Breakfast Meat Alternative: Beef Sausage Patties

I haven't posted here in a while because I've been preparing for our new arrival, and I usually just make small posts on Facebook for those interested. But since this post was getting lengthy, I thought it would be easier to read here.

I love bacon, like, A LOT!!! I sort of hate it as well, because it is so delicious, with anything, and I could easily sit and eat slice after slice. But I limit myself because I haven't found a healthy bacon within our budget. Working with a grocery budget means we don't eat perfectly...just the best we can afford. I save money by purchasing in bulk, a little shopping online, and shopping sales, BUT, buying local and sustainable is also very important to us. So we spend most of our grocery budget with local farmers through CSA and Meat Shares, and shopping farmers markets. At $10+/lb, local pastured pork bacon is NOT in my budget. My usual bacon (just regular conventionally-raised Costco bacon) has recently increased to $4/lb. I keep hoping to find something in-between, but no luck yet. My local Kroger sells Applegate and Coleman's bacon, which are in-between health-wise (Antibiotic-free, uncured, and Applegate is made from humanely-raised animals) but these are $11-$12/lb, more expensive than pastured bacon! I was quite disgusted on my most recent trip to Costco when my usual 4-lb pack of conventional bacon was $16! I told my husband, for $4 a pound, we can find a better alternative, a real meat to serve up along-side our eggs in the morning.

Say hello to my new breakfast meat...beef sausage! It's not grass-fed/pastured meat, but, it is a healthier alternative to my conventional bacon. Costco Organic Ground Beef is 85% with no antibiotics or added growth hormones. And, it's only 25 cents more per pound than conventional bacon! I took the pure beef and added 3 simple spices to create my own breakfast sausage, and I love it! This recipe is salty, but that's how I like my sausage. It also uses a lot of sage. So I would suggest starting a bit shy on both the salt and sage, mix well, and form a "sample" patty (just one small, thin patty to fry up and taste-test). That way, you can add more spices to suit your taste, before frying the whole batch. This recipe tasted like Jimmy Dean Sage sausage to me, but by taking a few minutes and adding our own ingredients, we can control exactly what goes into the meat...no Corn Syrup or refined sugars, Maple "Flavor" (which is made of 9 ingredients, including corn syrup), Dextrose, BHA, BHT, Natural Flavorings, MSG, or other questionable ingredients! I look forward to experimenting with different flavors...I'm thinking a real maple syrup sausage sounds delicious!

I went ahead and made a large batch of sausage. This should last all week in the fridge, or it can be frozen (cooked or uncooked patties).

Beef Sage Sausage:

• 2.67 lb Organic Ground Beef
• 8 tsp Rubbed Sage*
• 1.25 tsp Ground Thyme*
• 4 tsp Redmond's Real Salt

Combine everything well in a large bowl.
(*As mentioned above, this recipe may be too salty or sage-y for some of you, so I recommend you cut down on both the salt and sage at first, cook yourself a sample patty, adjust seasonings as desired, then proceed with the rest of the batch. I thought the amounts were great and really helped the beef taste more like pork sausage. Let me know if you make any adjustments that you like.)
Form small, thin patties and fry over medium heat. Cook a few minutes on each side til fully cooked.