I came across this gem while I was researching recipes for Guy Fawkes Day. Although I didn’t test it out until well after November 5, it was worth the wait!
It seems to me that sausage rolls are the UK equivalent of pigs in a blanket (mini hot dogs in pastry dough, if you’re not familiar), so this recipe would be great to serve at a holiday gathering, cocktail party, or a movie night in (which is how I enjoyed them last night!).
Shopping for this recipe was easy until it came to purchasing the sausage. The recipe calls for “8 herby sausages, the best you can afford,” and I wasn’t quite sure what to look for. Do you use breakfast sausage? Or cocktail sausages? In the end, I took a photo of what I thought would work (Jimmy Dean sausage with sage), texted it to my British friend, Allison, and she gave the go-ahead.
Like it’s title, these sausage rolls are the lazy-persons version and super easy to make, and you can find the ingredients at any grocery store. Start with a box of frozen puff pastry. One sheet will make about 16 sausages. You can probably re-freeze the second sheet if you don’t use it, but these are so good, you’ll want to make another batch sooner, rather than later!
Lay out the pastry onto a floured surface, then use a rolling pin to roll it out about an inch or so. You don’t want the pastry too thin, but you want. Then using the rolling pin, bash the pastry a little bit – this keep the pastry from puffing up too much when you bake it.
Cut the pastry in half lengthwise (a pizza cutter works great for this), then cut both halves into four strips for a total of eight strips.
The sausage I used came in a cylinder, so I cut several slices, then cut each in half, and cut again so that there about four to six pieces large enough for each pastry strip. Place each sausage piece towards the end of the pastry strip. You can add pepper and sprinkle with thyme leaves if you’d like, but it’s entirely your preference.
Make an egg wash and brush the other end of each pastry strip, then roll up, so that the sausage is enclosed. Continue with each sausage roll and put them one a baking sheet. I like to line mine with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Don’t throw away the egg wash, as you’ll need it for later. Put the baking sheet in the fridge for about 20-25 minutes to let the pastry dough harden. While you’re waiting, pre-heat the oven to 400-degrees.
Take the baking sheet out of the fridge, then brush each roll with egg wash. Be sure that the entire roll has been coated with the wash. If you’re feeling fancy, you can score the dough with a knife. Then pop the baking sheet with the rolls into the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is nice and golden brown. When cooked, remove from the oven and let cool for a minute or two before serving.
These sausage rolls is just delicious! The pastry dough provides just the right amount of flakiness. The first time I made these, I sprayed the baking sheet with cooking spray because I was afraid the rolls would stick to the pan, but it made the rolls a little too greasy for my liking. On my second attempt, I tried without the spray, and didn’t have any trouble with getting these yummy treats out of the pan.
With the Holidays coming, I’m pretty sure this will become one of your go-to recipes, like it has for me!
Lazy Mini Sausage Rolls
Prep Time: under 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes
Makes 16 rolls
Ingredients
1 package of ready-made puff pastry (in the freezer aisle, one sheet makes 16 sausage rolls)
1 egg, beaten
1 package of sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Sausage with Sage, which I found near the bacon selection at my local grocery store)
Flour, for dusting
Salt and Pepper (optional)
Thyme leaves (fresh or dried, optional)
Directions
- Lay out the pastry onto a floured surface, then use a rolling pin to roll it out about an extra inch or two.
- Using the rolling pin, bash the pastry a little bit, but don’t break it.
- Cut the pastry in half lengthwise, then cut both halves into four strips for a total of eight strips.
- Cut 16 small pieces of sausage to fit the size of pastry strips.
- Place each sausage piece towards the end of the pastry strip.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme leaves (optional)
- Make an egg wash and brush the other end of each pastry strip
- Roll sausage in pastry so that it’s completely enclosed. Transfer to baking sheet.
- Put sausage rolls in fridge for 20-25 minutes
- Pre-heat oven to 400F
- Pull sausage rolls from fridge and brush each roll with egg wash
- Score top of roll with a knife or fork (optional)
- Place in oven for 20-30 minutes until pastry is golden brown
- Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.