Nuts and Bolts:

Sausage rolls are the most straightforward and satisfying recipe you will ever make. It is so easy that you can make this recipe even if you are not a gourmet cook. All this recipe needs is puff pastry and sausage. It is so simple that you can make them in any mess.

My Thoughts on Sausage Rolls:

1. This is a classic English dish.

2. This can be made as tiny rolls or large rolls for a meal.

3. You can use any kind of sausage you like; beef, chicken, turkey, pork, or vegan.

4. I have made these with homemade rough puff pastry or store-bought puff pastry.

Method:

 You will need about a pound of loose sausage, one package of puff pastry sheets, or one recipe of puff pastry dough, an egg, 2 tablespoons of water, and flour for dusting.

Important tip: How much sausage to use depends on the size of the roll and the number of rolls you are making. About a pound of sausage will fill one package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets. I tend to make a lot of sausage rolls, so I use two-three pounds to two-three boxes of puff pastry sheets. If you are using homemade, it is harder to judge. But I do get fewer rolls from homemade pastry dough.

Start by preheating an oven to 400°F. Next, mix the water and egg in a small bowl to make an egg wash for the rolls and set it aside. Then flour a flat surface to prepare your puff pastry. If using homemade puff pastry, roll out your dough until it's ¼ inch thick. Depending on the size you want, cut the dough lengthwise in half. If using pre-made puff pastry sheets, cut the dough lengthwise in thirds, at the folds. 

Important tip: Sausage can be made from any meat or even vegan. But it does have to be the sausage your family likes to eat. It is also a great way to get rid of the sausage that has been in the freezer for too long. 

Then take one of the strips of dough and place it on a floured cutting board or other floured surface. Next, take some sausage to create a log of sausage that is about an inch or less thick in the middle of the sheet, leaving about a ¼ of an inch of dough on either side. 

Important tip: The measurements do not need to be exact here, depending on how much sausage or dough you have. You want enough sausage to fill the roll while also having enough dough so it can wrap around the sausage. 

Then fold the top dough over the sausage log so that the top edge of the dough meets the bottom edge of the dough. Then crimp the seam together using a fork. Then using a knife, cut crosswise depending on the length of the desired sausage roll. (Suggestion: 1 inch for cocktail roll and 4 inches for meal size rolls.) Then cut small silt at the top of the roll to vent out the steam from the cooking roll. After that, place it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and then coat with egg wash. Repeat until you have finished making sausage rolls.

Important tip: Here, the size of the rolls does not need to be perfectly the same. So just be as close as you can on size. 

Once you have a full cookie sheet, place it in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Once the rolls are golden brown and the sausage is cooked through, transfer them immediately to a cooling rack to cool. Then enjoy!

Important tip: The rolls need to be moved quickly since there may be a lot of fat on the tray, depending on the type of sausage used, and you do not want them to become soggy as they cool.

Final Thoughts on Sausage Rolls:

Although they sound complicated to make, they are super easy. They make great hors d'oeuvres. They are always the first food that disappears at a party. So, try them at your next shindig.