A pound of plain ground meat, garlic, onion, and a few seasonings makes these quick homemade sausage links. There are no casings to stuff and no breadcrumbs or egg to mix in. Shape the seasoned meat into small links, then turn them in the skillet until the outside is browned and the middle is cooked through.
Breakfast comes before homeschooling in our house, and most of my cooking happens in the morning before second shift. That makes the option to shape these the night before useful. You still cook them fresh, but the measuring and mixing are already finished when the skillet goes on.
Homemade Sausage On Full GAPS
This version starts with plain fresh ground meat rather than a package of seasoned breakfast sausage. Garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and oregano supply the flavor. In Gut and Physiology Syndrome, Dr. Natasha describes homemade sausage using pure meat and fat with simple seasonings such as salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and herbs.
The seasoned, skillet-fried links here are a Full GAPS preparation. They are not an early Intro recipe, and the onion, garlic, and oregano mean this is not a No-Plant formula.
The links contain no eggs or nuts. They are cooked in homemade ghee here. For a version without dairy-derived fat, use a rendered animal fat appropriate to your meals in the pan instead. The amount is just enough for cooking; there is no measured spoonful of fat mixed into the sausage itself.
Ingredients
- 1 pound plain ground pork, or plain ground beef, chicken, turkey, or a mixture
- 1 garlic clove, finely crushed
- 1 tablespoon finely crushed onion
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne, optional
- Homemade ghee or rendered animal fat, as needed for the skillet
The photographs use pork so the meat color and texture stay consistent from mixing to cooking. Beef gives the links a different flavor and a darker cooked color. Chicken and turkey remain options in the same one-pound amount. Their cooking endpoint differs, which is covered in the method below.
Crush the garlic and onion finely. A large piece of onion can leave a gap in a small link and make the seasoning uneven from bite to bite. A garlic press works for the clove. For the onion, finely mince a little on the board and press it with the flat of a knife before measuring the tablespoon.
If you prefer the dried seasonings, replace the fresh garlic with ½ teaspoon pure garlic powder and the fresh onion with 1 teaspoon pure onion powder. These replace the fresh ingredients; they are not extra additions. Choose single-ingredient powders rather than garlic salt, onion salt, or a seasoning blend.
The cayenne is optional. Leaving it out keeps the oregano, garlic, and black pepper flavors without that extra hot-pepper bite. Black pepper still has some warmth, so this is a savory seasoned sausage even without cayenne.
Recommended Equipment
You need a mixing bowl, measuring spoons, a board or plate for shaping, and a skillet. My Le Creuset Artichaut skillet is the kind of pan I use for this cooking. A small spatula or tongs makes it easier to turn the links without squeezing them.
A food thermometer is useful because the brown outside does not tell you the temperature in the center. Insert the probe from the side of a small link so it reaches the middle. If your skillet cannot hold the links in a single layer with a little space between them, cook in batches.
How To Make The Sausage Links
1. Mix The Meat And Seasonings
Put the ground meat in the bowl with the crushed garlic, crushed onion, salt, pepper, oregano, and optional cayenne. Mix until the seasonings are distributed throughout the meat. Scrape the bottom of the bowl so you do not leave an unseasoned portion underneath.
The mixture should look evenly flecked with oregano and pepper and hold together when gathered. Keep the ground-meat texture rather than processing it into a smooth paste. There is no flour or egg binder to add at this point.
2. Shape Small, Even Links
Divide the mixture into twelve small portions. Roll each portion between your palms to make a short sausage shape, then set it on the board or plate. The links do not need perfectly straight sides or sealed casing ends. A slightly uneven homemade shape is fine.
Keep their thickness similar. A link that is much fatter in the middle will need longer than the others, even if all of them are the same length. If one begins splitting while you shape it, press the meat back together gently before it goes into the skillet.
3. Brown And Cook Through
Melt enough ghee or rendered animal fat to coat the skillet over medium heat. Add the links in one layer. They should sizzle when they meet the pan, with room to turn them. If the fat smokes or the meat darkens immediately, lower the heat before continuing.
Turn the links frequently so they brown on all sides. The cooking takes about ten minutes for the small links, but thickness, meat choice, and the pan affect that timing. Look for an evenly browned exterior and use the thermometer to check the center before removing them.
For ground pork or beef, cook the center to 160°F. If the mixture contains ground chicken or turkey, cook to 165°F. Lift the finished links onto a clean plate and serve while hot. If you are cooking a second batch, add a little more pan fat only if it is needed.
Quick Homemade Sausage Links for Full GAPS
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Mix the ground meat with the garlic, onion, salt, pepper, oregano and optional cayenne until evenly combined. Keep the ground-meat texture rather than processing into a smooth paste.
- Divide into the displayed number of small links. Roll each portion between your palms into a short sausage, keeping the links a similar thickness. Set on a board or plate.
- Melt enough ghee or rendered animal fat to coat a skillet over medium heat. Cook the links in a single layer, turning frequently to brown all sides, about 10 minutes. Lower the heat if they brown too quickly. Cook pork/beef links to 160°F in the center; cook any mixture containing chicken/turkey to 165°F. Serve hot on a clean plate.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Make Ahead And Storage
You can shape the raw links the night before, cover them, and refrigerate them overnight. Keep them chilled until you are ready to cook. This also gives the garlic, onion, and herbs time together in the meat, without adding a separate morning task.
Refrigerate cooked leftovers promptly in a shallow covered container. For another meal, warm the portion you need in a skillet until hot through. A gentler heat gives the center time to warm without repeatedly darkening the outside. Keep raw shaped sausages separate from cooked ones and use a clean serving plate.
Serving Ideas
Serve the links with eggs and cooked vegetables already appropriate to your Full GAPS meals. They can also be the meat alongside a simple lunch. Twelve small links does not mean twelve complete breakfasts; choose the number of links and the rest of the meal to suit the people you are feeding.
For a different homemade sausage, sage and thyme beef sausage starts with fresh chuck and is formed into larger logs for slicing. These quick links begin with meat that is already ground and use oregano, garlic, and onion instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need Sausage Casings?
No. The links are simply shaped from the seasoned ground meat. They hold their shape without a casing when mixed and handled gently. Use the spatula to lift or roll them rather than pressing hard on their centers as they cook.
Can I Mix Different Meats?
Yes. Keep the combined total at one pound for the seasoning amounts listed. If you include organ meat, count it as part of that pound rather than adding it on top. Its flavor and texture will depend on the meat and amount used; there is no fixed organ-meat ratio in this recipe.
Can I Double The Recipe?
Yes. Use the card’s 2× control for two pounds of meat and twenty-four small links. Keep the links the same size as the smaller batch. They still need space in the pan, so allow extra cooking time for additional batches rather than making each link twice as thick.
Why Did The Outside Brown Before The Middle Was Done?
The skillet may be too hot, or the links may be thicker than expected. Lower the heat and keep turning them so the middle can finish cooking. Check the center with the thermometer rather than relying on a dark crust as the finishing cue.
Breakfast Ideas For Busy Mornings
For more breakfast ideas to rotate through the week, look for the upcoming free 10 GAPS Breakfasts collection in the shop. For these links, the useful preparation you can do tonight is measuring, mixing, and shaping the meat for tomorrow’s skillet.
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