Homemade Sweet Italian Sausage Breakfast Patties

For the sausage:
In a large mixing bowl, mix together pork and turkey. Set aside.

Place vinegar, thyme, rosemary, oregano, garlic, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes (if using, see note below) in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to chop the herbs and combine them with vinegar.

Add the meat and process continuously for 45–50 seconds or until everything is combined well and the two types of meat are blended. If the bowl of your food processor cannot accommodate all the meat, work in batches: add half of the meat to blend it with herbs, then remove half of that portion and add a part of unseasoned meat. Continue until all the meat is evenly seasoned and has a texture of a sausage.

Remove the sausage mix from the food processor back into the mixing bowl and sprinkle with the remaining fennel seeds. Stir well.

To use it in a recipe the same day, cover tightly and chill in the freezer for 30–45 minutes (don’t let it freeze) or in the refrigerator for several hours (ideally overnight).

To cook breakfast patties:
Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Use only 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl it to coat the skillet, reserve the rest to coat the skillet later, if needed.

Place chilled meat on parchment paper (if the meat feels too sticky, you can either chill it more or sprinkle the parchment paper and the top of the meat with a bit of flour). Use a second sheet of parchment paper to place over the meat (meat should be laying between two sheets of parchment paper).

Gently flatten the meat with your hands and then use a dough roller to evenly roll it to ¼ inch thickness (it will puff up a bit during cooking). Use a cookie cutter of your choice to cut the patties. Sprinkle the patties with salt and pepper and use a spatula to transfer them to the skillet (salted side up). If needed, cook in batches, coating the skillet with oil as needed.

Cook patties about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Sprinkle with salt and pepper after you flip them.
Transfer to a plate and enjoy immediately with some eggs and pancakes!

Note: To make mild or hot Italian sausage, add red pepper flakes to the herb mix.