Growing up we had breakfast sausage just about every morning. Pancakes or grits are just not the same without some savory sausage to go with it. I’m trying to cut back on my red meat intake and so we often purchase turkey breakfast sausage. The problem with that is that it’s usually mixed with pork, which I don’t eat, tons of ingredients I can’t pronounce, msg, a crap load of sodium and by products.
Geez turkey-sausage-making people are all those fillers really neccesary!?!
What happened to just turkey and spices????
Well now I make my own breakfast sausage and will probably never go back to buying them again. Making fresh turkey breakfast sausage from scratch is quick, easy, healthier, simple and taste much better than the store-bought stuff. Just organic turkey and spices, exactly how turkey breakfast sausage should be.
The flavor of these turkey breakfast sausage patties are mild, savory with just a hint of sweetness and spice. You can certainly adjust the ingredients to make it super spicy, smokey or sweeter, depending on how you prefer your breakfast sausage. Sometimes I’ll add in maple syrup and hickory smoke salt for a sweet and smokey sausage.
Do a test patty before you cook up the entire batch to make sure the seasonings are just the way you like it! You can fry these sausage patties up right away or let them sit overnight in the refrigerator for a bolder taste.
I haven’t purchased turkey breakfast sausage since I’ve started making this recipe. Chances are, you’ll want to triple the recipe to always have fresh, homemade turkey breakfast sausage patties ready to go.
Watch me make these turkey breakfast sausage patties from start to finish!
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1½ teaspoon seasoning salt or smoked salt
- 1½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch of clove
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- pinch of cayenne (optional)
- 1 teaspoon sage
- ½ tablespoon of brown sugar (can use more)
- ½ -1 teaspoon fennel seed (these are pretty strong)
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil (option)
- butter and olive oil fro frying
- Place ground turkey in a large bowl; set aside.
- Mix together spices.
- Add spices to ground turkey and mix until spices are evenly distributed throughout the meat.
- Mix in olive oil if using. (this add extra moisture)
- Shape turkey sausage into small patties.
- Fry up a small sample patty to test out the seasonings. Adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Heat a bit of olive oil and butter in a large skillet on medium heat.
- Place sausages into the hot skillet and cook until until browned and the middle is no longer pink.
- Cooking time will vary based on the thickness of the patty.
- Be careful not to overcook or the sausages will be dry in texture.
- Let sausage drain on paper towels.
- Serve or freeze.
I just finished making these for the first time and had a bite of a test pattie, it is a perfect recipe. I like fennel but only used the recommended 1/2 tsp just in case my guests aren’t; it was the right amount even to my tastes. Also, only used 1 Tsp of freshly ground black pepper; sometimes pepper intensifies after the food sits and I like to taste the other spices. I fried 4 minutes on one side, 3 minutes on the other side on low heat.
Thank you so much for this recipe.
First time ever making homemade sausage and I was pretty skeptical going into this. But boy, was I pleasantly surprised! So yummy! My kids even liked it. It does get spicy and I even left out the cayenne. I love spicy things but not my kids
Oh, I left out the sugar too and didn’t miss it!
These were really good. I don’t understand the need for adding sugar to savory products & since sugar is just as unhealthy or more so than other chemical additives & preservatives, I crossed it out & went on with my recipe. My test patty turned out surprisingly good & I haven’t even let them sit overnight yet. I’m sure tomorrow, they’ll be even better. Great recipe I will make again.