Copycat Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage
photo by Jonathan Melendez 
- Ready In:
- 3hrs 8mins
- Ingredients:
- 20
- Serves:
ingredients
Base
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
- 1 teaspoon finely crushed fennel seed
- 1⁄2 teaspoon finely crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground coriander
Sage
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
Hot
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 small finely chopped fresno chili pepper
- 1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Maple
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1⁄4 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
directions
- To make the sausage base, in a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until well-combined and as smooth as possible. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours in the fridge, or overnight.
- Portion out the sausage into rounds and pat out into thick patties. Set a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage in batches, until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.
- To make sage sausage, add in the chopped sage to the sausage base from above and cook as directed.
- To make hot sausage, add in the cayenne pepper, chili pepper, and red pepper flakes to the sausage base from above and cook as directed.
- To make maple sausage, add in the maple syrup and maple extract (if using) to the sausage base from above and cook as directed.
Questions & Replies
- Jimmy Dean used to make a ham sausage and it was the best I've ever had. Does anyone have a recipe for that version?
Reviews
- Where's the original recipe?? Who commandeered this and just re-wrote it? Can anyone give me the ingredients of the original version?
- I don't want to hurt any feelings here, but these were a fail. First of all, are these dessert sausages?? I wanted to make maple sausages, but the amount of sugar seemed really high. 2 TB of brown sugar, 1 TB of corn syrup, AND 3 TB of maple syrup? That must be a mistake. I concluded that must be a mistake, and instead substituted the brown sugar and corn syrup with 3 TB of maple syrup. Second of all, I felt like a witch adding spice after spice to my bowl, thinking, "Is this the right amount of flavor for a mere pound of meat?" I added very conservative teaspoon fulls, and even cut some of the amounts in half. I stirred my fragrant pound of meat together and cooked up a sample patty. It smelled good as it cooked but... EW. It was really sweet (and I only added half the sugar called for) and the flavor was a kick in the mouth. Is this recipe REALLY for a pound of meat? Guys, if you want to make this, use 2 lbs of meat and be conservative with your spices and sweetener.
- Im sorry but the recipe doesn't have any taste close to jimmy dean
- Nice ingredients, just way too sweet. Next time I will cut it in half or just leave out the corn syrup. The sweetness overpowers the savory seasonings. Your left with sweet and then spicy in your mouth.
- This was not even close to the Jimmy Dean (hot) recipe. It was way too over-seasoned.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Jonathan Melendez
North Hollywood, California
Jonathan Melendez is a passionate author, food photographer, cook, baker, and recipe developer whose blog, The Candid Appetite, has appeared prominently on such sites as, BonAppetite, People, Cosmopolitan, The Kitchn, Today, The Cooking Channel, Food52 and Joy the Baker. He has created and photographed recipes for Idaho Potato Commission, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, American Butter Institute and Jones Dairy Farm, to name a few. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.