They See Me Rollin'

D has been prodding me to try making sausage rolls for a while now, and I happened to watch a video from Chef John about making sausage rolls (text version can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/260013/chef-johns-sausage-rolls/).

I think my version came out a bit too meaty - the_boss said it had the texture of meatloaf. I've never had a meatloaf before, but from what I hear, they're bad. The meat part did taste a bit tough, unlike what you'd expect from a sausage roll, which has nice flaky pastry and a soft bit of meat in the middle that you can bite through easily. Despite that, I think making your own meat filling was pretty fun, as you can add whatever spices you want, and even some vegetables (the_boss suggested adding some carrot and onion (it did have minced onion in it, but I guess it was too finely minced)). Mine were a bit dry (as the pastry took longer to cook than the meat), but it was nothing a bit of tomato sauce couldn't solve. Who wants sausage rolls without tomato sauce anyway?!

The reason why I made sausage rolls for D was because he had decided to donate blood. The last time I tried, I was rejected, so when he asked me if I would accompany him, I had to turn him down. I thought it was really great of him to do it, and his tips for pre-donation care included eating something savoury, so when he asked me to make some sausage rolls for him, I agreed.

Unfortunately, the time he got allocated was not long after lunch, and we talked about whether it would be a good idea to eat something so close to donation time (I assume the reason they suggest something savoury is to avoid spikes in blood sugar levels). I think he must have felt bad for asking me to make sausage rolls, so even though he was incredibly full, he tried one and said he liked it.

I wasn't very happy with my sausage rolls though, so I want to make more until I can get it right. I always thought sausage rolls were more flat, rather than round, like this:

(picture from Kidspot)

So I think I'll make them like that next time. Though it was nice having a higher meat:pastry ratio. Even though I love the taste of pastry, I love the taste of sausage more.

My love for sausage rolls first started with Junior, where Arnie's character gets so excited over seeing pigs in a blanket. I didn't know what they were, but the way he was so happy about them made me want them so badly (I'm a huge sucker for product placement). We don't seem to have pigs in a blanket in Australia, but someone told me that they're kinda like lap cheong bao, except with pastry instead of Chinese bao (and with a sausage that's different to Chinese sausage). I figured pastry + sausage = sausage roll, so I tried one and I haven't looked back. We always have sausage rolls and party pies at morning teas at work, and the sausage rolls are always the first to disappear (followed by the pies, and then the vegetarian things).

A told me not to watch how they're made, because he used to make some for his parents' bakery, and it was pretty gross. But I think Chef John's recipe is pretty good. It uses pork mince, garlic, onion and some herbs and spices. There was a lot of fat dripping from the tray while baking (which is probably why mine ended up so dry), but maybe if you used lean pork mince instead, it wouldn't be as bad.

I kinda want to try wrapping a bratwurst in bao now, just to see how it tastes. I mean, they're both delicious on their own, so they must be amazing combined, right?!