This homemade breakfast sausage recipe is going to up your breakfast game. Big time. Breakfast sausage is one of those things that's difficult to find fresh––processed, pre-cooked, frozen, with preservatives.
Pre-ground pork at the supermarket is generally too fine for sausage. You can coarsely grind your own meat using a meat grinder, but if you don’t have a meat grinder, you can also use a cleaver or chef’s knife to chop the meat finely. (Find instructions for this in our post about how to grind meat without a grinder.)
Toast the fennel seeds and peppercorns in a pan over medium low heat until fragrant. Add to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder along with the sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, pepper flakes, and cloves. Grind the spices and herbs until you have a coarse powder.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the pork with your spice mixture, salt, and maple syrup. Allow to chill for at least 2 hours. Form into patties and fry in a lightly oiled pan over medium high heat until browned and crispy.
If you want to store the sausage for later use, form into patties and put between squares of parchment paper. Transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag and transfer to the freezer.
Notes
Recipe makes two pounds of sausage, or eight 4 oz. servings.