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Snack & Appetizers

Sausage Rolls

Sausage rolls are seasoned pork sausage meat wrapped in golden puff pastry, the party food of British and Australian Christmas buffets.
Recipe Sausage Rolls
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Preparation 30 minutes
  • Cooking 25 minutes
  • Servings for 12 rolls

Sausage rolls are logs of seasoned pork sausage meat wrapped in flaky puff pastry, brushed with egg, baked until crisp and cut into bite-size or hand-size pieces. In Britain they are everyday bakery food, and at Christmas they turn up on every buffet: with drinks on Christmas Eve, at parties, and cold or warmed through on Boxing Day.

The classic filling is simple: sausage meat with gently softened onion, sage, a few breadcrumbs and a grating of nutmeg. They are just as popular in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, where they are eaten with tomato sauce.

They can be shaped days ahead and frozen raw, then baked straight from the freezer when the guests arrive.

Ingredients for 12 rolls

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Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low to medium heat and cook the onion gently for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft and lightly golden. Add the sage for the last minute, then spread the onion on a plate and let it cool completely.
  2. Put the sausage meat in a bowl with the cooled onion and sage, the breadcrumbs, the nutmeg, the salt and a good grinding of pepper. Mix with your hands until evenly combined. To check the seasoning, fry a small piece and taste it.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F) and line a large baking sheet with parchment. Unroll the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface (a sheet of about 35 x 23 cm, 14 x 9 inches) and cut it in half lengthways into two long strips.
  4. Divide the filling in two and shape each half into a long sausage about 3 cm (1 1/4 inches) thick. Lay one along each strip, slightly off center. Beat the egg with the milk and brush it along the far edge of the pastry, fold the pastry over the filling and press the edges firmly together; seal them with the tines of a fork.
  5. Cut each log into 6 pieces and set them seam side down on the baking sheet, a little apart. Brush the tops with egg wash and make two small slashes in each with a sharp knife. If you have time, chill them for 15 minutes: cold pastry puffs better.
  6. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and deep golden and the filling is cooked through. Leave them on a wire rack for 10 minutes and serve warm, or let them cool and serve them cold. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

Add a teaspoon of English mustard, a little grated apple or a pinch of chili flakes to the filling. In Australia sausage rolls are often made with half pork and half beef mince, grated carrot and onion, sprinkled with sesame seeds and eaten with tomato sauce. For party bites, cut each log into 2.5 cm (1 inch) pieces and bake them for 15 to 18 minutes.

Tips

Use good sausage meat, or sausages with a high pork content. Let the onion cool before mixing it in, and keep the pastry cold: if it turns soft and sticky, put it back in the fridge for 10 minutes. Brush egg only on the top, not on the cut edges, or the layers will not rise. The rolls are cooked when the filling reaches 71 °C (160 °F) in the center, or when it is firm, piping hot and no longer pink inside.

Storage

Raw rolls freeze well: open-freeze them on the tray, then pack them in bags, for up to 3 months. Bake them from frozen, brushed with egg, for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is cooked through. Baked rolls keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days; eat them cold or warm them at 180 °C (350 °F) for about 10 minutes, until piping hot.

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