Breakfast sausage

One of my main reasons for having two eggs over medium, home fries, buttered toast and sausage at a diner, is the sausage. Most diners I have used have the same if not similar breakfast sausage. All I know is they are thick, plump links of tasty somewhat dense pork, thick and spiced just right to entice and capture the sausage lover. I have never found them available in any local markets for purchase. How do you like your breakfast sausage?

My local eatery raises their own hogs so they serve a freshly ground, hand formed, thick sausage patty that is lightly seasoned. The patties are over 2" in diameter and thick and moist. mmmmmmmm

Sausage links are not as popular in East Tennessee as sausage patties. There are numerous companies around the region that mix sausage.

I personally prefer Tennessee Pride Mild or Swaggerty Sausage. I like to make it in think patties and cook it slow under cover. Takes a while but comes out brown and moist. Great on a bisquit with your choice of jelly, mustard or plain.

Sometimes I do all three.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by AndyNYC1

Breakfast sausage is my absolute favorite food in this world. I would take it over pizza, over ice cream, over bbq. Only link style and of course only pork. I would eat it every single morning if it weren't so detrimental to my health. I limit it to once a month. The Viand Diner on 86th and 2nd in Manhattan is my personal favorite, and they're open 24/7. Ain't life grand?

I love Viand. I've only had breakfast there once, but when I lived in that neighborhood, I ate their renowned turkey sandwiches on a fairly regular basis.

I love bulk breakfast sausage. My favorite brands are Purnell's "Old Folks" out of Kentucky(pretty lean for store bought) and Farmland hot or original.

It's pretty easy to make good homemade bulk sausage(pork shoulder, salt, fresh black pepper, sage and red pepper flakes). If you have a meat grinder and look out for sales on pork shoulder(aka Boston butt) you can make it for about $1.00/lb and control the amount of fat(not too lean).

Usually I like it with eggs, hash browns or grits and toast, but often I'll pan fry a patty and make a sandwich on a toasted english muffin with mayonnaise. And of course in sausage gravy. Bulk sausage also makes a nice addition to meatloaf, especially it you are using really lean ground beef. I also like links but you can't do much with them except fry'em up and eat'em.

kland01s, fear if I lived in your neighborhood that I'd be visiting the local eateries much too often, what with your description of the sausage they serve. And as one who grew up making and eating homemade sausage, its readily evident that topferment knows his sausage - how to make it and how to cook and eat it, in all the great forms that are possible. Links come in a poor second to patties to me.

Sausage gravy and buiscuts is not just for breakfast anymore.

It is a wonderful cold night supper!

I like bulk pork sausage made into patties. In east Austin, there's a great little place called Arkie's Grill that opened in 1948. They still serve great home-cooked food, and they make their own breakfast sausage. YUM!!

I like Jack In The Box's Breakfast Sausage Croissants! McDonalds Sausage is great too. If they made Sausage that was good for you it wouldn't be any good! Jimmy Dean was a favorite growing up as was Tennessee Pride. Dad liked it Hot then as well as I do now. I prefer Patty over link but either will do.

Paul,
I agree with you regarding Swaggerty's. Very good stuff for a commercial product. If you get over to NC, be sure to pick up some Neese's and let us know what you think.

Jim

I am a little emabarrassed to say why I tried it, but I have become a regular Purnell's man (aside from venison and pork sausage I have made every winter). I bought the first package because I thought the ad on the Grand Ol Opry was so corny it couldn't be a fake. I love that Purnell guy. You know for sure two things when you get through watching the ad
1) He has been around a hog or two in his day
2) He is not scared of a big plate of grits,eggs, and sausage

Patties over link, no question. Purnell's, Jimmy Dean, & TN Pride are good, but my favorite is Williams, made in Woodland Mills, TN. They don't add sugar, so there's no problem with sticking to the griddle.

If you make sausage gravy, try adding a peeled, seeded (if possible), and chopped tomato when you have the rest going. I usually do that and nobody can recognize the flavor--people just rhapsodize.

Jimmy Dean, particularly sage (the grey package). Patties only.

Although a good link is the pork and apricot sausage at Sarabeth's in NYC: they come finished with a dollop of a warmed apricot jam on them as well as the dried apricot in the sausage.

Bob Evans'spicy pork sausage...patties or links. End of discussion.

