Homemade Sausage Breakfast Sammy
The search for the best breakfast sandwich: Volume 1
quickie
• Make the sausage patties
• Make the aioli
• Fry the eggs
• Toast the English muffins
• Assemble and rock out
hawt tip:
• The sausages will be better if you make the sausage patty mix ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
• If you don’t have all the spices don’t sweat it. For my tastes I would say the fennel seeds are important.. the marjoram less so.
Serves:
• This makes 12 sausage patties (which freeze well, separated with parchment paper). The rest is up to you and how many sandwiches you want.
Nutritional information:
• Honestly I didn’t pay much attention in health class.
Serves well with:
• Neil Young: Live at Massey Hall 1971
• Hashbrowns / Latkes
Grocery List:
THE SAUSAGE PATTIES:
• 1 lb ground pork
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1-2 diced shallots
• ½ tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp granulated onion
• ½ tsp basil
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp marjoram
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp ground pepper
THE REST (this is for 4 sandwiches):
• 4 English muffins
• 4 eggs
• 8 slices real cheddar cheese
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 6 tbsp mayo
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• Small handful of chives
• A few leaves of a green of your choice (lettuce or steamed kale)
• Sriracha (optional)
LESS quickie
Process:
SAUSAGE PATTIES: Lightly bash the fennel seeds with a mortar and pestle until they’re cracked but not ground. I’ve never known which part was the mortar and which the pestle and if you know you’re probably a billionaire. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, whole fennel seeds will work just fine.
Mix the fennel and all the other sausage ingredients (ground pork, maple syrup, shallots, spices) in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly. Form into 12 patties, about ¼” thick. These will shrink while cooking, so make them slightly larger than your English muffins.
AIOLI: Crush the garlic, finely chop the chives, and mix both in a small bowl with the mayo and a few pinches of salt. You have now transformed boring old mayo into aioli, or as they say in French cuisine, aïoli.. which is the same but with extra dots. You are more like a young Julia Childs with each passing minute.
If you’re using kale you’ll want to steam or sauté it to soften it. If you’re using lettuce, just do nothing with it cause steamed lettuce sounds horrid. Thinly slice the onion.
Preheat the oven to 275F.
SAUSAGES: Heat a skillet on medium/high with a splash of oil. Fry the sausages for a few minutes a side until your desired doneness. You can flatten them with a spatula for more surface contact. Transfer the sausages to a clean baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven.
EGGS: Fry the eggs to your liking. I like a runny yolk, but a runny white can go fist itself. To achieve this heat up a pat of butter or splash of oil in a skillet on medium (shading towards medium/high), crack in the eggs and sprinkle with salt and pepper. After about a minute place a lid on the pan. After another minute or so these will be done.
Did you know that a good way to not break the yolk is to crack the egg into a small bowl, and gently pour the bowl into the skillet? If you did you’re probably a billionaire.
While the eggs are cooking toast the English muffins. If you’re using a toaster, start toasting them regular, and halfway through switch to bagel mode to toast the inside a little more. If you don’t know what bagel mode is you will never be a billionaire.
ASSEMBLY: Do whatever the hell you want! I place a sausage patty on the bottom half of the English muffin, then layer the cheese, then the egg (so the cheese gets a bit melty between the heat), then the kale or lettuce, and finally the red onion. Spread the aioli on the top half of the English muffin, and give it a spiral of sriracha.
You definitely don’t need to cut this in half (and probably shouldn’t) but I find the cross section of a good sandwich sexy. Sue me. Do something awesome today, like bring extra sandwiches to people in need, or get baked and watch Demolition Man.
