History

Sausage rolls travelled from England with the First Fleet but became distinctly Australian by the early 20th century: longer, more peppery, served with tomato sauce. Paul Allam and David McGuinness's Bourke Street Bakery (Surry Hills, 2004) reinvented the genre with lamb and harissa and pork-and-fennel versions. The format is now standard across modern Sydney bakeries from Lode Pies to Tarts Anon.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield Makes 10 sausage rollsHands-on 30 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g good-quality pork mince (about 20 percent fat)
  • 100g fresh white breadcrumbs
  • 1 small onion finely grated
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 2 tsp fennel seeds toasted and crushed
  • 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper
  • 375g all-butter puff pastry (1 sheet)
  • 1 egg beaten for egg wash
  • Sesame or fennel seeds for the top

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a baking tray with paper.
  2. Combine the pork, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, fennel, parsley, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix well with your hand for 1 minute until sticky.
  3. Roll the puff pastry into a rectangle about 30cm long and 25cm wide. Cut into two long strips.
  4. Pipe or pile half the filling along one long edge of each pastry strip in a 3cm-thick sausage shape.
  5. Brush the far edge with egg wash, roll up firmly, seal seam-side down.
  6. Cut each roll into 5 pieces (about 6cm long). Place on the tray, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame or fennel seeds.
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden and the filling cooked through.
  8. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes before serving with tomato sauce or chutney.

Tip from the editors. Use the highest-fat pork mince you can find: a 20 percent fat ratio gives the moisture and flavour that defines the bakery counter version.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat sausage roll

Sausage Roll in Sydney

Bourke Street Bakery Surry Hills ★ 4.6

surry-hillsMon-Fri 7am-5pm, Sat-Sun 7am-3pmWalk-in onlyOrganic sourdough and lamb-and-harissa sausage rolls

Sydney's most-imitated bakery on Bourke Street, Surry Hills. Open daily from 7am; the bacon-and-egg ciabatta roll is the menu signature, retail till 4pm.

Worth the queue: Pork and fennel sausage roll

633 Bourke Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Brickfields ★ 4.5

European bakery brunchA$18-A$26chippendaleMon-Fri 7am-3pm, Sat 8am-2pmWalk-in only

European bakery and cafe on Cleveland Street, Chippendale, Sydney. Sourdough loaves at the counter, weekend queues from open and savoury baked goods.

Order: Bacon, manchego and pickle ciabatta toastie.

206 Cleveland Street, Chippendale NSW 2008

Lode Pies and Pastries ★ 4.5

surry-hillsWed-Sun 8am-3pmWalk-in onlyHand-pies and viennoiserie

Pie shop and pastry counter on Buckingham Street, Surry Hills, Sydney from Eight by Andrew McConnell alumni. Strong pastry program, weekend queues from open.

Worth the queue: Curry beef hand-pie

1 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

More cities are in research. Want sausage roll covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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