Maple Sausage Patties

With two teenage sons in the house, it probably comes as no surprise that meat is served at almost every meal. Despite loving lentils and beans, and pasta dishes made with mostly veggies, they always prefer to have meat, if it’€™s available to them.

They are particularly fond of adding it to their breakfast plates on the weekend. Bacon and sausage-enhanced breakfast sandwiches are a favourite, but to be honest I don’€™t love feeding them those ingredients as frequently as they would like to eat them. Fortunately, homemade sausage patties are a snap to make and if you use quality ingredients it will be hard to beat the taste.

I like to keep my cooked patties in the freezer (if I keep them in the fridge they will be devoured by said kids in less than a day), and I pull them out when needed. When I feel like being extra sweet I’€™ll even use them to whip up something special on weekday mornings, sending them off to school with protein in their belly, made from ingredients I feel good about serving them.

Maple Sausage Patties

Makes 12 patties

You’€™ll Need:

• 2 lbs. ground pork
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp ground mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp dried sage
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• Oil, for frying

Prep and Cook:

1. Place the pork in a large bowl and drizzle the maple syrup over top. Add the ground mustard, garlic, sage, thyme, salt and pepper to the bowl.
2. Use your hands to gently mix everything together. Take care not to overmix the meat or it will be tough. Cover and chill for 15 minutes.
3. Divide the pork mixture into sixteen 2 ½-inch patties. Patties can be refrigerated or frozen at this point if you don’€™t want to cook them right away.
4. Heat a skillet over medium high heat and swirl in a tablespoon of oil. Cook the patties until golden brown and firm, about 4 minutes per side.
5. Serve warm with pancakes, waffles and eggs or make a breakfast sandwich using a bagel or English muffin. If you’€™re lucky enough to have leftover patties they can be wrapped and frozen for future use.