Sausage Rolls Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my homemade sausage rolls soggy? ›

Why do my homemade sausage rolls have soggy bottoms? To prevent soggy sausage rolls, make sure your oven is preheated before cooking. Ensure to space out the sausage rolls on the baking tray when cooking to ensure there is enough room for the air to circulate and allow them to crisp up.

If the filling is mostly meat it will shrink when baked and release a lot of fat. Both of these can cause splitting. Also you should wrap the pastry tightly over t sausage filling and moisten the edge of the pastry when you roll them up so the pastry sticks together on the join.

Also, sautéing the onion and celery before mixing into the filling makes it sweet and more moist than the usual, and using panko instead of normal breadcrumbs also contributes to making the filling of this sausage roll so moist. The addition of fennel adds an extra burst of flavour but it's optional.

Heat a non-stick pan over a medium heat, then add the sausages. A little of the fat from the sausages will start to come out as they warm up; turn the sausages in the hot fat to coat them. Keep cooking for 15-20 mins, moving them around in the pan and turning them over regularly so they all cook evenly.

Reheat the defrosted cooked sausage rolls at 180C (160C fan) for 8 – 10 minutes.

I understand that you want to store unbaked saussage rolls and bake them the next day. IMHO you should be fine as long as the filling isn't too wet. Chill the pastry and the filling well before assembling, this will firm up the fats and reduce seeping from filling to pastry dough.

Buying sausage meat just makes it a little easier as you don't need to remove the skin from sausages. You can use any sausages you have if you prefer. Just strip the skins off them before using.

A cooked sausage roll will last in your fridge for up to three days. Be sure to pop it in the fridge once it's cooled down though, as a sausage roll shouldn't be left at room temperature for more than two hours. If you freeze your sausage roll, it will last for up to three months.

When blind baking, line the pastry with baking paper and fill to the brim with baking beans/uncooked rice, which will support the sides of the pastry and help prevent shrinkage. Start shortcrust off at 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5 to quickly set the pastry. If the oven temperature is too low, the pastry will shrink.

Use Cold Baking Trays

The trays need to be cold when you place the uncooked pastry rolls on them so that they cook evenly in the oven and get a crispy base. Using hot trays will begin to soften and 'melt' the pastry before they're added to the oven - which will lead to soggy pastry.

Why are my homemade sausages dry? ›

Sausages that do not contain enough fat are typically dry and tasteless. Sausages should contain 25-30% fat. This may seem like a lot but many commercially made sausages contain 50% fat. So, you need 250-300g of fat per 1kg of sausage mix.

Properly salting the pork and letting it rest for eight hours in the refrigerator allows the meat to retain moisture and ensures the cooked sausage will have a juicy, springy texture.

Line your baking trays with parchment paper or foil before baking. This will act as a non-stick barrier between the pan and the food. 2. Grease the baking tray with butter, oil, or a non-stick cooking spray.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Check to ensure they aren't burning, then continue to bake until puffed and golden, about 10 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a roll should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Freezing - you can freeze your uncooked sausage rolls and simply bake from frozen allowing an extra 10 minutes cooking time. Open freeze (on a tray without any cover) and then once frozen pack into a bag or box. Or freeze cooked ones, defrost and serve cold or refresh in a hot oven for 5 minutes.