I second Bob Evan's sausage, though I would not eat at one of those restaurants ever again ( undertrained staff is a problem in my area).

I'm from the Land of Bob Evan's 'Down on the Farm' Which is usually pretty good. (NOT the Restaurant)
I've tried and Like both Williams & Purnell's Old Folks ... (Both Bulk)
But I've never tried Jimmie Deans, so I can't express any opinion
By my latest favorite is Detroit Sausage Company (Est 1928) and I can't get it anywhere
Except for the Detroit's Eastern Market. Very Small distribution area, but served
at many of the Coney Island Restaurants, which is our equivalent to a dinner.
The sausages are available in 5 lb boxes, for less than $12. Patties, Small Links (normal size) And Large Casings. Good Stuff !
No Web Site,
Detroit Sausage Co Inc
2715 Saint Aubin St
Detroit, MI 48207-2107
United States

Mr Anthony Peters
President
Tel: 313-259-0555

Growing up in Calif Farmer John's was the sausage of choice. I still compare the others to it and they all tend to fall short. I usually get Bob Evan's here, it pretty good.

MikeS.

Ballards' Sage.....a West Virginia Brand, patties and links equally great. Also enjoyed PetitJean in Arkansas and the occasional Bob Evans.(Although I will not cross the threshold of their restaraunts)

quote:

Originally posted by redtressed

Ballards' Sage.....a West Virginia Brand, patties and links equally great. Also enjoyed PetitJean in Arkansas and the occasional Bob Evans.(Although I will not cross the threshold of their restaraunts)

I can get Ballard's here in Martinsburg, WV. I'll have to give it a try.

Links are OK in some cases. Especially if they are Oscar Mayer. They are the same everytime you eat them. I guess i like the consistancy. I like to fold them up in a piece of toast and use the contraption to dip at my over easy egg yolk. This is , of course, only if the place I happen to be eating ate doesn't have a home made sausage or a fresh bulk patty sausage on hand. Key's in St. Paul; Minnesota has a fresh large fried patty of either breakfast sausage or Italian sausage as a breakfast meat. Both are very good.

Heans meat market in my hometown makes what has to be the best breakfast links made. Large size with excellent seasoning. There is VERY little grease and they are still the same size when we are done cooking as before.

Montecarlolsus:
The sausage you describe is the type we get in most diners in NJ. Breakfast sausage patties are not offered in many places. But those breakfast links are just so good, its a great reason for ordering breakfast in a NJ diner.

I'm a sausage patty person too !! I love good spicey pork bulk sausage ! I have friends that do alot of deer hunting and they make some great pork/venison sausage !!

When I can get the fresh sausage from some of the local processing plants, I get Purnell's sausage.


I really like to scramble the sausage in with eggs !!

Okay gotta add my two cents worth. I just got back from Tybee Island GA where I stayed while visiting Savannah. The best sausage I have ever eaten was at The Breakfast Club on Tybee Island. They make their own and after I had mine I wished I had just gotten nothing but sausage! If you are in the Savannah area you simply must try TBC on Tybee. Go early during the season and try to sit at the counter it is great entertainment. Off season during the week it isn't too crowded though and even if it was it would be worth the wait.

Dearfolk,
The best local sausage I've ever found has to be Holifield Farms Mo-Peppa made by The Holifield Family in Covington, GA., which is right east of Atlanta. They also produce the usual mild and hot versions, and all three are remarkably low in fat. - My late mother, normally ultra-scrupulous about such things, marvelled that she didn't have to drain it: "There's nothing to drain!" she exclaimed, used to fatter sausage. She tried it, and her remaining skepticism melted away in her mouth. I just bought some yesterday to take to my favorite breakfast cook: she's never tried it.
Another excellent brand, although we can't buy it here, is Counts' Onion Sausage from Counts Sausage Co. in Prosperity, South Carolina. I had it for breakfast at The Seaboard Diner in Columbia, S. C. and was awed by it. Counts also produces liver pudding, the rice-included version of livermush common in lower South Carolina; Harvin Liver Pudding is another well-known brand. When the weather turns cooler, I'll take an ice chest, ramble over that way hitting thrift stores and eating barbecue, and pick up some of all that local porcine nectar and bring it on back.
That small local sausage maker someone mentioned above in Woodland Mills, TN. might be the company that puts out the ultra-sage sausage that I ran across in Nashville. The stuff was green and smelled almost like mint. I thought it had gone bad, but such was not the case. Now that was some tasty sausage!
Out Of The Frying Pan, The Not-Into-The-Fire Ort. Carlton in Still-Idiotically-Warm-Outside (67 deg.) Athens, Georgia.

