuffing last year, too.

For a 5-pound batch:

5 pounds fatty pork shoulder
4 T dry, rubbed sage
3 T salt (morton kosher)
2 T maple sugar
1 T minced garlic
4 t freshly-ground black pepper (toast peppercorns first)
2 t red pepper flakes
1 C ice water

(follow method described in Charcuterie)

=R=

Thanks. I did a search and completely missed that thread.

I made a version of that - changing amounts slightly, using brown sugar instead of maple (not on hand) and using less salt (definitely salt sensitive). It came out very nice. The patties (I didn't go to the trouble of casing it - and I like the brown, crispiness of patties) are in the freezer now. I just need to decide if I pre-cook them or not. It's a lot easier to take pre-cooked ones out to heat them, but not sure they are as juicy.

Sounds good -- any idea if subbing actual maple syrup for the maple sugar and reducing the ice water would work -- and what the conversion factor might be for sugar->syrup?

I'd also consider replacing some of the sage with thyme -- it's about my favorite breakfast herb, going in most of my egg dishes.

I did see some recipes online that used syrup, so someone's doing it. . .not sure how much you'd use, though, or how it would affect the water. It isn't my favorite flavor in sausage, so I'm happy not using it. I also so a huge variation in the water people put in. So, it's possible that you could simply add a T of maple syrup with changing anything.

I almost replaced some of the sage with thyme. . .maybe I will next time.

I almost used some fresh thyme, but was worried after ronnie_suburban's post about how he didn't like the fresh sage.

I think subbing in some maple syrup for the water would work. Not sure how I'd work that out, though. Trial and error, as always, I guess.

Don't let me discourage anyone from using fresh herbs. I think most people prefer them -- and I usually do too -- in many recipes. This was just a case where I was shooting for something very specific and dry sage produced the best result relative to the goal.

And certainly, if you prefer certain flavors over others, you should use them. After a batch or 2, you'll be able to zero in on your preferences.

=R=