Bacon-wrapped Pork Sausages with Sweet, Sticky Apple

Bacon-wrapped sausages are a wonderful idea for a quick family meal. The prep work is done in a matter of minutes. For this recipe, I’ve included some apple wedges and thyme. Gets you right in the mood of the autumn season, doesn’t it? I recommend making this recipe if you’ve got a hungry family. My kids love these and generally fight over the last sausage.

Another handy thing about these bacon-wrapped sausages is that you can reuse the leftovers. Just store them in the fridge up to three days and you can use them is several ways. For example, you can make a sausage soup, salad or even a sausage pasta traybake. What is your favourite way of eating bacon-wrapped sausages?

sausages for bacon-wrapped sausages

Do you have a favourite type of sausage in mind? I am sure we all have our favourite one. I once made fresh sausages myself and it was a fun activity. Never mind the fact that they are made out of the intestinal lining of the pig. Anyways, the British love their sausages. In fact, we have a handful of our own sausages that are truly excellent for also making bacon-wrapped sausages. Here are just a few that you can consider using. Let’s see how well you know your UK sausages.

• Cumberland sausage: generally sold in a spiral and made with black pepper.
• Yorkshire sausage: includes mace, white pepper, cayenne and nutmeg.
• Gloucester sausage: spiced with sage. One of the favourites out there.
• Pork and apple sausage: includes apple and cider which usually makes it really moist.
• Manchester sausage: traditionally spiced with nutmeg, sage, ginger, mace, cloves and white pepper.
• Oxford sausage: made out of veal, pork, herbs and lemon.
• Welsh sausage: includes pork and leek with ginger.
• Lincolnshire sausage: includes pork, sage and pieces of bread.

I think it’s safe to say that every county in the UK has its own specific type of sausage. There are still so many more types of sausages. For example: Suffolk sausage, Marylebone sausage, Lorne sausage and Newmarket sausage. So, which sausage is your favourite?

other sausages

You know, just because you want to make bacon-wrapped sausages, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use only UK sausages. You can also try using German sausages, such as the Bratwurt or Frankfurter Wurstchen. These are the most typical sausages that don’t include too much spices and are somewhat mild. You can also try the typical Blutwurst, or blood sausage. Believe it or not, but these are actually quite delicious. Lastly, you can also try some exotic sausages such as the traditional sausage from Northern Thailand, which is spiced with coriander and other Asian flavours. The latter can also be excellent in an Asian inspired sausage traybake.

bacon wrap

Once you select the sausage with your favourite flavours, it’s time you wrap these babies in bacon. This step is of course completely optional. However, if you include the bacon, you’ll get a lovely smoky, salty flavour to your sausage. You should be a little cautious of the excess grease, the bacon-wrapped sausages can get quite oily. For this reason, I recommend having a set of kitchen towels ready once you finish cooking everything. The paper towel will soak up the excess fat.

If you don’t feel like using bacon, you can also use Parma ham. However, since it’s not as oily as bacon, it’s more likely to dry out and burn. Therefore, if you use Parma ham, wrap the sausages a bit later in the cooking process. This way, you eliminate the risk of them burning.

piggies in a blanket

Ever heard of piggies in a blanket? Since these are bacon-wrapped sausages, you could consider these as piggies wrapped in blankets. Bacon blankets to be exact! However, the real meaning of piggies in blankets is when you wrap the sausages in puff pastry. These are an excellent party food and disappear really quickly. They also leave room for more creativity. For example, you can use poppy seeds or sesame seeds as toppings for the puff pastry. You can also include cheese inside. You don’t even have to make the puff pastry yourself. Just buy it pre-made in the supermarket.

apples and thyme

This recipe calls for red apples and thyme. I think red apples are the best choice, because once they bake, they caramelise better than green apples. Having this salty-sweet combination makes a perfect meal. An entire, halved bulb of garlic is also a welcome addition to the sausage traybake. Once you bake the garlic, it caramelises and has a sweet after taste, which I think goes really well with these ingredients. You could also try pouring a bit of cider into the traybake to add a bit of moisture. The Germans use this technique to cook their sausages, as the hot steam will accelerate the cooking process of the sausages.

variations

There are plenty of variations you can try making. You don’t only have to use apples. Why not throw in a couple of vegetables like I did here in my sausage traybake with vegetables and chickpeas?

You can also try making these:

• Pork sausage and red onion pasta bake
• Make a bacon-wrapped sausage casserole, something similar to this recipe

serving

If we were in Germany, the typical side or serving would be with sauerkraut, or sour fermented cabbage. It works really well with any type of sausage and is full of vitamin C. However, my personal favourite is to serve the bacon-wrapped sausages with a nice buttery potato mash. This way you can really make a hearty family meal and still have some leftovers for tomorrow. Mash and peas would be my recommendation but don’t forget the gravy! Leftover can be used in a full English breakfast. Just serve them with baked beans and an egg sunny side up.

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A special thanks to Kelly Reeve for assisting with the recipe shoot.