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Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe (Links or Patties)

This easy homemade breakfast sausage recipe is so good that you’ll never think to buy the pre-made store bought patties again. With our tried and true breakfast sausage seasoning mix, it’s as simple as combining ground pork and your seasonings, and you’re ready to eat!

Breakfast sausage patties being cooked in a cast iron pan.

Each year, we raise and harvest pigs on the homestead and cure our own bacon and ham. We’ve been dialing in our favorite pork seasonings for making our homemade sausage recipes for a few years now and we’re finally ready to share them all.

These breakfast patties are incredible paired with a fried egg and english muffin, but you could also add it to this chestnut stuffing recipe, pair with any of our make-ahead breakfast casseroles, add it to sweet potato hash or as a topping for homemade pizza and pizza pepper poppers.

Whether you’re butchering pigs or starting with ground pork, we’ve got all the recipes you’ll need for homemade sausage. If you’re looking for more recipes like mild Italian sausage, hot Italian sausage, three kinds of Bratwursts and a Chinese Dumpling sausage that is out of this world, you can grab all our sausage recipes with this downloadable PDF.

Why We Love Making Homemade Sausage

We raised five pigs this last year, two were Berkshire crosses that get to help root around in the barn and maintain the manure. The other three were Kune Kune pigs. We love Kune Kunes because they provide a lot of amazing fat, which we render into homemade lard.

It’s so satisfying to harvest nutrient-dense pork raised on our homestead, but this butchering day is quite a labor of love, an all-hands-on-deck task. So, knowing we’re also stocking our freezer full of delicious sausage is a bonus.

We also love that these recipes are so customizable… you can’t get that from the grocery store! We can’t recommend enough to mix up a small one-pound batch your first time through, cook up the sausage patties and do a taste test. Then, adjust the seasonings for what you and your family like best.

Breakfast sausage seasonings going into the meat mixer to blend.

Breakfast Sausage Seasoning

There’s quite a bit of debate out there about what kind of breakfast sausage seasonings to add to ground pork. With over a dozen taste testers in our house, we think we’ve come up with the winner that everyone agrees is the best tasting!

Whether you’re mixing up one pound or twenty pounds of this pork breakfast sausage recipe, we’ve got the measurements you need. Keep in mind the following spice mixture is all dried herbs:

Ingredient1 lb. Pork2 lbs. Pork20 lbs. Pork
Sage1 teaspoon2 teaspoons7 Tablespoons
Salt1 teaspoon2 teaspoons7 Tablespoons
Black Pepper½ teaspoon1 teaspoon2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
Marjoram⅛ teaspoon¼ teaspoon2 ½ Tablespoons
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes1/16 teaspoon⅛ teaspoon1 ¼ teaspoon
Ground Cloves½ pinch1 pinch10 pinches
Fennel Seed¼ teaspoon½ teaspoon5 teaspoons

Not a fan of one of these ingredients? Feel free to leave it out. We recommend mixing up enough for one pound of pork, forming it into patties and cooking it up for a taste test. I’ll bet you end up making a 20 pound batch next time!

How to Make Homemade Sausage

Supplies Needed

  • Meat Grinder – We started out with a KitchenAid meat grinder attachment (we’ve actually burned through quite a few of these, but they’re the most affordable when getting started). We’ve since upgraded to an industrial meat grinder.
  • Sausage Casings – If you want to make sausage links, you’ll need to get some sausage casings. Make sure the sausage casing size matches the size links you want to make. Watch the video for the most straightforward example of how to prepare your sausage casings.
  • Sausage Stuffer – There are many electric sausage stuffers on the market, but we’ve found that a hand-crank sausage stuffer is the easiest to control and there are fewer parts that can break.
  • Meat Bags – For ground pork breakfast sausage that you want to form into patties, we recommend getting meat storage bags for the freezer.
  • Bag Sealing Tape – To make sure your bags stay closed in the freezer, we highly recommend getting a roll of bag sealing tape.

In the end, if you’d like to grind and season your ground pork, form it into patties and freeze them in a freezer-proof container that works great, too. They just won’t have as long of a shelf-life in the freezer, and we’d recommend eating them within two or three months to avoid freezer burn.

Ingredients Needed

For breakfast sausage, you’ll want the following ingredients and the seasonings listed above on hand. The amounts will vary depending on how large your batch is, so refer to the chart above for exact amounts.

  • Pork – The beauty of homemade sausage is that it can be made from just about any cut of pork. The goal with sausage is the right lean-to-fat ratio. You’ll see varying recommendations on this, but we’ve found that a 25% fat ratio is the best. In other words, 75% lean meat with 25% pork fat. You can create this ratio by using a simple food scale.
  • Pork Fat – If you’re not butchering your own pigs, pork fat can usually be obtained by asking a butcher.
  • Seasonings – The seasonings above are for a basic breakfast sausage recipe, if you want more recipe options, be sure to grab our downloadable sausage recipes PDF for all the recipes shown in the video.

Some people like a sweeter breakfast sausage and will recommend adding brown sugar. While this is delicious, our family loves dipping our sausage in maple syrup, so we skip the sweetener in the recipe. This also allows for using the pork in savory dishes as well.

