a picutre of 8 cooked sausage rolls on a white plate

Etty's Sausage Rolls

20 minutes - 25 minutes

Makes 12. Scroll to the bottom of the Method to see questions Lindsey has answered on this recipe

This recipe is from Delia's Happy Christmas.

Etty is my mum and for me Christmas without her sausage rolls would not be complete.

They are the ultimate canape to serve with drinks, or with pickled shallots and crisp celery for a snack any time. They can be cooked well in advance, frozen then defrosted and warmed through when you need them, but nothing can compare with freshly baked on Christmas Eve.

You can now watch how to make Sausage Rolls in our Cookery School Video on this page.

Got a question on Delia's recipes? Ask Lindsey

Ask a Question

Freezer Storage box

Asked by: Liz Goves

For Etty’s sausage rolls Delia mentions to freeze in a polythene box. What exactly is this? Does she mean a polythene freezer bag? Or a plastic clear air tight box? Thanks

Answered by Lindsey: Hello, You can use either, both are plastic. This recipe was written many years back so any container that you already have that’s suitable for the freezer will be fine or if you are buying something new eco-friendly freezer bags or containers are good. Kind regards Lindsey

Fat in Etty's Sausage Rolls

Asked by: Danbo

Hi Lindsey I made Delia's recipe for Etty's sausage rolls and cooked some straight away but open froze the rest. When cooking I noticed there was a lot more fat coming out of the frozen rolls. Do you have any idea why this might be? Thanks

Answered by Lindsey: Hello, It’s because there is a high proportion of fat. The butter in the pastry makes it beautifully crisp. Nothing to worry about. Kind regards Lindsey

Freezing and defrosting Etty's Sausage Rolls

Asked by: kah22

I've a family event coming up on Sunday week. Using one of Delia's recipes I want to pre-prepare some sausage rolls for it and I see in Delia's sausage roll recipe she suggests "If you want to cook them later, store them uncooked in a freezer box and freeze until needed". About the defrosting - I'll be pretty busy Sunday morning, would it be alright to take them out of the freezer late Saturday evening? Could I bake from frozen? Or, should I just get up that hour earlier :). !!! As always many thanks for your thoughts Kevin

Answered by Lindsey: Hello Kevin, You have a couple of options here. You can open-freeze the uncooked sausage rolls until solid, then store them in a rigid plastic container. Then on the day, cook them from frozen, allowing an extra 10 minutes’ cooking time for defrosting. Or Delia’s preferred option now is to freeze the cooked, cooled sausage rolls in polythene boxes and remove a few at a time as and when you need them. Defrost them for an hour at room temperature and then warm them in a hot oven for 5 minutes. Best wishes Lindsey

Method

Begin by making the pastry as described in quick flaky pastry.

Then leave it to rest in a polythene bag in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile mix the sausagemeat, onion, sage and seasoning together in a mixing bowl, then divide it into two and roll each piece with your hands on a lightly floured surface to 30cm long. Put them on a piece of parchment, or a tray, whilst you roll out the pastry.

Preheat the oven to 220C, Gas mark 7.

Roll out the pastry as described in the recipe for quick flaky pastry below to form an oblong approximately 30 x 20cm. Cut this oblong into two strips 30 x 10cm and divide the sausagemeat also into two, making two long rolls the same length as the strips of pastry (if it’s sticky sprinkle on some flour and flour your hands). Place one roll of sausagemeat onto one strip of pastry. Brush the beaten egg along one edge, then fold the pastry over and seal it as carefully as possible. Roll the whole thing over so the sealed edge is underneath. Roll lightly and repeat with the second piece of pastry and sausagemeat.

Then use a small sharp knife to cut each roll into six sausage rolls, each about 5cm long. Snip three V shapes in the top of each roll with the end of some scissors and brush with beaten egg. Place the rolls on the baking sheet and bake high in the oven for 20-25 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool. You can store the cooked and cooled sausage rolls in an airtight tin, but they do lose their crunchiness. For this reason I think it is preferable to freeze them in polythene boxes and remove a few at a time as and when you need them.

Defrost them for an hour at room temperature and then warm them in a hot oven for 5 minutes.