Living in the United Kingdom for the past four years has been a wonderful experience, but I love Southern-style foods and I especially miss Southern breakfast fare! So with the proverbial American “can do” attitude, I thought to myself, “How hard can this be?”
One of my latest cravings has been “Jimmy Dean Sausage,” the original sage recipe that can be fried and served in the following ways: as sausage patties served alongside a couple of eggs and/or pancakes or stuffed inside a tasty buttermilk biscuit. Mmmmm! You can also crumble the fried sausage and scramble it with eggs and cheese, or add it as a vital ingredient in a sausage and egg breakfast casserole, or make sausage gravy so good it’ll make you slap your granny. It also makes an exciting pizza topping! So after a quick search on Google, I had a copycat recipe!
Here it is, step by step:
1 – Gather the following ingredients:
- 16 ounces ground pork (500 grams pork mince)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon rubbed sage
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon MSG (optional & almost impossible to find in the UK)
2 – Combine spices into a small dish and mix together
3 – Put the ground pork into a mixing bowl. You could simply increase your spice measurements very slightly, rounding the 1/4 teaspoons rather than level measures. After mixing your spices thoroughly, sprinkle it evenly over the top of the pork and blend it completely into the meat. I prefer to use one hand, squeezing it through my fingers over and over until it is thoroughly mixed. Most of us in the British culture weigh our bulk ingredients in grams or kilograms (1,000 grams), so form meatballs weighing about 50 grams each. Ground pork (called “mince” in the UK) is usually packaged in 500 gram parcels, so this recipe will make about a dozen portions of sausage.
4 – Flatten the meatballs into small patties or burgers. You should be able to get 10 sausage patties with a 500g package of pork: more if you make them smaller. These are quite large, so use your own judgment on the size. I put these on a metal tray and freeze them, then I put them in freezer bags. This way you will have individual portions without them sticking together in the freezer. You could freeze the entire 500g, but it would take significant time to defrost and I don’t like to risk pork sitting out for several hours.
5 – Fry until well done. This ASDA-label British pork mince is extremely lean (less than 7% fat), so I had to use a little cooking oil in the pan. I’m going to ask my local butcher if he can grind me a 20% fat mixture, which would make it easier to cook without oil. My mouth is watering at this point, because it’s the first time in years that I have smelled American-style pork sausage cooking in my house. Yippee!!
6 – Serve alongside two fried eggs. When anyone asks me how I like my eggs, I always say, “side by side!” I also had toast (not shown in the photo above), grumbling that I didn’t have some buttermilk biscuits to go with this wonderful meal.
[Note: Click on any of the thumbnail images to see them larger on my Flickr site.]
PS: You might enjoy reading about the culture shock we experienced when we began to shop for groceries in the United Kingdom. So many items we could not find on the shelves! Just because they have super Wal-Mart here (called ASDA in the UK) doesn’t mean you can get your fried pork rinds, beef jerky, shotgun shells, Hanes Red Label, and a quick oil/lube while you wait.
nor any grits Bill.
Was finally converted to them in June at a friends house in atlanta after bad experiences with hotel breakfasts in years past
Get thee behind me, Satan! Grits are amazing, like manna from heaven! Love ‘em with butter, salt, and pepper, but some people like brown sugar and cinnamon mixed in.
Bill, if you want, I can mail you some Grits from Atlanta. Just shoot me an email with your mailing address. Maybe we can work out a barter or something.
Stealing the recipe for Jimmy Dean sausage is like ripping the tag off Minnie Pearl’s hat. For shame!
A man after my own heart!!!
But as good as that sounds, I ate at The Waffle House last night! Go ahead, be jealous! ha ha
I appreciate the thought, Ben, but it would cost $37.00 to send a “care package” using USPS “Priority Mail Flat Rate Box.” I dunno. It’s hard to justify the expense.
However, if you know of anyone coming this way, please let me know! It’s cheap to mail stuff all over Britain (Scotland, N. Ireland, Wales, & England).
Pistol, I just followed the recipe online. Are you saying that’s like downloading illegal movies or MP3′s? I don’t associate with anyone who does things like that!