Step-by-Step Directions

This base recipe is for making ground sausage for patties, if you want to turn them into breakfast sausage links, you’ll want to follow those instructions below.

  1. Grind meat and desired fat using a meat grinder on a large grind followed by a small grind. Remember, the ideal ratio of meat to fat is about 25%.
  2. Mix all spices into the ground meat mixture until evenly distributed throughout.
  3. Label meat storage bags with contents and the date and stuff sausage mixture into the bags, secured with bag sealing tape.
  4. Freeze up to one year.
  5. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and cook thoroughly until sausages reach 165°F.

For making breakfast sausage links you’ll want to follow steps one and two above, then proceed with the following directions:

  1. Take ground pork mixture and, using a hand-crank sausage stuffer and sausage casings, thread the casing onto the stuffer hose.
  2. Tie a knot in the end of the casing and begin filling casings with the ground meat.
  3. To keep sausage from getting piled up in a heap, arrange it on the counter in a large spiral (as shown in the video).
  4. Once the entire casing is filled, tie off the other end and begin twisting into desired sized links.
  5. Package up in a quantity that makes sense for your family. Wrap in a layer of plastic wrap and then again in freezer paper.
  6. Freeze up to one year.
  7. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and cook thoroughly until sausages reach 165°F.
A man pressing ground pork breakfast sausage into a patty.

Make Ahead Directions

Make this breakfast sausage recipe up to three days in advance and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. When ready to cook, remove from the refrigerator, form into patties and cook thoroughly until sausages reach 165°F.

Breakfast sausage patties being cooked in a cast iron pan.

Storing Cooked Breakfast Sausage

Alternatively, you can cook up all the breakfast sausage patties and store them cooked in the freezer. To do this, cook until sausages reach 165°F (about 3-4 minutes per side). Allow them to cool completely on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer to a cookie sheet and flash freeze. Remove from the cookie sheet and transfer them to a freezer-safe container.

A family sitting around a table trying various pork sausage recipes.

How to Reheat Breakfast Sausage

When ready to cook, reheat from frozen over medium heat with a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan until heated through.

Did you make this recipe? If so, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. This really helps us out and we love to get feedback. Also, snap a photo of your homemade breakfast sausage recipe and tag us on social media @homesteadingfamily so we can see!

Wrapped packages of pork sausage links ready for the freezer.

More Recipes You May Enjoy

Breakfast sausage patties being cooked in a cast iron pan.

Breakfast Sausage Recipe

This might be the best-tasting breakfast sausage recipe ever! It is delicious cooked into patties or packaged up into bulk sausage, but my favorite is in small lamb casings.
No ratings yet
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Course: Breakfast, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 286kcal
Author: Carolyn Thomas

Equipment

  • Meat Grinder
  • Sausage Casings optional
  • Sausage Stuffer optional
  • Meat Bags
  • Bag Sealing Tape

Ingredients

  • 24 ounces pork cubed
  • 8 ounces pork fat cubed
  • 2 teaspoons dried sage
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 pinch ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

Instructions

For Sausage Patties

  • Grind meat and fat using a meat grinder.
  • Mix all spices into the ground meat mixture until evenly distributed throughout.
  • Label meat storage bags with contents and the date and stuff sausage mixture into the bags, securing with bag sealing tape.
  • Freeze up to one year.
  • Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and cook thoroughly until sausages reach 165°F.

For Sausage Links

  • Follow steps one and two above.
  • Take ground pork mixture and, using a hand-crank sausage stuffer and sausage casings, thread the casing onto the stuffer hose.
  • Tie a knot in the end of the casing and begin filling casings with the ground meat.
  • To keep sausage from getting piled up in a heap, arrange it on the counter in a large spiral (as shown in the video).
  • Once the entire casing is filled, tie off the other end and begin twisting into desired sized links.
  • Package up in a quantity that makes sense for your family. Wrap in a layer of plastic wrap and then again in freezer paper.
  • Freeze up to one year.
  • Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and cook thoroughly until sausages reach 165°F.

Notes

  • Make Ahead Directions: Make this breakfast sausage recipe up to three days in advance and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. When ready to cook, remove from the refrigerator, form into patties and cook thoroughly until sausages reach 165°F.
  • Freezing/Storage Directions: Alternatively, you can cook up all the breakfast sausage patties and store them cooked in the freezer. To do this, cook until sausages reach 165°F (about 3-4 minutes per side). Allow them to cool completely on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer to a cookie sheet and flash freeze. Remove from the cookie sheet and transfer them to a freezer-safe container.
  • Reheating: When ready to cook, reheat from frozen over medium heat with a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan until heated through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1patty | Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.1g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 311mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.002g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?We want to see! Tag @homesteadingfamily on Instagram.

A man and wife smiling.

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Josh and Carolyn bring you practical knowledge on how to Grow, Cook, Preserve and Thrive on your homestead, whether you are in a city apartment or on 40 acres in the country. If you want to increase your self-sufficiency and health be sure to subscribe for helpful videos on gardening, preserving, herbal medicine, traditional cooking and more.

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