A meat-lover’s dream! Bacon Breakfast Sausage is Chef Tom’s mashup of your two favorite breakfast meats: bacon and sausage. Satisfy your taste buds with this protein-packed breakfast.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- No casing, no stuffer, no fuss. This gets all the flavor of a breakfast sausage link without needing a sausage stuffer or hog casings — just a grinder and a griddle.
- Bacon does double duty. Instead of seasoning ground pork to taste like bacon, real diced bacon goes straight into the grind — so every bite already has that smoky, salty backbone built in.
- Double-ground for real sausage texture. Running the mix through the grinder twice (not once) is what gives these patties a tighter, more cohesive bite instead of a loose, crumbly one.
- Freezer-ready by design. Step 5 has you portioning and freezing right after mixing, so you can grind a big batch once and griddle off patties whenever you want breakfast.
Bacon Breakfast Sausage
Tom Jackson
Rated 3.8 stars by 35 users
Category
Pork
Cuisine
American
Servings
8
Prep Time
90 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Calories
578
Can’t decide on bacon or sausage for breakfast? Have the best of both worlds with this Bacon Breakfast Sausage. Chef Tom mixes the two for a smokey twist on these classic breakfast meats.
Ingredients
- 1 lb bacon, diced 1”
- 1 lb pork belly or butt, cubed
- 1/4 cup fresh sage, minced
-
1/4 cup Cattleman's Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub
-
1 tbsp Noble smoked turbinado sugar
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Directions
- Combine the bacon and chunks of pork belly and seasonings and toss to evenly coat. Cover and let rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- Assemble your grinder, making sure all components are very cold.
- Grind the pork mixture, while the meat is very cold, with a 10mm (3/8”) grinder plate. Grind the ground mixture a second time. Cover and transfer to the mixture while you tear down the grinder and set up a stand mixer.
- Transfer the pork mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat the mixture on medium until the sausage holds together well and becomes tacky to the touch, about one minute.
- Divide the sausage into desired portions, or form into patties. Freeze until ready to use.
- To cook the sausage, preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 450ºF, with the diffuser plate removed and a Yoder Smokers Cast Iron Griddle installed over the fire box.
- Brown the sausage on both sides. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why does the meat need to stay cold while grinding?
Friction from grinding warms the meat, and if the fat melts before it's cooked, the sausage loses the binding structure that keeps it from turning crumbly. Keeping everything chilled preserves that texture.
Can I skip grinding it twice?
You can, but the second pass is what gives this sausage its finer, more cohesive texture. A single grind will taste the same but hold together less like a sausage and more like loose ground meat.
Can I substitute a different rub?
Yes — any all-purpose or brisket-style rub with a good pepper-forward base will work in place of the Lone Star Brisket Rub. Just watch the added salt if your substitute is saltier.
Can I make the patties ahead and freeze them?
Absolutely — Step 5 is built around freezing. Portion the mix into patties before freezing so they're ready to cook straight from frozen or after a quick thaw.
Do I need a pellet grill with a griddle attachment to cook these?
No — a cast iron skillet or griddle on the stovetop works just as well for browning the patties to temperature.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
4 out of 5 — great in the kitchen, better on the grill. Grinding and mixing are all indoor kitchen tasks; only the final griddle-sear benefits from the outdoor pellet grill's higher heat and light smoke.
Recipe Highlights
Cold meat, clean grind: Direction Step 1 has the bacon and pork belly resting seasoned in the fridge for at least an hour before grinding — starting cold is what keeps the fat from smearing once it hits the grinder.
Two passes through the grinder: Step 3 runs the mixture through a 10mm plate, then grinds it a second time, which is what gives this sausage its tighter, more traditional texture instead of a rough, chunky grind.
Paddle-mixed until tacky: Step 4 beats the ground mixture in a stand mixer until it turns tacky to the touch — that tackiness is the protein binding activating, which is what holds the patties together without a casing.
High-heat griddle finish: Steps 6–7 preheat the grill to 450ºF for a direct griddle sear, browning both sides fast and driving the internal temperature to a full 165ºF for a well-done, safely cooked patty.
Recommended Recipes
Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 4 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 578
- Fat
- 39 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 14 grams
- Cholesterol
- 128 milligrams
- Sodium
- 2226 milligrams
- Carbs
- 3 grams
- Fiber
- grams
- Sugar
- 1 grams
- Protein
- 47 grams
