I was thinking about the economics of making breakfast sausage and it was obvious I could minimize the cost per pound by using pork loin along with some pork fat. But would it taste dry compared to sausage made from Boston butt roast with 25% fat?
The answer is ... the recipe below makes a fine breakfast sausage that is not dry ... in fact, it is just fine. You, of course, are the boss, so if you want the sausage to be more moist/soft then you can add an additional small amount of water while mixing it. You can buy pork fat cheaply, but I typically get it for free at the supermarket [I call ahead and order it a few days in advance of needing it].
You want to make this breakfast sausage. Note that the maple flavoring is optional but nice.
Similar to what you do with other homemade sausages, you can vacuum seal frozen, raw sausage patties and keep them in the deep freeze until you want to use them ... but use them within three months of frozen, vacuum sealed storage.
Ingredients: (makes approximately 1 pound of breakfast sausage)
3/4 lb. of lean pork loin, ground fine (1/8" die holes)
1/4 lb. of pork fat, diced and ground fine with the pork loin
1 1/4 tsp. of sea salt
1/3 tsp. of black pepper
1/2 tsp. of granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. of sugar
2 tsp. of dried sage
1/2 tsp. of McCormick® culinary maple flavoring (optional)
3 tbsp. of cold water
1 tsp. of Wrights® Liquid Smoke (Hicklory flavor)
2 tbsp. of rice flour (or potato flour)
Canola oil for frying
Directions:
Mix the ground pork and fat mixture with the salt by hand and put that into a one quart Ziploc® freezer bag, expel the air and seal it. Refrigerate that mixture overnight.
Mix the ground pork/fat for three minutes with all remaining ingredients except the rice flour and the canola oil, in an electric mixer, on medium speed.
Add the rice flour and mix for two minutes.
Form sausage patties by hand, 1/2" thick, put them into a thick bottom non-stick skillet, preheated on medium heat.
Spray the sausage patties on both sides lightly with canola oil, turning them over with a spatula.
Turn the sausage patties over a few times until they are golden in color, about two minutes per side total time.
Serve the sausage patties hot, along with any other breakfast items.
Enjoy!