Jeff, your days are numbered! I’ll have the goons from Jacksonville all over you, if you don’t back off!
Bill, you’re right. The Jacksonville “goons” are more of the Cracker Barrel type!! They wouldn’t want me associating with Waffle House types!
I needed this recipe when I was living in Germany. They have good sausage, but nothing like this.
Can I just say thank you?!!! I am so very happy to find this recipe – living in Canada, I come up with some South Carolina cravings…made biscuits this morning – and they were good – but am looking forward to tomorrow!! Double Yippee and a great big thanks for this recipe!
Life is good!
Teresa
Thanks for the recipe! I am from Tennessee and now living in Australia. Many of my mother’s and grandmother’s recipes call for Jimmy Dean sausage and I cannot find anything close to the original in the local supermarkets. But now I can make my own! Thanks again, from this transplanted southerner.
I hope everyone enjoys the recipe! One of my Welsh friends came over the other day while I was making scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese. He was half an hour earlier than I expected and he had not eaten lunch, so I offered to cook him a portion. He loved it! Maybe we’ll start a cult following here in Britain. Who knows!
Thanks for the info. I’m from Texas living in the UK now for two years. Can’t wait to give this a try! Anyone know where I can get “pickles,” “hot dogs,” “whataburger”? Now I’m rambling. Sorry
Thanks for joining us, Geoff. How did a guy from Texas get a Welsh first name? Go figure!!
I have not found a source for pickles, but Branston does make a really decent Gherkin Relish that will take the place of Heinz Pickle Relish in potato salads, tuna salad, and hot dogs, of course! You can find the long skinny hot dogs at Tesco and we occasionally find regular hot dog buns there, too.
No Whataburger! But do you like KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and McDonalds? Hey, it’s a start!
WOW. IM gonna try this today. Im Irish but was born in the USA and really miss the food there. I’m in the North of Ireland now and REALLY missing southern food like you! I was born in Georgia!! WE call grits “georgia ice cream” LOLOL Sausage here is so bland. although I do like the odd sausage roll if done nice:) Thanks for this recipe will give it a go. Now, If I could only figure out how to make Fritos!!!!
Hi Bill,
You’re a lifesaver! I’ve been missing Jimmy Dean ever since I moved here last August. Good white-trash fare like wild rice casserole just doesn’t work with Cumberland sausages! Now if we could only solve the grits drought…
just a thought here, wouldnt it be cool to have a “breakfast club” where americans in the london area could get together and have a huge southern breakfast, pot luck style.
That’s a great idea, Geoff. I might even be tempted to travel the two hours from Wales, but I’m afraid my grits would be cold.
Hello from Panama,
I just made the sausage and your recipe is perfect. Also had the same problem here as you had with the pork being super lean and had to add oil to fry.
I am from Georgia and had to serve them with grits.
Wonderful supermarkets here in the Republic of Panama but no “Jimmy Dean” sausage at all.
Thanks a lot. WillieKate
Hi Bill,
Just found some more of the Jimmy Dean Recipes if you like the other flavors too:
Hot Flavor
16 ounces ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon MSG (such as Accent)
Maple Flavor
16 ounces ground pork
3 tablespoons maple flavored syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon MSG (such as Accent)
1/4 teaspoon coriander
Combine all ingredients for the flavor of your choice in a medium bowl. Form the sausage into patties and cook in a skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through. Makes 1 pound of sausage.
I’m in Houston at the moment and wondered what kind of grits you like? I might have a little bit of space in my suitcase and send it to you upon my return to London. Drop me an email and I’ll see what I can do…
God bless your ministry!
My husband loves sausage. He is on a low fat diet. I will use boneless pork loin (ground) to make a lowfat version of this for him. Thanks for the recipe.
does it really taste the same???????…..i really need to get my hands on some jimmy or the equivelent
eggs benny just doesnt taste like mamma made without it!!!!
