You Gotta Make Sausage Ball Waffles
During quarantine, I did two things: make sausage and (less successfully) reorganize my kitchen. The former became an obsession – I almost refined my breakfast sausage – but the latter led me to a forgotten collection of bright blue Jiffy boxes, including but not limited to a cookie mix. Obviously, everything fell into place – I needed to make sausage balls.
Ask any southern resident if it’s sausage ball season, and they will probably say it’s not sausage ball season. The combination of sausage, baking mix, and grated cheese is usually baked into tender bites and served as a holiday party snack or Christmas morning treat. This, coupled with the fact that it starts to get really hot, means that most people aren’t happy with turning on the oven to make salty, cheesy and meat appetizers.
Here, of course, the waffle iron comes to the rescue. It may not be sausage ball season now, but this is the era of sausage ball waffles . When pressed in a waffle iron (which doesn’t heat up your home like an oven), the mixture of meat, cheese, and biscuit turns into a flaky crunchy waffle that can serve as a delivery vehicle for eggs or maple syrup. After taking the photo you see above, I immediately broke a soft-boiled egg between two waffles, added a slice of cheese, and enjoyed the excellent breakfast sandwich. I think it would have worked for Benedict as well.
These waffles are very easy to make, but a good, well-seasoned sausage will give you the best results. I used the proportions from this Allrecipes that can be increased or decreased, but the option below will bless you with four waffles. To make them you will need:
- 1/2 cup cookie mix such as Jiffy or Bisquick
- 1/4 lb pork sausage
- 1/4 lb shredded cheddar cheese
Heat waffle iron to medium. While it is heating, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, stir and rub in your hands until everything sticks together into a mass of meat and cheese. Divide the mixture into four equal portions and form 1/2 inch washers. Cook them in a waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until crispy and browned on the outside. Top with eggs, drown in syrup, or simply eat them while standing in the kitchen.