I’m not even a huge sausage fan but these were beyond sausage and scrumptious in their clean simplicity. I found the recipe for these online and made a small adaptation for my adult daughter who is trying a Paleo – type diet for auto immune disease. I had a hard time refraining from eating more than the two I “stole” as they were so fragrant and delicious. Make a big patch for they freeze well. I see great potential for expanding this recipe in many desirable ways. I had a left-over red bell pepper which I considered adding to mix but decided to keep it simple this time. I intend to try this at another time. I love ghee and did not want to omit the flavors that ghee would impart but I would imagine baking these patties in a hot and fast oven, on a rack, might be a great time saver.
Stripping the herbs from their stems is what takes the time and focus. In order to offer an additional time saving gift I minced all the herbs. A small box of organic sage, thyme and rosemary allowed me to mince enough for the sausage I was making and an enough for them to freeze for another batch and a half. I taped instructions to the herb container for them to add the indicated amounts of meat, maple syrup and apple and just dump in the blend to which I had added the salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. I also made for a Blueberry Barbecue Sauce which, in hindsight, I thought might dress these little sausage gems up for a dinner entree. I just couldn’t bear to throw the ghee and drippings away so I scraped every last drop, maybe 2 tablespoons, into the simmering BBQ sauce. YUM! Stay tuned for that recipe.
Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey blend
2 lb ground pork
2 TBLSP maple syrup
1 small green apple, grated
1 ½ TBLSP kosher salt
1 ½ tsp ground black pepper
1 TBLSP sage, fresh and minced
1 ½ tsp thyme, fresh and minced
¾ tsp rosemary, fresh and minced
¾ tsp ancho chili powder or ½ tsp crushed red pepper
3-4 TBLSP ghee for cooking the patties
Preparation
Mix all ingredients together, except for the ghee. Form into small, about 2-inch patties and cook in ghee, 3-4 minutes per side.