Native to Hagerstown Md. Hoffmans great stuff , They have a farm market bucther shop just outside of town, All sorts of great pork things.

quote:

Originally posted by Argent

Native to Hagerstown Md. Hoffmans great stuff , They have a farm market bucther shop just outside of town, All sorts of great pork things.

Where? Directions from either 81 or 70 please.

Mike in Martinsburg thanks you.

The best sausage I ever had was at Silver Lake, Cailf., they made there own. The patties were very large, you got your moneys worth & the spices were great. The next best is at Big Bear Lake, Cailf. at Grizzy Cafe, little cafe with lots of food. They have a great gravy with pork sausage in it that tastes get over ther homemade biskits. Their sausage patties have a great taste, if you go there expect to wait a while the place is small. One nice thing is you serve your own coffee while waiting, all the locals eat there.

I think the small meat places lots of times make a better product than the large corparations. The Heans stuff I use never has to be drained of grease before eating it. After that I never buy the pork links or sausage in the store. I figure the heans stuff is also better for you if it isnt filled with grease.

Sausage is one of those foods taken seriously in Kentucky families. We only ever used one brand - Webber's, made in Cynthiana, Kentucky. For years we had to send this stuff to an older brother or have a supply for him to return home with when he visited.

The Webber's factory burned to the ground about 10 years ago, and the company opted to make their sausage at a competitor's plant rather than rebuild. I haven't had any in a while, and therefore can't speak to its quality these days.

But once upon a time, in a land of pork sausage lovers, Webbers ruled!

quote:

Originally posted by Mayhaw Man

I am a little emabarrassed to say why I tried it, but I have become a regular Purnell's man (aside from venison and pork sausage I have made every winter). I bought the first package because I thought the ad on the Grand Ol Opry was so corny it couldn't be a fake. I love that Purnell guy. You know for sure two things when you get through watching the ad
1) He has been around a hog or two in his day
2) He is not scared of a big plate of grits,eggs, and sausage

You're right on target about the Purnell fella. I've talked with this Purnell a few times at grocer's conventions. He's a hoot at those functions, wearing his promotion persona the whole time. He sounds a little like a rural Kentucky preacher testifying before the unwashed.

About a month ago Kroger had their brand pork sausage on sale for $1/lb. I bought 6 packages on a chance, and it turned out to be a winner! Kroger sausage is as good or better than Jimmy Dean which is my normal favorite.

I have been doing the Atkins thing for about four months and sausage has become a favorite of mine. Since I cannot do any type of bread, I do sausage patties thick and use a lettuce wrap with mustard or other condiments.

Makes a great lunch, breakfast or dinner for the Sundancer.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Lucky Bishop

Jimmy Dean, particularly sage (the grey package). Patties only.

Although a good link is the pork and apricot sausage at Sarabeth's in NYC: they come finished with a dollop of a warmed apricot jam on them as well as the dried apricot in the sausage.

I'll second that motion about the Jimmy Dean Sage. I love extra sage in sausage. I also tried the Jimmy Dean Maple flavored sausage. It goes well with pancakes, but is a bit too sweet for eating daily.
I grew up in Seymour,TN and we used Wampler's and Swaggerty's as I recall from my childhood. We did use Jimmy Dean cause Mom loved the hot sausage, but it always cost so much more than the others. I'm sure many people around here also used Lay's sausage or Selecto's(if they had a sausage brand).
I know my mom used Lay's or Elm Hill bacon.

A Few suggestions for biscuit recipes and ease in preparing biscuits.

Here is a recipe for Basic Buttermilk Biscuits from the Martha White Southern Selections Cookbook (1985?)

