This breakfast sausage is a straightforward patty. So simple! The secret is to purchase freshly ground pork shoulder from a real live butcher that has been ground coarsely.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 8 hrs |
| Total Time: | 8 hrs 25 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound coarsely ground pork shoulder
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, or more to taste – lightly crushed
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Place pork, fennel seeds, orange zest, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg into a bowl and stir very lightly with a fork to combine. Do not overmix. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Check seasonings before using: Shape about 2 teaspoons sausage into a small patty and fry until brown in a skillet over medium heat. Let cool 1 to 2 minutes and taste for seasoning.
- Cover a cutting board with plastic wrap. Divide sausage into 6 equal pieces, roll into a balls, and wrap each ball with plastic wrap. Press flat into patties and discard plastic.
- Place a heavy skillet, such as a cast iron skillet, over medium-high heat. Cook patties in hot skillet until meat is no longer pink in the center and the sausage is browned, about 3 minutes per side. Serve immediately.
- If using table salt instead of kosher salt, use only 1/2 to 3/4 of a teaspoon.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 160 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 49 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 359 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I live in Colombia, South America, but I tried these breakfast sausages when I lived in NC. My kids love this recipe. I added two teaspoons of dried sage. They were mouth-watering. I also made them into links. Thanks, Chef John.
I use this breakfast sausage recipe solely to make “biscuits and gravy” simply because where I live, breakfast sausages ain’t a thing and it’s just way way waaaaaaaaay cheaper and faster to make from scratch. Thank you Chef John!
Wasn’t bad for a sausage, but not a breakfast sausage to me. Cut the orange zest to half, and it still didn’t work for us. We missed the sage in this sausage. The Italian herbs were okay, but not quite on point without a predominant sage flavor.
This recipe is a keeper just as is! I’ve tried making a few different recipes and this is by far the best I’ve found! I dug into it so fast I didn’t take a photo! Next time!
I made this with all the ingredients listed in the recipe and a few additional ingredients, garlic powder, onion powder and 1Tblspn maple syrup. We enjoyed them.
Great recipe as is, just want to highlight the chopping or mincing the fennel seed is key for a nicer texture in the final product. Beyond breakfast, they were nice to add into soup.
Our oldest (15yrs.) twins are 1/2 Sicilian and just had to give this a try to see if it tasted like they thought it would. Yep just like Italian sausage with traditional Sicilian flavors that run right into Northern Italy’s Austrian heritage as well thanks to the nutmeg. If it had any coriander, mace or other herbs and spices it would have even been more Northern Italian. We gave it 4 stars because it is indeed a good Italian Sausage but would probably only have it for breakfast if we were skiing in the Dolomite Mountains or some such. Most Americans won’t find this to be Breakfast Sausage as we are used to the style handed down from our Scottish, English, Irish and Welsh ancestors that often if not usually includes Sage.
Absolutely delicious! I will make this every Saturday morning! Very flavorful and the texture is outstanding!
I used half ground pork and half ground goose..cause… you know… hunting season and all. Turned out fab! Maybe add extra pepper for more kick.
Do not omit the orange zest, it’s what changes the Patty from a sedan (the boring old sausage flavor that everyone is tired of, blah) to a luxury car that kicks up the flavor to a new tasty experience. Get out of your comfort zone and live a little people.
I will definitely be using this recipe again. I added granulated onion & garlic. It was delicious
A big thanks for this recipe, it’s a winner. I made it otherwise precisely but substituted lime for orange zest and doubled the red pepper flakes. Thanks again Chef John.
I used Chef John’s method to spice up some very bland wild hog breakfast sausage I had made up through a game processor. It was our fault it was bland because we asked for mild when we had it processed. It was just like ground pork! Chef John’s method made it perk up considerably! Love the orange zest flavor! I have about 10 more pounds of breakfast sausage to spice up now. Well worth the effort!
Thanks Uncle Bill and Chef John – the orange zest is a great highlight to this meaty, simple, and flavorful sausage. So much better than store bought or in a diner. Yes – make it the night before to let it rest, ideally Friday night for a nice weekend breakfast or brunch. Yes – use the orange zest. Yes- cut the fennel. Yes – I am going to make this again.
Still a little light for me. I added some garlic black pepper and that helped a lot I did like the sweet orange flavor and will make this again. Salt control is essential for me.
Made according to recipe (orange zest and slightly-crushed fennel seed, refrigerated 10 hours, lightly mixed with fork). The only exception was that I do not have recourse to a “real live butcher,” and used coarsely ground pork from the case. It was good… but the flavor was more similar to Italian sausage than traditional breakfast sausage. Too much fennel? Not enough sage and black pepper? I’m not sure. I’m planning to tweak the seasonings in the future.
After searching relentlessly for the frozen boxed (and loved) Stampede Round sausages I made this recipe. I excluded the fennel seeds, orange zest and nutmeg and was delighted with the flavour! My whole family loves this breakfast sausages with eggs, pancakes and on their “egg mcmuffins”.
Good taste, but I found them a little dry. Next time I willuse a mix of shoulder and belly
Best Recipe I have found yet. Have been making them for years now.
These were so easy to make and were delicious. I omitted the orange zest and only refrigerated for an hour before cooking. Very flavorful, this will be my go-to sausage recipe.
Loved the idea of orange zest & omitting any sugars. I used marinatted red peppers & extra Fennel. My fist try was with ground lamb, next time I will try pork.