I love maple breakfast sausages. But I don’t love how and where most industry-“farmed” pigs live out their lives.
When I support the ‘what’ of a product, but not the ‘how’, I try rolling it back to its constituent parts, and see if I can re-assemble it differently.
We’re fortunate to live about an hour away from a local farm which treats their animals well. For part of the year their pigs range in their forests. So I have started using their ground pork to make breakfast sausage patties. Many of the flavourings we are able to grow ourselves (sage, marjoram, chili, maple syrup), and the patties are delicious.
To make your own, combine the ingredients listed below, and form by hand into 8 small sausage patties (roll into balls and smoosh). Cook in a med-high skillet for about 5 minutes a side, or until cooked through. Freeze any extra for later. Enjoy!
- 1.5 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 0.5-1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried marjoram
- 0.5-1 Tbsp maple syrup
- pinch of ground cloves
- sprinkle of crushed dried red chili
- 1 lb ground pork
Recipe adapted from: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16359/breakfast-sausage/