By Caitlin Willis

One of my all-time childhood favorites. Growing up in Australia, this was a staple in our home as a snack, meal, potluck dish etc. The humble sausage roll has been one of the things I have missed most since moving away. This tasty meat mix wrapped in flaky puff pastry is so quick to throw together and is versatile in that it can be eaten fresh from the oven, cold from the fridge, at room temp, or just about any other way you might grab it. 

In my recipe, I’m going to share the “old faithful”. The standard, basic recipe that is my absolute favorite. I will include a list of add-ins as well. My grandma is known for all her add-ins and everyone loves them, but I always take one bite and suffer extreme disappointment because of my attachment to the original. 

To start with, I want to talk about the non-negotiables. In my years not living in Australia, I have tried a good many substitutes for the actual ingredients and 80% of them just cannot be swapped out. Puff pastry is much more expensive in the US (not to mention the commissary), so this dish is slightly more pricey than I am used to, but it’s worth it for the result. I have used homemade rough puff and it’s not bad, but I really do encourage no substitutes for the puff pastry otherwise you’re just getting a totally different product. The recipe that I have, uses 1.5 packages of the pastry available here which is annoying. I sometimes adjust it for 1 pkg but since I was sharing the recipe, I wanted to keep it to the tried and true version. Sausage mince is another phenomenon. It’s basically a mix of ground beef and pork and certain herbs. Our butchers all have it in stock or will make it up for you on the spot. I have pretty good results with using 50% beef and 50% pork. The result is slightly more dense but it is good enough to suffice. Also, opt for the higher fat content beef though either will work just fine. 

Secondly, I will talk about some add-ins or changes. If you Google this recipe, you might find people using fennel seeds. The result is yummy, but wrong for me. That’s just not how it’s meant to taste. I want to say it’s the more British version. Often paired with just ground pork. My mom often uses bacon. I love bacon, but again, it’s just the wrong taste in a sausage roll, for me. If you opt to add bacon, do fry it up with the onion so that both are caramelized and cooked down. It is truly very tasty and levels them up a little bit. My grandma adds things like apples and carrots but I don’t really know the exact adjustments she makes since those have a higher water content. You would definitely be able to find a recipe on Google if that sounded appealing. 

Finally, cooking and storage. Cooking in the ovens here in Korea is a wild ride. When I made the test batch for this article, I cooked half in my regular oven and half in my convection oven since we are lucky enough to have both in our off-post home. Both turned out great. I find the convection oven gives better color and is a little faster but the regular oven can fit more and is a bit more predictable. Sometimes I find the convection oven goes from white to burned way too fast for me to accurately keep an eye on. I do give cooking times in my recipe, but take your oven into account and carefully watch them towards the end to avoid either the top or the bottom burning. 

Whenever I finish a batch, I allow them to cool and then immediately put them in a freezer bag. I have a smaller family, so it’s easiest for me to be able to grab out one or two when needed rather than feel like I need to get through a whole bunch quickly. They keep well in both the fridge and freezer, though. You can eat it at room temp or reheated. I personally like to thaw and air fry for a nice crispy reheat. Oven works well but just be careful not to overdo it and dry them out in the process.