How do I alter the taste of food service sausage patties?

April 24, 2021 6:57 AM

I bought an entire case of food service pre-cooked frozen pork sausage patties with the hope of making quick breakfast sandwiches in the morning. Unfortunately the patties taste a bit off when I make them with an egg patty, english muffin and cheese. I can only describe it as a little gamey. Not bad, just not great. Is there anything I can add (spices, sauce, etc.) that would mitigate the pork taste or have I upset the fast food gods by flying too close to the sun? I have about 50 left, so I'm hoping to salvage them.
posted by blackjack514 to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

I think an application of mustard might help.
posted by little mouth at 7:03 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have a pack of those too, and those are bland as (bleep).

Recipes usually call for pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cloves, etc. So I'd suggest adding quite a bit of those.

I will probably try slicing those into quarter-inch strips and use them in stir fry, where the soy sauce and other spices can cover up their bland taste.
posted by kschang at 7:17 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]

I find hot sauce can help mask that off flavor you can get with reheated meat (cholula is my go to).
posted by ghost phoneme at 7:19 AM on April 24, 2021 [5 favorites]

A little sage is another option.

Whichever herbs/spices you go with, I'd add them before/during heating. You don't say how you heat but I think pan frying would be the best. In that case you can also cook it in flavorful oils.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:22 AM on April 24, 2021 [2 favorites]

I would try Penzey's breakfast sausage seasoning.

https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/breakfast-sausage-seasoning/c-24/p-606/pd-s

This is meant for mixing into raw ground pork prior to forming patties and cooking it, but maybe it work if you sprinkle it on top and then press it into the patty as you are heating it.
posted by statusquoante at 7:34 AM on April 24, 2021 [6 favorites]

Restaurant cooks are heavy with their use of salt throughout cooking - it makes things taste good. One of the results is restaurant suppliers sometimes deliberately underseason their goods, with the expectation that the cook will add seasoning.

Although this will definitely seem strange for sausage - I'd actually try adding salt to the patties, and probably more than you'd otherwise think to. If salt doesn't work, try a bit of sugar, which can (to some extent) counteract gaminess.
posted by saeculorum at 7:48 AM on April 24, 2021 [2 favorites]

This problem, as with most problems, can be solved with salsa.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:59 AM on April 24, 2021 [6 favorites]

What about a dunk in some apricot mustard glaze?
posted by kittydelsol at 8:04 AM on April 24, 2021

Try frying them in bacon fat. We do that with sausage links and it's delicious.
posted by jzb at 8:05 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]

I am pretty sure I know which ones you mean, and to me it tastes like thyme (which tastes like pesticide smells to me). You can try brushing them with a glaze before cooking so it caramelizes a little, though that's going to alter the breakfastiness of the flavor. I would do ketchup and mustard (a little heavy on the mustard), or BBQ sauce with some mustard, and mix a good bit of good black pepper into that.

If you're a McGriddle fan like my husband, you can make your glaze out of maple syrup and any kind of berry jam, but still use some black pepper - or sriracha or pepper jelly as part of your jam base.

This all assumes you're going to bake or air fry them, not cook them in a pan. I use these to meal prep so I'm cooking them a half-sheet at a time. You will want to foil and spray or brush ample oil onto the foil.

I can't remember the brand of the funky ones I got, but if you have access to the Tyson "Fully Cooked All Natural", those are the ones I find are nearly a dead ringer for McDonalds sausage patties. (Hopefully those aren't the ones you find gamey!)
posted by Lyn Never at 8:12 AM on April 24, 2021 [2 favorites]

I had a similar problem with some spring rolls I bought. It was resolved when I thawed them before cooking and then deep fried them. It's not a healthy solution but a tasty solution. Deep frying your patties in pork fat might be even better.
posted by mumimor at 8:18 AM on April 24, 2021

Came here to say cholula -- really any hot sauce, but that's my current particular go-to. I tend to hot sauce my breakfast sandwiches anyway, and it gives a lovely flavour to latch onto.

If you can't do spicy, maybe ketchup? Also, I'm not sure where you are in the world, but if you can get it, HP sauce is exceptional on breakfast sandwiches, more vinegar-y and moreish than ketchup.
posted by kalimac at 8:31 AM on April 24, 2021 [4 favorites]

You run into these at free hotel breakfasts and I always find that pancake syrup makes them palatable :)
posted by Tandem Affinity at 9:34 AM on April 24, 2021 [2 favorites]

A long time ago, I wanted to make some ground turkey into sausage patties. I seasoned them with quite a bit of table salt and black pepper, and they tasted surprisingly like a regular sausage patty. So I'm thinking salt might be a good starting point. I'm thinking maybe "dry-brining" the patty over night, then seasoning with pepper before cooking, might get the flavor more in line with what you expect on a breakfast sandwich.

Another thing you might consider adding is a bit of maple syrup. With scrambled egg and cheese on a breakfast sandwich you might wind up with something reminiscent of a McDonald's McGriddle sandwich.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 9:53 AM on April 24, 2021

As an alternative to syrup, another idea would be chili jam or Thai-style sweet chili sauce.
posted by eotvos at 10:05 AM on April 24, 2021

I was going to suggest the Penzey's breakfast sausage seasoning too. It's really very good and I bet will fool your brain into thinking your terrible patties are good breakfast sausage, maybe in the same way that pumpkin spice seasoning fools your brain into thinking that whatever you're drinking has anything to do with pumpkin.
posted by HotToddy at 10:33 AM on April 24, 2021 [3 favorites]

Are you sure that the "little gamey" taste isn't spoilage? Don't harm your health for the sake of some cheap sausage.
posted by scruss at 10:39 AM on April 24, 2021 [4 favorites]

I'd try non-sausage sauces too, e.g. soy sauce, A1, Worcestershire, hoisin, fish sauce.
posted by SemiSalt at 11:19 AM on April 24, 2021

Any spicy condiment or sauce is my go-to for any odd-tasting food, especially meats. Plain old Tabasco is actually really good on breakfast sausage. Sriracha would be my first try, though.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:00 PM on April 24, 2021

I would cook as is and try some mayonnaise in the finished sausage-witch right next to the patty - the fat and vinegar in the mayo might mask or mellow some of the flavor.

Hot sauce is a great idea for masking odd flavors but I don’t like straight sriracha on breakfast foods, too strong for my palate. But a sriracha mayonnaise blend would be tolerably delicious.

In short, mayonnaise: a land of contrasts. Fatty, eggy contrasts.
posted by sol at 3:06 PM on April 24, 2021

Assuming the gaminess is not in fact spoilage (it's a slightly alarming way to describe an unexpected flavour in a pork product!), and assuming that you're willing to turn them into something completely different, I would suggest some kind of stew with a substantial flavour of its own -- whether it's bolognese or a curry. I sometimes do this with pork sausages, not because they taste unpleasant but because I find their flavour a bit boring.
posted by confluency at 3:38 PM on April 24, 2021