Chef Laird's Sausage Rolls
Make extra.
by Erin Henderson
I grew up in a British/German household in the roaring 80's.
I always knew my parents were throwing a party when the boxes of Schneider's sausage rolls came out of the freezer.
These were clutch in my parents' entertaining days, and quite frankly, I can understand why. Everyone loves a sausage roll. It's tough to resist spiced meat in puff pastry.
It was true in 1985 and it's true in 2025.
We host a workshop called Art of the Cocktail Party which has proven to be quite popular with our clients. In it, guests make a classic cocktail, and learn three easy party recipes paired to different wines. One of the appetizers is a classic sausage roll. Despite changing things up seasonally, we've never been able to remove the sausage roll from the workshop offering, because people love it that much.
Chef Laird's Sausage Rolls
These are clutch for make-ahead appertizers when timing is tight and kitchen space is at a premium.
- Refrigerate: Wrap the unbaked sausage rolls in plastic (and without egg wash), and keep in the fridge overnight.
- Freeze: Unbaked sausage rolls will keep for up to three months, but it will take about 15 minutes longer to bake from frozen. (Great option for those travelling potlucks.)
- Bake-ahead: These can also be baked entirely the day before, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated, just bake at 300°F to warm through before serving.
The pork does give off a lot of fat, so a wire rack in a tray helps the pastry crisp. Also, don't be too anxious to cut into it, you want the pastry good and crispy and sticking to the pork.
Makes: 6-8, 1-inch pieces
Chef level: Easy
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet puff pastry (store bought is fine), thawed but cold
- 1 lb ground pork
- 3 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp each fresh thyme and sage, minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Egg, beaten
- Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or smoked sea salt, optional, for topping pastry
How to Make It:
- In a bowl combine pork and seasonings. No need to cook it.
- Roll out your thawed puff pastry.
- Place a line of pork stuffing along the long side of the pastry about one-inch from the bottom.
- Brush the egg on the pastry along the edges of the pork and roll up once, cutting off any extra.
- Wrap the roll in plastic wrap (so it doesn't get soggy) and place the roll in the fridge for at least 10 minutes (and up to overnight) as you want the pastry very cold when it goes into the hot oven so it will properly puff up.
- Unwrap the roll from the plastic and place seam-side down on an oven safe wire rack on a baking tray. Score into one-inch sections with a sharp knife and brush with egg wash. Top with optional seeds or salt.
- Bake at 425°F for about 30 minutes (it goes from baked to burnt quickly, so start checking after 15 minutes.)
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool at least 15 minutes, preferably 30, then slice and serve with the dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce
- Maple syrup
- Dijon Mustard
Mix the two together to your liking.
Wine Pairing
Surprisingly, dry (brut) bubbly works beautifully with sausage rolls. The lip-smacking acidity mops up the fat from the sausage and butter from the pastry.