Sausage rolls.....too good to be true. WIn a few favours.

I cannot tell you how much mileage I have received from this recipe. Many people do not take the time to cook their own sausage rolls. In doing so you are already one step ahead to becoming a great cook – or getting a reputation as one. My mother has always made her own sausage rolls and we would often have them on a Winter’s Saturday night with home cooked soup. Nothing gourmet, but hey….this is the stuff my culinary memories were made on.

It just seemed natural that when some dear friends of mine decided to get married and asked Bron and I to cater the finger food, that the best sausage rolls on this Earth should be presented. To receive a double compliment I am going to serve them with a choice of my homemade chili sauce and my home made tomato sauce.

I have been making these for years and basically, there aren’t any rules! You simply make your mix and prepare. The secret to a good sausage roll is to watch the pastry while it is cooking. Enjoy the cooking processs without distraction. Shout yourself a glass or two of wine while doing so.  Many people rely on the time when cooking.  With pastry and sausage rolls I tend to watch what is happening in the oven and let my eyes become my guide. Please note, too much wine can vary the cooking time and result in a kitchen fire! Ha ha!

As it is a full morning’s work, I double the recipe and partly cook the sausage rolls that I am going to freeze. This make for an easy night’s dinner…..soup and sausage rolls and a special treat for when guests arrive unannounced or announced!

Okay….this recipe is one of those that I alter every time I make it. I tend to throw in a few seasonal vegetables or herbs that may be sitting around in the garden or refrigerator to ramp up the vegetable content. I use frozen vegetables purely for convenience and the fact that they tend to blend well with the mince to give a perfect ratio of vegetable and meat in each sausage roll. If you have children who are fussy eaters, trust me they will devour cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli when hidden in these trusty, crusty meat parcels. This recipe does not contain chilli. However, I have been known to blend some thorough the initial processing stage.

I set the kitchen up to make these so that I have plenty of space to spread out. I usually get the first trays into the oven as soon as possible. Then I make the rest of the sausage rolls. KEEP AN EYE ON THE OVEN WHILE DOING SO.

I put myself in a COUNRTY COOK’S head space when I cook these. By that I mean I watch the oven! (Not sleep with a farmer – well okay, send me one! The things I do to keep you happy!) A friend once told me that the length of time it takes to cook a Pavlova was two large pieces of wood in the stove! Get back to basics! Learn to read your oven and your food.

HINT:

1. When rolling, pull the mixture towards you as you roll it. Slightly flatten it into shape before rolling the pastry on top of the final section of pastry left over. Again mould and flatten and shape the sausage roll, making sure the end pieces are stuffed filled with mixture. Add some more or pull some mixture out if need be.
2. When cooking watch for the swelling of pastry – this is your guide. Coat with egg wash……when golden, turn and egg wash immediately. I do not have a problem removing my sausage rolls from the oven while I egg wash and I take my time.

So where do you start?

• Line your trays with baking paper
• Set the oven to temperature
• Make your egg wash
• Clear the kitchen bench so you can place all of your pastry out at once.
• Process
• Mix
• Roll
• Bake
• ENJOY!

What you will need:

6 sheets of puff pastry – I like the vegan puff pastry… it tends to give me a golden glow without burning. But again, I buy what I can find. If I am feeling very “homesy and country” I will make my own, but it is very easy to buy it pre-made.

1 large onion, grated

½ bunch of parsley, chopped.

½ bunch of coriander plus other herbs you may have in the garden

1 cup of breadcrumbs (assists with binding, make the mixture go further and absorb fat during cooking)

2 organic farm fresh eggs

500g pork mince

500g beef mince

1 kg frozen vegetables

1 tablespoons of BBQ sauce/tomato sauce or chilli sauce

1 tablespoons of curry powder

1 teaspoon of salt

10 grinds of black pepper

Egg wash – 1 egg and ¼ cup milk

Putting it all together:

1. Place the onions, parsley, coriander and egg into a food processor. Process until it is still lumpy but a tad blended. Place into a bowl.
2. Place pork mince and beef mince into a bowl.
3. Add frozen vegetables, BBQ sauce and curry powder. Season with salt and pepper.  Combine mixture with your hands. Add breadcrumbs and give a final mix through. If the mixture is too cold to handle – give it a few minutes.
4. Lay the pastry sheets across the bench. Cut each sheet in half lengthways. Some people use a 2cm piping bag nozzle and pipe their sausage rolls. I prefer the “mother’s” hand method as nothing is worse than a piping bag stuck with a piece of corn……Bloody corn turns up everywhere. Ha ha!.
5. Simply split the bowl of mixture into twelfths (basically a decent handful) and spread this in a neat row across the centre of each half of the pastry.
6. Roll the mixture up to form a sausage roll. Place the seam along the bottom of the sausage roll and cut into sections to suit. As I am using these sausage rolls for a catered event I shall be making bite sizes pieces.
7. Place on trays that have been lined with baking paper.
8. Place in oven and watch for the pastry to swell 5 – 10 minutes.
9. Brush the top of the sausage roll with a milk and egg wash; feel free to add sesame seed. I never do, but hey, horses for courses.
10. It is recommended to bake for a total of 25 minutes at 200 degrees C – fan forced oven – I have found that I prefer a slightly cooler oven to ensure that the bottom of the pasty cooks perfectly. I cook mine in an over around 180 and ramp up or lower the temperature as needed.  During the desired cooking time I let them swell up and then recoat them again with the egg wash. Once the tops are done, I usually turn my sausage rolls and give the bottoms a coat of egg wash as well. This ensures you get a lovely golden pastry that is cooked through top and bottom. I sometimes dust the top of the sausage roll when I have egg washed it, with a sprinkle of season all cooking spices/salt. As you can imagine, totally good for the heart NOT!!! But hell, it tastes great.

These sausage rolls are taste great hot or cold. You will never buy another sausage roll once you have made your own. I cannot understand why people buy the sausage rolls that are for sale as nothing beats a home cooked sausage roll and they are far cheaper to prepare and freeze and to have on hand. 

Make enough so you have some left over when you next have guest. Trust me, you will win their hearts and they will be totally impressed by your efforts. They will have no idea that it only took you five minutes to reheat them.

Getting back to basic – enjoy the process win a heart!