Hey Bill – Woke up with a craving for these sausage patties so I’m going to try this recipe! I’m Canadian and, although I don’t recall being able to get Jimmy Dean Sausages there, i do know the feeling of having to recreate something that you can’t get in the UK! I’ve also been told that Iceland do a similar cumberland sausage patty. My issue with using minced pork from the shop is the texture might not be the same. I think if you were to use minced rib or belly steaks that might do the trick. Butchers in Chinatown would have those sorts of cuts as wontons require fattier cuts. Also, any Chinese shop will sell msg by the bucket load! Can’t wait to try this. Thanks.
First of all Happy New Year to you and yours
I thank you for this recipe for Jimmy Dean Sausage. We are Scottish but waiting to immigrate to South MS. We have been going there every year for the past 9 years, so miss Southern cooking a great deal (as well as our friends and church there) when forced to return to Scotland.
We bring “emergency rations” over with us every time we come back. (liquid smoke, Tony Cachere’s, grits, Folger’s coffee, Frank’s hot sauce). Am going to try this recipe but will substitute Tony Cachere’s original seasoning for the MSG. I make traditional scones with buttermilk (omitting the sugar) here and they turn out not to bad.
P.S. do not forget the redeye gravy.
God Bless
Greetings Bill from another Bill! Please don’t close your blog. Just sit on it for a bit. I’d like to write about journeys. Sitting here on the coast of the UK, missing Atlanta and everything southern – grits, Jimmy Dean, fried chicken, and southern hospitality!! It has been too many years! I wish you God’s peace! Fr. Bill+ http://www.ProjectNewLife.org
Grits
Google grits good eats by Alton Brown he explains what you need to make them from scratch.
Happy eating
Bill V
Just found your Jimmy Dean recipe here and will be trying it soon (mostly to make a fatty for the smoker to be honest) but it occurred to me to mention http://www.americansweets.co.uk to you. They import a whole bunch of stuff from the US and sell it through their site. Not just candy as the name suggests but grocery items too. Now I won’t lie, there is a definite premium to pay (best part of £10 for a box of Froot Loops) but if they have what you really want then hey, why not!
Thank you, thank you, thank you…been living in Danmark last 6 years and there is nothing here even close to good ole southern sausage, can’t wait to make this, think i’ll add some maple syrup to it, yum…pancakes and sausages and I’ll prob have to ask butcher for some ground pork fat as the ground pork here is very lean here too. Again, thank you!
In response to Loz’s comment, http://www.americangoodies.co.uk are a similar website and they sell American Food and Drink in the UK too. I always get my A1 Steak Sauce there, there’s just nothing like it in the UK!
Thank you to Loz and Rich for these two site.
We will be back is South MS for 3 months from the 20th of November. It is not just the Southern food we miss, but church as well. One of these days our PR visas will come through (been waiting 5 years now) We got word a year ago that they have been aproved, just none available. But in the mean time our friends in MS know to have Jimmy Dean Sausage, grits and eggs in our fridge for our first breakfast.
What a find this blog is, been here in the UK 15 years now and Jimmy Dean sausage is something we really miss. My daughters were 11 and 12 when we moved here, so they missed a number of things, particularly sweets. But my younger daughter has found Tesco and Asda now selling lots of American stuff. She is very fond of Cheetos at Asda (in the Polish section no less) and also Hersheys, Betty Crocker Cake mix in Tesco, and we have recently found some American items such as Red Vines at Cost-Co in Cardiff. Also in Cardiff there is a Deli in the Royal Arcade called Wally’s that does a fair number of American Products including Cereals and Jams, and also the Americandy store in older part of the St Davids Centre often has A & W Rootbeer, Mellow Yellow and other such drinks…and Life Savers!
If anyone is interested, I work for Virgin Atlantic and go home once or twice a year to California, and am more than happy to bring stuff back for my fellow expats!
Let me know!
Sandra Jones
Thank you very much for the recipe! I can’t wait to try it out! I am from Oklahoma (been in London almost 3 years) and man do I miss the food that grandma used to make! Sausage patties, biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, pork chops with gravy with greens, bacon and drop biscuits, mexican food…haha I could go on and on! Any more recipes you have duplicated would be great! I still like the idea of an American breakfast club or potluck in general! Do you know of anything like that here in the UK? Thanks again and God Bless!