Lazy Albertan sausage rolls

 (Process pics to come)

Although this blog already has an excellent sausage roll recipe posted by Isabel, I’m adding my own version using pre-made, pre-rolled puff pastry. Although I *can* make pastry as given in Isabel’s version, I’m rarely motivated to make it, and anyway it’s never as good as hers so I’m usually a bit sad. So I have a much better chance at satisfaction by just using a pre-roll…and who knows, so may others. 

Filling:

1 lb ground beef, pork, or a mixture of both. I’ve also had success with that weird chicken in a tube

1 medium onion, minced

1 cup mushrooms, minced 

Tbsp tomato paste or chopped up tomato found slightly old in the fridge (optional)

1/2 tsp thyme

Dash Worcestershire sauce 

1-2 tsp poultry seasoning 

1 packet (or 1 tbsp) beef bouillon 

2 eggs, broken and beaten in cup

1 c soft or 1/2 c dry breadcrumbs 

A couple of shakes of seasoning salt 

Package frozen pre-rolled puff pastry, both sheets. Thaw overnight in fridge or two hours before baking at room temperature.

About hour before you intend to mix and bake, sauté minced onion and mushrooms in butter or olive oil till desired doneness. Sprinkle with salt and thyme as they cook. Add optional tomato paste or chopped tomato. I personally like to let the mixture turn golden and start to develop a fond, the brown bit at the bottom of the pan. I’ll then throw in a few tablespoons of water to dissolve the fond, then let the liquid evaporate off. But optionally you can just cook them till translucent if preferred.

Once cooled, place in bowl with ground meat. Add all other ingredients, and when adding the beaten egg, leave a few tablespoons in the cup. You’ll use it later to brush the rolls before baking. Make sure the breadcrumbs hydrate well in the eggs. If it feels too dry, add a splash of milk.

You can go ahead and make the rolls once combined, but I like to massage the mixture for a few more minutes. This makes the mixture more cohesive and sausage like, but if you prefer them slightly crumblier, omit this step. 

Unroll packaged pastry and cut in half, parallel to centre of the roll. There is no point trying to go against the rolled shape the pastry comes in, so work with that. 

Place a quarter of the filling lengthwise along the centre of the pastry sheet in a log shape, then bring edges of pastry together and seal. Place roll seam side down on sheet pan lined with parchment. The pastry comes in two rolls, so cut in half, you will have four rolls total. Again your choice - I like to cut each roll into four, but leaving the roll intact to break apart later. You can cut them any size you like. Brush with reserved eggs, and stab each roll a few times for venting. 

Bake in preheated 375 F oven for about 20 minutes or till desired shade of golden brown. Enjoy warm, cold, or any temperature!