Dr Mobeus
Homemade Sausage Rolls
A sausage roll from a bakery counter now costs well over a pound, and even the fridge-cabinet versions eat into a shopping budget fast. A pack of eight value sausages and one sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry cost about £2.55 together and make eight proper rolls at roughly 32p each.
The trick most people miss is seasoning the sausage meat. Value sausages are mildly seasoned, so a teaspoon of English mustard and a generous grind of black pepper turns them into something that tastes far more expensive than it was.
Ready-rolled pastry keeps the whole thing to 15 minutes of hands-on time, and the rolls are just as good cold in a lunchbox or a picnic as they are warm from the oven.
Homemade Sausage Rolls
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6 and line a large baking tray. Squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins into a bowl, add the mustard if using, a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper, and squish everything together with your hands.
- Unroll the pastry and cut the sheet in half lengthways to make two long strips. Divide the sausage meat in half and roll each portion into a long snake the length of each strip.
- Lay one snake down the centre of each strip, brush one long edge with beaten egg, then fold the pastry over the filling and press firmly to seal.
- Cut each long roll into four pieces so you have eight sausage rolls in total. Place them on the tray, glaze all over with the remaining egg, and cut two small slits in the top of each.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until deep golden, puffed and cooked through. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve warm or cold.
Tips and Variations
Squeeze the meat out of the skins rather than leaving them on – the skins stop the filling binding into a neat roll. If the pastry cracks as you fold it, patch it with a trim scrap pressed on with a damp finger. Freeze the uncooked rolls on the tray, then bag them and bake from frozen for around 30 minutes. A pinch of dried sage or a spoon of onion chutney mixed through the meat makes them taste like the premium bakery versions.
Meat and Potato Pie
