Mom’s Sausage Balls are always a hit at my house. So much so, that I make them for gifts. Birthdays are a birthday card and sausage balls in a pretty package. If my kids invite us over for dinner, parties or simply to watch the ball game (doesn’t matter which ball), I am expected to bring Sausage Balls.
Let me preface this article with this: I don’t claim to be a good cook. As a matter of fact, I don’t cook very much any more. I have evolved through the years from a country-farm beginning to a suburban empty-nester ending.
I can remember helping to cook family meals from the time I could reach the stove knobs. My maternal grandma lived with us and she taught me how to cook. Back then, we used Lard for everything, from biscuits to FRIED vegetables. Talk about some good eating! Of course, we did not realize that we were harming our bodies with all that cholestrol clogging our blood veins.
When I married a man who was a “meat & potatoes” eater, it was a challenge for me as I am a vegetable eater. So I cooked meat and potatoes for him and bread and vegetables for me. We both worked so usually breakfast was fast food for me and Charles just had coffee. Also, we took our lunches. Charles took 2 peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches for his lunch for years. As the dutiful wife, I got up every morning at 6:am and made him a thermos of coffee and 2 peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches for his lunch. Times have changed and women are not put into a mould like they used to be. Good thing is that men don’t expect it.
Men are becoming more independent from women and are cooking for themselves and the family. Which leads me to an anecdote about Charles and me. I don’t remember the dish that I made, but Charles took one look at it and said, “Mother doesn’t cook it like that”. So in a conversational tone, I told him that if he didn’t like my cooking, he could always go home to Mommy. Since then, he hasn’t mentioned Mother’s cooking.
INGREDIENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS
I wanted to tell you about Mom’s Sausage Balls. One time after my boys were adults just to have a different snack, I made these. I thought the process was time consuming and not worth the effort. Just buy them frozen, right? The sausage balls went over so well that now my family expects them all the time. What’s a mother to do? Make sausage balls, that’s what. I have made bad batches and not so bad batches. They eat them anyway. I have just about perfected the process but I have to keep an eye on them from the time I put them in the oven until I take them out.
- 1 pound of hot sausage (room temperature)
- 1 pound of sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups of All Purpose Baking Mix
For the sausage, I use Jimmy Dean’s HOT sausage. I have tried Kroger brand and Tennessee Pride but the taste just isn’t the same. You may have a different brand in your area that you like.
The cheese brand doesn’t matter, but it should be SHARP. Otherwise you will not taste it.
The all purpose banking mix is like Bisquik. When Bisquik is on sale, I buy it, but the Kroger brand is just as good only less expensive.
Just put everything in a large bowl and I mean large. As you knead the ingredients with your hands, the baking mix tends to spray up and over the sides. I have a large bowl in my pantry that I keep potatoes and onions in which I think is perfect. I mix the ingredients together (without the potatoes and onions) and I form the balls in the same bowl.
Before I attack the sausage lump that I have thoroughly blended, I turn on the oven to 350 degrees to preheat. By the time I have assembled the sausage lump into 1″ balls, or there about, the oven is ready to accept the pans of sausage balls and cook to doneness.
Prepare the pans before you load on the sausage balls. Sometimes I use aluminum foil and sometimes I don’t. I always use non-stick spray to whatever surface the sausage balls are going to rest upon.
Cook at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. I put the pans on the middle and top oven shelves and time for 9 minutes. Then I swap the pans on the shelves and cook another 9 minutes. DO NOT OVER COOK! Each oven is different so you may have to adjust your timer on the second go round. The sausage balls are going to expand when cooked so be sure and make the balls smaller than you want them to be. Nevertheless, when they turn a light golden brown on top, they are ready. The bottoms get darker than the tops so keep that in mind.
WHAT TO PAIR TO SAUSAGE BALLS
I would reply to that question with: depends on the occasion.
Are you snacking in the afternoon or evening, then I would recommend a Premium Fine Wine. Lighter to medium-bodied reds are fantastic here. However, any fine wine that you enjoy will work.
Having breakfast with the usual fare, scramble eggs, hash browns, and Mom’s Sausage balls. Just makes starting the day super special.
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