XXL Silicone Bag
One gallon, leakproof, lies flat in the fridge. A whole week in one bag.
Home / Recipes / Breakfast / Freezer Breakfast Sausage Patties
Freezer Breakfast Sausage Patties
Store breakfast sausage is ground pork, sage and a long list of things you would not put in it yourself, at four times the price of ground pork. Three pounds of pork and a spice mix gives you twenty-four patties for what a box of eight costs. Shape them, freeze them raw with parchment between, and cook one straight from frozen in six minutes. Raw is the right way to freeze these. Precooked sausage reheats dry every time, while raw patties cook fresh and taste like you made them that morning.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ground pork, not lean
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons rubbed sage
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup ice water
Directions
- Mix the salt, sage, thyme, pepper, red pepper flakes and nutmeg in a small bowl so the seasoning is even before it meets the meat.
- Put the cold ground pork in a large bowl, scatter the spice mix over it, and add the maple syrup and ice water. The ice water keeps the fat from smearing, which is what gives you a tender patty instead of a dense one.
- Mix with your hands for no more than 30 seconds, just until the seasoning is distributed. Overworking ground pork makes it bouncy.
- Cook a teaspoon of the mixture in a skillet and taste it. This is your only chance to adjust the salt. Correct the batch if you need to.
- Scoop 2-ounce portions and press them into patties about 3 inches across and half an inch thick, with a shallow dimple in the middle so they stay flat as they cook.
- Stack the raw patties with parchment squares between them, slide the stacks into the gallon bag, press out the air, seal and freeze. Cook from frozen over medium heat, 3 minutes a side, to 160F.
Tips and variations
- Freeze them raw, not cooked. Precooked patties reheat dry and taste like a gas station.
- Always fry and taste a test teaspoon before shaping. Seasoning raw pork by eye does not work.
- Keep everything cold. Warm fat smears and the patties turn rubbery.
- Maple syrup is not for sweetness, it is for browning. Leave it out and the patties stay pale.
- For a hot Italian version, swap the sage and nutmeg for 2 tablespoons fennel seed and double the red pepper flakes.
The bag this recipe is built around
Twenty-four raw patties in parchment stacks need a gallon of space and a seal that actually holds, since raw pork juice in a freezer drawer is a bad morning. The XXL Blue bag takes the whole batch flat, seals leakproof, and washes in the dishwasher afterwards instead of going in the bin.
See the Blue XXL Bag
Common questions
- Should I freeze sausage patties raw or cooked
- Raw. They cook from frozen in about six minutes and taste freshly made. Cooked patties lose moisture on reheating and end up dry.
- What spices go in American breakfast sausage
- Sage is the one that defines it, with thyme, black pepper, a little red pepper and nutmeg behind it. Maple syrup is common and mostly helps the patties brown.
- How long do homemade sausage patties keep in the freezer
- Three months sealed with the air pressed out. Raw pork picks up freezer flavors quickly once air gets in, so seal them well.
- Do I have to thaw sausage patties before cooking
- No. Cook them straight from frozen over medium heat, about 3 minutes a side, until the center reaches 160F.
More breakfast recipes
Keep the ones that work
Copy this one onto a 4x6 card. Title across the top, the nine ingredients down the left, the six steps down the right, and Makes 24, Cook 6 min along the header. File it behind the Breakfast divider. Built to outlast the screenshot.
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