Sausage Rolls

Sausage rolls are a British tea house staple. They're also a simple yet decadent finger food. Flaky puff pastry is wrapped around a spiced meat mixture of pork sausage, bread crumbs, aromatics, and herbs. Slice and bake for a simple appetizer, or dress it up for a weeknight meal.

This recipe calls for Italian sausage, which provides a spicy kick, but feel free to adjust to your taste; andouille or herbed chicken sausage would also work well. Serve with baked beans for a classic English breakfast approach, or alongside a quick pickled slaw or field pea, corn, and bacon salad for some fresh veggies to balance the meal.

What Are Sausage Rolls?

Every culture loves meat wrapped in pastry, and who can blame us? The combination of buttery dough and savory meat appeals to our primal desires, though we may have the Ancient Greeks and Romans to thank for its origins.

The modern iteration of ground meat, typically pork sausage wrapped in pastry, came from France in the 19th Century and was then popularized in the United Kingdom, specifically London. Initially considered cheap street food, the sausage roll has become a quintessential British snack or teatime favorite.

What Are Sausage Rolls Made Of?

Sausage rolls are made from ground pork sausage, puff pastry, fresh herbs, shallots, one carrot, panko bread crumbs, and a blend of spices (black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed red pepper), and eggs.

How to Make Sausage Rolls

If you've never made your own spiced sausage mixture, now's a good time to learn. We call for spicy ground pork sausage for this recipe, and then we gussy it up with aromatics like shallots and carrots and lots of robust spices. In short, this isn't your typical American breakfast sausage. Here, learn how to make these classic finger foods step by step.

Step 1. Cook the aromatics

Start with a medium-sized skillet on the stove at medium heat. Warm it, then add the shallots to the pan. Let them cook, stirring occasionally, until they are just tender. Then, add the carrots, and cook until the carrots are tender. The shallots will be a beautiful brown at this point.

Remove the shallots and carrots from the skillet, and place them in a bowl where they can cool for about 10 minutes while you prepare the sausage.

Step 2. Make the sausage

To the cooled carrots and shallots, add the sausage, panko, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and one egg. Mix with a spatula (or your hands) until just combined.

Divide the sausage into six equal portions. Use a food scale if you want to make sure they're perfectly divided. Otherwise, you can use your best guess.

Place the six equal sausage portions on a rimmed baking sheet. Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and chill the sausage in the fridge until you're ready to use it for the next steps of the recipe.

Step 3. Form the rolls

In a small bowl, combine the remaining egg with water, and whisk. This egg mixture will be used to seal the rolls. Then, you'll use it to brush on the bites before they go into the oven.

Roll out the thawed pastry on a lightly floured surface. Using a roller, shape the pastry into 11-inch squares. Then cut each square into three strips.

Place the six chilled sausage sections on the six puff pastry strips. Shape the sausages into long logs, stretching the length of the puff pastry.

Brush all the exposed pastry with the egg wash, and wrap the pastry around the sausage. Seal the edges with extra egg wash if needed. Place the sausage rolls seam side down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and freeze the rolls 1 to 2 hours. You want the rolls to be fairly firm so you can easily cut them into bite-sized pieces in the next step.

Step 4. Slice and bake

Once the long sausage logs are firm, remove the tray from the freezer. Cut each sausage log into bite-sized pieces about 1 3/4 inches long. Each log should make six individual pieces.

Divide the pieces between two parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheets, and brush each bite with remaining egg wash. (If you tossed the leftover egg wash while the rolls were in the freezer, just whisk up another one.) Use the end of a sharp knife to cut two small slits on top of the bites so the puff pastry will expand nicely when baking.

Step 5. Bake

Bake one tray at a time in a 425°F oven. Keep the second tray in the freezer while the first one bakes. If you let the puff pastry get too hot, it could slip and slide off the sausage while baking. Rotate the pan halfway through the baking process so the bites brown evenly.

Let the bites cool for a few minutes before serving. After the first tray is baked, slide the second into the hot oven, and repeat.

Make-Ahead Option: If you want to get a head start on these sausage rolls, you can make and freeze them up through step 4, but skip the egg wash. Freeze the individual bites until firm, then pop them all into a zip-top bag. Label the bag and date it. The bites will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

When you're ready to bake them, pull them from the freezer, and place them on a baking tray. Brush them lightly with an egg wash. Bake as per the original instructions.

Because they're frozen, they may need a few minutes more to bake through, but they'll cook beautifully from the frozen state.

Where Do Sausage Rolls Come From?

A traditionally British treat, sausage rolls have made their way across the pond. You may also find them in other commonwealth countries like Australia and Canada.

How Do You Serve Sausage Rolls?

In British tea houses, sausage rolls are served with sweet and treacly baked beans. Our American version works well here as well.

Dipping sauces like homemade ketchup, mayo or mustard cream sauce are perfect to pair with this rich and hearty dish. A fresh salad or other raw veggies are a great accompaniment to round out an already-filling meal.

Like the classic pigs in a blanket, slice up sausage rolls, and serve them alongside other apps like spinach dip, basic deviled eggs, and mac and cheese bites.

FAQs

If you're making these Sausage Rolls right, now these common cooking questions may help:

Why is my pastry sticking?

Whether baking pie or rolling out savory sausage rolls, always start with cold dough. Thaw frozen puff pastry dough overnight in the fridge to ensure it is adequately defrosted. Remove it from the refrigerator 10 to 20 minutes before rolling out, depending on how warm your kitchen is. If the dough gets too warm while working it, return it to the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to rest.

Why is there a bitter taste?

Excess flour, when baked, can taste bitter. Use a pastry brush to dust off any extra flour before baking your sausage rolls.

Editorial Contributions by Alexandra Emanuelli.