Cook: Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Homemade breakfast sausage made from local, pastured ground pork! It's even better than it sounds! To make this the way I did, you'll need to go to Auburnlea Farms or their website and order a pound or two of their ground pork and their Breakfast Sage Sausage Seasoning. Go do it...it's worth it. They're located in Gladys, Virgina which is less than 30 minutes from Lynchburg. I wrote more about them here. 

Ingredients: 

• 2lbs ground pork
• 3 Tbs breakfast sausage seasoning
• 3 Tbs water

Directions: 

First thaw the pork if you haven't done so already. I always prefer to let it thaw in the fridge overnight instead of ever using the microwave. 

And your yummy seasoning! It's not spicey which is great because I'm a wuss when it comes to spice. It's just the right combination that creates a delicious end product. You could also add some bread crumbs if you wanted to make it a little fluffier. 

Put the pork, seasoning and water into a large bowl and get in there and mix it with your hands. I know it's cold and gross but it's the best way! If you prefer spicy sausage, add in your spice of choice now. 

Form small sausage links or patties with your hands. I made links this time because I was making them for my delicious breakfast pockets. Which, by the way, are amazing.

Drop them into your skillet on medium heat.

Once they've browned, flip them over and let the other side brown. 

Helpful Hint: Instead of dirtying an old coffee mug with the extra grease, grab a piece of aluminum foil, fold it in half and gently press it into the form of the mug. Then all you have to do is wrap it up and toss it in the trash! Brilliant! Just don't press too hard or you'll puncture the foil. 

And just like that, they're done! I managed to get 50 sausage link out of 2lbs of ground pork. Again, if you wanted to add something like bread crumbs, you can make the recipe go further for less. I used about 20 links for the breakfast pockets, my husband and I ate maybe 5 each with our breakfast-for-dinner and the rest went into the freezer before we could devour the rest!

I'm not big on pork but man, these sausages were amazing! I think next time I'll try it with ground turkey which I'm sure will be just as delicious. We wanted to get turkey but they were out for the time being.

What's your favorite kind of sausage? Turkey, beef, pork, chicken? Would you rather buy it from the store or make it yourself?

Till next time,

Catherine

Have I mentioned I love Saturdays?

Oh today was so nice :)

Today my husband and I headed over to the Lynchburg Community Market for their final Mistletoe Market before Christmas. We both agreed it's very quickly becoming our favorite time of the week when we visit the Market. The people are so friendly, the food is so fresh and the atmosphere is just lovely. 

I try to plan what I need to buy when we go so we don't end up buying too much. This time I was in search of farm fresh free-range eggs and some local sausage. Didn't really have a preference whether it was pork, beef, turkey, or chicken but I needed to buy some for these delicious breakfast pockets I need to make more of. Don't worry...that recipe will be linked up in time! I haven't gotten around to posting it yet because I need better pictures. 

We stopped at a couple booths looking for sausage or ground meat bu I don't think any vendors bring any with them unless it is to fill an order for a customer. One farm, Auburnlea Farms in Gladys, Virginia (about 30 minutes South of Lynchburg), caught my attention because they sell cow shares. We've been bouncing around the idea for a while but haven't committed to it quite yet. We ended up leaving and headed home but I was checking out Auburnlea Farms' website on my iPhone and I noticed they sell a lot of meat products as well. I did a quick GPS search and found they were only about 30 minutes away and we were off! 

We made it!

If you still need a Christmas tree they have them! They're all grown in Virginia and are chemical free!

I loved the little sign out front to greet us :)

They have plenty of meat, alright!

Their little store is full of so much good stuff! I really can't even list it all, so go to their website for more information and pictures! 

We ended up buying grape jelly, citric acid (for making dishwashing detergent soon), 2lbs of ground pork, sausage seasoning, and two Boylan ginger ales. Let me just tell you...that is the BEST ginger ale! It's made with real cane sugar and not high fructose corn syrup and it makes a difference. So delicious! I can see that quickly becoming something we'll buy every time we visit The Grainery. 

I've never made sausage before so I'm sure there will be a future post for that as well, so stay tuned!

The views are just beautiful at this farm. Makes me miss living in the country!

Beautiful view from a beautiful home.

 Moo cows!

Gobble gobble...lots of turkeys!

And of course the chickens!

Best ginger ale ever!

If you're in the Lynchburg or surrounding areas, definitely go check out Auburnlea Farms. It is a wonderful family owned farm and they've got just about everything you could need! One visit and I'm hooked already! I absolutely love small businesses and I do my best to support them, especially farms! No farms, no food. Oh and not to mention, if driving to Gladys isn't workable for you, e-mail them your order and they'll have it ready for you at the Lynchburg Community Market!

And again, be sure to check out their website, my blog post doesn't do them justice!

Have you picked out your Christmas tree yet? Busy getting Christmas stuff done? Only 9 days left!

Till next time,
Catherine