Homemade Breakfast Sausage

In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the ground pork or turkey. Whisk until the spices are moistened. Add the ground pork or turkey and stir until thoroughly combined (I use my hands). If you have time, cover the sausage and refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to meld. If you don’t, the sausage will still taste great.

To cook, form the sausage into patties (or crumble if making sausage gravy). Cook over medium heat until the sausage has nicely browned on both sides.

Notes:
1. I love this with ground turkey! I prefer ground turkey with a mixture of white and dark meat so the cooked sausage isn’t so dry.
2. Buying ground pork from the grocery store is a big time-saver. However, it can sometimes be hit or miss. Commercially ground pork averages about 70% lean meat. Ground pork can come from various parts of the pig so you really never know what you’re getting. If you have a grinder or food processor (or a nice butcher!), grind your own pork so you know what cuts are going into the sausage.
3. For an ULTRA low-fat version: Buy some pork tenderloin on sale and trim off all of the fat. I cut it into 1″ cubes (1 pound of pork after trimming) and freeze it in single layer on a sheet pan for about 20 minutes or so. The outside should be firm but the inside should be pliable. While the pork is freezing, combine the other ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Sometimes, I substitute vegetable oil for the water (shhhhh!) when using this method so it is not as dry. Transfer the pork to a food processor and dump the herb mixture on top. Whiz the pork (scraping down the bowl as necessary) until it is as finely/coarsely ground as you like. Pork tenderloin is similar to a boneless, skinless chicken breast in fat content so this preparation is great for someone who wants pork sausage on a low-fat diet. As with many other ground, low-fat proteins, this ultra low-fat version can get a little dry and spongy when cooked. The flavor is great if you don’t mind a drier sausage with a slightly spongy texture. It’s not my favorite way to make it but I offer this as a very healthful alternative.
4. I, personally, like the clean taste of white sugar in sausage. Feel free to substitute brown sugar or maple syrup if that’s your thing.