Grilled Breakfast Sausage Recipe

Updated October 10, 2018

Three breakfast sausage patties cooking on a grill. — Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

I go straight into hoarding mode at the first sign of cooling air. My summer freezer, once bare except a bag of ice and a container of homemade ice cream, starts filling with meats to get me through the fall and winter. I've recently added one staple to my growing collection of pulled pork and sausages, something I couldn't live without during hibernation mode: breakfast patties.

One of the simplest sausages in my repertoire—they're the only ones I don't take the time to stuff into casing—breakfast patties match up well with any hearty morning meal. They're super sausages in my book. I personally like taking mine to the grill (yes, I grill in my just-woke-up zombie mode), which gives the sausages a great crisp and brown crust without the fat splatter mess that plagues the skillet method. What comes off the flames is a delectable mixture of sweet, spicy, fresh, and meaty that completes my lazy fall and winter mornings.

Recipe Details

Grilled Breakfast Sausage Recipe

Prep 50 mins

Cook 15 mins

Chilling Time 60 mins

Total 2 hrs 5 mins

Serves 12 to 14 servings

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the Sausage:

2 pounds trimmed boneless pork butt (shoulder), diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 pound fat back, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For the Test Patty:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions

Add pork butt, fatback, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, rosemary, brown sugar, nutmeg, cayenne, and pepper flakes to medium bowl and toss to combine. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Using 1/4-inch die, grind mixture in chilled meat grinder into a medium bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water.
Heat 1/2 teaspoon of oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, cook a 1 tablespoon-sized patty of sausage mixture until browned and cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes. Taste patty and adjust salt and spice level of mixture as needed. Form mixture into 3 ounce patties, about 1/2-inch thick, and 3-inches wide.
Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over entire surface of coal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil cooking grate. Grill patties over high heat until browned and cooked through flipping once half way through, 7 to 10 minutes total. Remove patties from grill, allow to rest for 3 minutes, and serve.

Special Equipment

Meat Grinder

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
122	Calories
12g	Fat
1g	Carbs
3g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12 to 14
Amount per serving
Calories	122
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g	15%
Saturated Fat 4g	22%
Cholesterol 18mg	6%
Sodium 193mg	8%
Total Carbohydrate 1g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 0mg	2%
Calcium 8mg	1%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 48mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.