Beef and Turkey Breakfast Sausage Fast and Easy

When I woke up this morning I was greeted with ‘” I bought ground turkey and beef yesterday so that you can make me breakfast sausage.”  Normally, a statement like that wouldn’t get a response, but I was feeling generous this morning, so I got up and headed into the kitchen.

We both like bacon and breakfast sausage. Since we don’t eat pork, usually. we have to give them a pass when we eat out for breakfast, but at home, we can indulge.  Homemade breakfast sausage is easy to make and has added advantages of being lower in fat, sodium, and preservatives than the sausage you can buy at a supermarket.  I also like to make it taste just the way I want and in our case, NO PORK!

Many recipes for sausage start with purchasing whole cuts of meat and running them through a meat grinder along with spices and/or flavorings.  That’s how sausage has been made for centuries, and I can’t deny the superior results when you do it the hard way. I’m in love with the meat grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer, but on a Sunday morning, there is just no way I’m going to go to that much trouble.

I start with ground meat from the grocery store.  I’ve made breakfast sausage with 100% ground beef, but I really prefer to use a 50/50 ground beef, ground turkey blend.  All beef makes the sausage a bit too hamburgerish for my taste.  We usually buy lean turkey and beef so the sausage is not as rich as store bought, but I think that’s OK.  The fat may taste good but it doesn’t look good in my jeans. You will need to use  a bit of oil for frying because, unlike commercial sausage, there isn’t a lot of fat to melt out of the meat and lubricate the pan.

Using fresh herbs makes for a brighter, fresh-flavored end product, but if you don’t have access to fresh herbs, dried herbs works  fine.  You will want to reduce the amount by about half.  Don’t stress too much about the flavor. You can always cook a small amount and then adjust the seasonings to taste.

Now the real secret to making breakfast sausage on the fly is … a coffee grinder.  If you happen to have an extra coffee grinder that you keep for grinding spices (and you should), you can put all the spices, salt, and sugar into the grinder and go to town. In seconds, your spice blend is ready to go.  If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can use a mini food processor or go old school and use a knife.

Sweet Breakfast Sausage

Makes approximately 8 medium patties.

1/2 lb ground turkey1/2 lb ground beef1 tsp salt1 teaspoon finely minced fresh sage1 teaspoon finely minced fresh thyme1/2 teaspoon finely minced rosemary1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg1/2 teaspoon aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes2 tablespoons brown sugar or maple sugar1 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying

In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine turkey and beef.

Combine all the spices, salt, and sugar and add to the meat.  Use your (washed!) hands to mix the meat with the spices until well combined.

Form into patties approx 3 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.  No need to be too precise. Put the ruler away.

In a large frying pan, heat oil over a medium high flame.  When oil starts to shimmer, add sausage a few patties at a time.

Cook for approximately 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Note:  Uncooked sausage is a fabulous breeding ground for bacteria.  If you don’t plan to cook all of the sausage within a day or so, wrap the uncooked meat in plastic wrap and freeze.

Tweet