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Homemade sausage rolls are much easier than people expect, and far better than shop ones. With ready-rolled puff pastry they take about 15 minutes to assemble, and they are the first thing to go at any party, Bonfire Night or picnic.
Buy good sausages
The filling is only as good as the meat. Sausagemeat works, but good-quality pork sausages with the skins slit and peeled off usually have better seasoning and texture. Add a little grated onion and some herbs, and that is all the filling needs.
A grated apple in the mix is a good trick for children: it keeps the filling moist and adds a gentle sweetness.
Chill before baking
Puff pastry rises because the butter layers inside it are cold when they hit the hot oven and turn to steam. Pastry that has gone warm and soft while you worked puffs less and leaks butter. Put the tray of shaped rolls in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking and they rise noticeably higher.
Check the filling is cooked
Golden pastry does not always mean the meat inside is done. Ground pork should reach 71C (160F) all the way through, per USDA guidance, so check the middle of a roll with a probe thermometer, or break one open and make sure there is no pink.
Freeze them unbaked
Shape, egg-wash and open-freeze the rolls on a tray, then bag them. Bake straight from frozen, adding 5 to 10 minutes and checking the filling has reached temperature. Baked rolls also freeze and reheat well.
For lunchboxes, a cold sausage roll is a treat, but it needs to stay properly chilled: see how to keep a packed lunch cold. For small children, cut rolls into small pieces: the American Academy of Pediatrics lists sausages among foods to cut up for young children (AAP).
