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Sausage rolls really are one of those things that are better made at home. People say the same about hummus and pesto, but nothing – and I mean nothing – compares to warm, flaky pastry and juicy sausage meat straight from the oven.
My sister makes the best sausage rolls. They’re always the first thing to go at a Christmas buffet. The secret, it seems, is the addition of caramelised onion. Sweet and melting onions improve most things.
When I look back over my sausage roll memory catalogue I become swamped in pork-based memories. What is it with sausages and childhood? No party was complete without a bowl of those mini cocktail sausages, scotch eggs and – God help us – mini cardbourd sausage rolls that were only edible when dunked into ketchup.
There are happier memories though. The day I was allowed to walk into town by myself to buy a warm sausage roll and bag of penny sweets was the day I committed myself to the wonders of Greggs.
Sausage rolls are for picnics, greedy on-the-go lunches and Boxing Day spreads. They’re as British as all of those other beige foods (fish and chips, scotch eggs, pie etc.)
Except, the earliest mention of sausage rolls I can find is in an American cookery book from 1840, predating Mrs Beeton’s recipe by a whole 23 years. Very strange…
The recipe is nestled among instructions for Oyster Cakes and Bird’s Nest Pudding in the catchily-titled, Economical Cookery: Designed to Assist the Housekeeper in Retrenching her Expenses by the Exclusion of Spiritous Liquors from her Cookery. Published in 1840 in Newark, it would seem that even American teetotallers could enjoy a good sausage roll or two.
The beauty of sausage rolls is that it’s quite difficult to bake a bad batch. Whip some up on a cold winter’s day and eat them warm with cheese and chutneys. Don’t worry if they’re slightly deformed.
Caramelised Onion Sausage Rolls
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
500g pork sausages (Experiment with different flavours if you like)
500g ready-made puff pastry
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1. Heat the oil and add the onions and salt. Cook gently until they’re caramelised and soft. Leave to cook.
2. Squeeze the sausage meat into a bowl, discarding the skins. Add the cooled onion mix and combine well.
3. Roll out the pastry to the thickness of a pound coin. Cut into two rectangles. Roll the mixture into two long sausage shapes and lay in the centre of each rectangle.
4. Mix the egg and milk and brush onto the pastry. Roll the pastry over and seal, then brush the outside with the remaining egg wash.
5. Cut the sausage rolls into the size you want (uneven, undainty sizes in my case).
6. Cook in a preheated oven (180c) for 25 minutes or until golden.
To The Table 