2 Cups Unbleached Sifted AP Flour or Self Rising( I prefer Unbleached, makes nicer biscuits)Add 1 TBS baking powder and 3/4 tsp of salt.
1/4 cup lard
1 scant cup(thats not quite a full cup) of buttermilk.
Oven Temp 450
Cook 10-12 mins

The secret I've found, so far, to making biscuits, quickly, is
1.) put your doughboard over your kitchen sink,which is filled with hot water. This helps immensely when you want to clean everything up immediately afterwards(but don't scrape excess flour into the sink,it will stop up your drain)
2. Sift your flour into your measuring cup on a sheet of waxed paper. Then excess can be set aside for coating hands. I roll out and cut my biscuits also on the paper.

3. Use pastry blender for cutting fat into flour.

4. I use kitchen parchement for lining baking sheets, no stick.

5. The trickiest thing I've found is how to get them to the right thickness. 1/4 inch rolled out is perfect for a thin sausage biscuit(ie. Rudy's Farm storebought) and about a 1/2 inch gives you a thicker more McDonalds/Hardee's type biscuit.


I think most folks just hate the mess flour makes. Get rid of the flour bag, use a restaurant style(22qt)flour container. Then you don't have to wash the sifter.

I like both links and patties but my favorite lately has been Bob Evans patties made with the maple flavored sausage. I was a little hesitant to try it with eggs but I'll have to say I really liked it. Of course, I like to put eggs on pancakes and pour syrup over the whole thing too so I'm not sure why I thought I wouldn't like it.

All the b-fast items served at Loveless's just outside of Nashville is to die for. But their sausage patties send me to heaven, crisp on the outside, moist inside and just the right amount of seasonings.

If you are ever in the area stop in for great biscuits, country ham and fried chicken(served anytime, even for b-fast).

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

Do you get the eggs with the eggs and pancakes fried? Doesn't the yolk make the pancakes taste, well, wierd?

It is kind of well, weird. But sometimes weird is good. I had never seen this way of eating eggs and pancakes until I visited a friend of mine in West Virginia. It seemed to be common practice in this diner where we ate breakfast and I figured when in Rome (or Pennsboro)..what the heck. And I really liked it. I don't have it this way every time but every once in a while it's a nice change. Oh and definitely over easy for the eggs. The more yolk the better.

It is so good, No matter when you go they put a big plate of bisquits served with locally made jam and apple butter. A real treasure that is true Roadfood material. A small reataurant in the parking lot of a Roadside motel circa early 1900's.
If you are ever in the area you have to give it a try

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

fried chicken? for breakfast? really?

Now that's cool.

Breakfast at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles! Doesn't get much better!

quote:

Originally posted by ToddH

quote:

I grew up in Seymour,TN and we used Wampler's and Swaggerty's as I recall from my childhood.

Todd,
When I lived in Nashville, one independent supermarket near my house sold a "super-sage" sausage that plumb looked spoiled (it was THAT green!). I've tried to remember the maker's name (it was a small, local concern somewhere in Central Tennessee, but I remember it bore a U. S.inspection). You've made me wonder if it might not have been Wampler's. Aren't they over by Gallatin someplace?
That was the best breakfast sausage I ever put into my mouth until I found Hollifield's Mo-Peppa at Bell's Supermarket here in Athens (Georgia, not Tennessee!).
Sizzlingly, Ort. Carlton in 30601-Land.

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

fried chicken? for breakfast? really?

Now that's cool.

Clothier,
Absolutely! Positively!! It's even on the breakfast buffet at Plantation Buffet on M. L. K. Blvd. here in Athens, and you can have it for breakfast at The Gateway Cafe, even though it's not listed on the menu board on the wall.
Not Pullet Your Leg, Ort. Carlton in Athens, Georgia, Which Is 39 Miles Down U. S. 129 From Gainesville, The Broiler Capital Of The World.

I prefer links over patties, but I've been pretty disappointed with the choice of links retailing in the Chicago area. Sam's Club had Klement's maple sausage for sale which had nice flavor but was full of disgusting chunky cartilaginous bits...so bad I may just toss it and say goodbye to the money. My favorite are the Oscar Mayer links that they have in the restaurants but you can't get them in the stores-they don't carry them in this area anymore (yes, I called Kraft)They have a nice texture, no chunky bits, always the same, unless they get overcooked, then they are a little nasty. On someone's recommendation on this site, I tried Purnell's Old folks...very good. Also bought Farmland and something called Jameson's Brand...the fattiest sausage I've ever had but tasty!
My inlaws are going to Atlanta-any good local sausage there? I figure they can throw it in a cooler and drag it up to Chicago!