Customizable sausage bites appetizer that is a breeze to prepare.
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Continue reading (2 mins total) for step-by-step process with pictures, tips and variation ideas.
About This Sausage Roll Recipe
In a nutshell you will bake pieces of sausage wrapped in a mantle of soft, buttery dough and serve them with your choice of dipping sauce(s).
The little golden bites are perfect to enjoy with ales and lagers at home, or to take along to picnics and potlucks. In summer we love to bring some with us when headed to beer gardens or smaller breweries without food service.
To Make Easy Sausage Bites You Will Need
Buttery dough. To simplify things use a store-bought sheet of crescent dough. Buy the kind that is not perforated for making actual crescents. Usually it is labeled as ‘dough sheet’. If you’d rather make your own, do so in advance – we like this recipe.
Sausage. Pre-cooked works best for obvious reasons – it can be smoked or simply boiled. If you purchase raw sausage cook it ahead of time (boil, pan-fry or grill).
Egg. To make egg wash with a bit of water or a bit of milk or beer for a more flavorful option.
Spices/Dried herbs. To sprinkle over the buttery dough before you bake.
Step-by-Step Sausage Rolls
For this post we made bratwurst bites using Bavarian pork brats, very finely ground, exquisitely flavored and pre-cooked. To keep up with the German theme we added a bit of Bavarian lager to the egg wash and sprinkled caraway seeds over the dough, then served with all German dips.
Step 1.
Take out the crescent dough from its tube and spread it flat over a cutting board. Cook the sausage if you didn’t buy pre-cooked. Preheat your oven to 350 F or 375 F depending on how strong it is.
Step. 2
Place a sausage link in the middle of each quadrant of the rectangle shaped dough and cut the outlines of the quadrants as shown above (#2). Roll to wrap each sausage link leaving the seam side facing down, then cut in bite-sized pieces (#3 and #4).
Step 3.
Transfer the dough wrapped sausage bites onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Beat and egg with a tablespoon of water, beer or milk and brush each piece. Sprinkle with herbs/spices and bake.
Serving Tips for Sausage Roll Bites
This recipe as written serves four as an appetizer but to be safe budget one sausage link per person – people tend to devour these and we’ve certainly been known to make more sausage bites disappear than we’d like to admit.
While the sausage bites are in the oven prepare a serving dish along with dipping sauces. Beer cheese is always a great option.
They are best when still warm, but still really, really good after they have cooled down.
This version of sausage bites is made with flavorful finely ground Bavarian bratwurst, sprinkled with caraway seeds and presented with complementary dipping sauces – the iconic German curry ketchup, beer mustard and honey mustard.
Vegetarian Sausage Bites
Use your favorite vegetarian sausage. We love meat but have made these for company with Field Roast vegetarian apple and sage links (affiliate) and they turned out great.
Variation Ideas
German. As prepared here for demonstration purposes.
Italian inspired. Use Italian sausage or a chicken sausage flavored with sun-dried tomatoes. Serve with marinara or basil pesto as dipping sauce.
French. Use andouille sausage and serve with Dijon honey mustard or mayonnaise mixed with a bit of Dijon mustard, capers and herbs to taste.
Mexican inspired. Use Mexican chorizo as the sausage (you will need to cook it first) and sprinkle with Mexican oregano after you apply the egg wash. Serve with salsa verder or salsa roja such as this salsa borracha, or jalapeno beer cheese dip or even mole sauce.
Greek inspired. For this version of sausage bites seek out a sausage premixed with spinach and feta and make a dip of whipped feta, yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic and oregano. Or this easy yogurt dip.
BBQ. Use smoked sausage links and serve with your favorite BBQ sauce.
Sausage Bites Appetizer
Sausages bites are baked wrapped in crescent dough. A blitz to prepare, guaranteed to disappear shortly after served.
Ingredients
- 1 tube crescent dough sheet (make sure it is not pre-perforated to make actual crescents)
- 4 links of pre-cooked sausage such as bratwurst, chicken apple, etc.Â
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp beer or milk (optional, for the egg wash you can use water instead)
- 1/2 tbsp caraway seeds or poppy seeds or everything seasoning etc.Â
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (350 F if your oven tends to be stronger). Lay the crescent dough sheet flat onto a cutting board.
- Place a sausage link in the center of each of the four quadrants of the dough and gently cut the dough into four (see picture image grid above). Roll the sausage links in the dough, leaving the seam underneath. Cut into bite sized pieces (about 6 per sausage link).
- Transfer the pieces onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Beat the egg with a tablespoon of water or milk or beer. Brush over each dough wrapped piece. Sprinkle with your choice of spice.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the dough is nicely browned and puffy.
Notes
To serve choose a dipping sauce in keeping with the type of sausage you used. Beer cheese never fails as an option.
See the body of this post for variation ideas (Italian, Mexican, French etc.)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 245Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 292mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 2gSugar: 8gProtein: 13g
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Leanne @ Crumb Top Baking says
Thanks to your step by step photos these look easier than I thought they would be! I could totally take on making these for some weekend snacks with a beer or two! They look delicious!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
I could seriously eat my weight in sausage rolls! I have never been able to resist them 🙂 These look easy and delicious and absolutely perfect nibbling food.
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
These would be so fun for football games! And I love that I can use store-bought crescent dough–so easy! Have a great week!
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says
Don’t put that tray in front of Loreto or you’ll see it disappear in no time in front of your eyes! 🙂 They look amazing, guys, with those mustards, ketchup, and the glasses of cold beer! Also, love your variation ideas!