Lamb And Harissa Sausage Rolls Recipe | Waitrose & Partners (2024)

FAQs

Why does the pastry on my sausage rolls split? ›

If the filling is mostly meat it will shrink when baked and release a lot of fat. Both of these can cause splitting. Also you should wrap the pastry tightly over t sausage filling and moisten the edge of the pastry when you roll them up so the pastry sticks together on the join.

Fundamentally, you do not need any sides. However, if you insist, a dab of sauce or a loose blob of something on the chutney spectrum that you can dip your sausage roll into (crucially, leaving one hand free for your pint/paper/phone) is a sufficient counterpoint.

To prevent soggy sausage rolls, make sure your oven is preheated before cooking. Ensure to space out the sausage rolls on the baking tray when cooking to ensure there is enough room for the air to circulate and allow them to crisp up. Once cooked, transfer from the baking tray to a wire tray to cool.

The trays need to be cold when you place the uncooked pastry rolls on them so that they cook evenly in the oven and get a crispy base. Using hot trays will begin to soften and 'melt' the pastry before they're added to the oven - which will lead to soggy pastry.

The appearance of the cooked sausage rolls can deceive people to think that they are not cooked. I believe they contain the pink colour even after cooking because they don't get the heat directly affecting the meat as the pastry outside is protecting them. The meat gets cooked in steam.

Freezing - you can freeze your uncooked sausage rolls and simply bake from frozen allowing an extra 10 minutes cooking time. Open freeze (on a tray without any cover) and then once frozen pack into a bag or box. Or freeze cooked ones, defrost and serve cold or refresh in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

The best side dishes to serve with sausage rolls are french fries, blooming onion, crispy green beans, cheese dip, crispy chicken Wings, crab cakes, coleslaw, potato salad, stuffed mushrooms, onion rings, corn on the cob, grilled vegetables, jalapeno poppers, and macaroni salad. Now, let's get cooking!

Can be made a day ahead or frozen for up to one month; to bake from frozen, add an extra 10 mins to the cooking time.

Use a meat thermometer to make sure your sausage is between 160 and 165 °F (71 and 74 °C). If you don't have a meat thermometer, check that the sausage is firm and has clear, runny juices. Cut it open and make sure the inside is brown, not pink.

How to stop sausage rolls from splitting? ›

Cut the sausage rolls into a length that suits. Place on a baking sheet and chill again for at least 20 mins or until ready to bake (chilling the pastry now will stop it from splitting as it cooks). Can be made up to a day ahead or frozen for a month. To cook from frozen, just add an extra 10 mins to the cooking time.

Sausages should never be pricked as this releases the juiciness of the sausage and can cause splitting. Always start to cook from a cold oven, cold pan, cold grill or a low heat barbeque so that the skins do not split. Cook at a low heat (150 deg C in the oven). The general rule is cook on a low heat for longer.

Your Sausage Rolls may split open while baking because the meat filling will shrink and release fat. Try your best to wrap the pastry as tightly as possible over the filling, press your fork to seal the edges, and brush a good amount of egg wash.

Most likely is that the pastry is stretched too much as it is rolled. Don't try to roll pastry dough straight from the fridge as it will be very solid. Let it soften at room temperature for about 20 minutes before rolling and roll on a lightly floured surface or between pieces of baking parchment (parchment paper).