Chefs Use IQF Sausage for More Than Just the Breakfast Menu

When you think of sausage, are you creating an image in your head of tasty scrambled eggs, some nice strips of bacon, and sausage patties or links?  IQF breakfast sausage is definitely popular, but it is not the only way that restaurants can serve sausage meat and create exciting new menu options for their customers.

Sausage finds a way into some of the most delicious sauces and gravies.  It is also an accentuating ingredient that adds a satisfying rich protein flavor to popular comfort food dishes and hearty appetizers.

Let’s explore some of the great new ways that your foodservice establishment can incorporate sausage into your menu, and ‘up’ the flavor profile on some favorite traditional comfort food dishes.

Creating a Signature Sausage for Rustic Pizza Restaurants

Can we share a little secret with you? We love pizza.  And some of our long-term customers and friends are owners of established pizza restaurants that have a history of keeping the ingredients wholesome, and the cooking methods traditional for truly world-class pizza.

Did you know that in 2019, there were more than 77,000 pizza restaurants in the United States? Pizza restaurant food revenues in 2019 were reported as $46.34 billion dollars.  Even though there seems to be at least one great pizza place on every corner in your city, there is plenty of business to go around because America loves pizza.

In 2018, a national food delivery service called Caviar conducted a survey and crunched the data, to find out what pizza toppings were the most popular in the United States.  They surveyed data from 20 metropolitan cities in American and discovered that pepperoni was the #1 favorite topping, followed by sausage.

If you are a pizza connoisseur, you know that not just any sausage will do as a topping.  The sausage meat should be well seasoned and crumbled onto the pizza, to add a bit of a spicy (but not too hot) kick.  Then again, some establishment pride themselves on creating their own signature sausage for their pizzas, to differentiate their high-protein meat pizzas from the competitors.

Miami Beef® provides ground sausage in five different meat blends: beef, chicken, turkey, pork, and veal for commercial kitchens and foodservice establishments.  We also provide eight premium sausage blends for restaurants:

• Traditional
• Italian
• Hot & Spicy
• Country Style
• Honey Maple
• Breakfast
• Natural
• Chorizo

For bulk or recurrent wholesale foodservice orders, our sales team can help you customize a blend of sausage herbs and spices, and meats to create your own unique pizza ready ground sausage.   Make a signature sausage meat your customers will love and take your rustic pizza to the next level of delicious flavor.

Adding Sausage to Create Savory Soups

The Italian Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden is a best seller.  Is it the spinach? The other fresh vegetables? Or is it the delicious taste of ground sausage in the soup that makes it so satisfying?  When you add ground sausage meat to a soup, you’ve added a rich protein that not only enhances the flavor, it helps make the soup more filling.

The type of sausage you choose for your soup will depend on the flavor profile of the other herbs, vegetables, meats, and seasonings you plan to add to your recipe.  Italian seasoned ground sausage is an exciting option for many different types of soups, including minestrone, and this outstanding Italian Sausage Soup, which is a heritage Northern Italian recipe.

Ground chicken sausage meat can be used to create some really great flavors and textures in classic recipes, like this one for Andouille Sausage Soup, with healthy vegetables and an antioxidant-rich soup base.

Other Delicious Menu Ideas Featuring Ground Sausage

You can add savory sausage to just about any entrée and appetizer recipe when you want to add more flavor and some additional proteins.   For instance, ground spicy sausage is the perfect way to make a low-carb version of stuffed mushrooms for a tasty (and satisfying) appetizer.  Adding cooked ground sausage to a queso dip is always a good idea, and you can create an adult-friendly dip with some hot and spicy sausage from Miami Beef®.

Make our fresh and perfectly seasoned Chorizo sausage meat into a low-carbohydrate appetizer everyone will enjoy.  It’s the ultimate game-night grub and man-friendly finger food.  Try this recipe for Cheese Stuffed Chorizo Meatballs from Yummly, or this variation with Manchego Cheese.

Spicy sausage helps kick any pasta dish up a notch while providing more substance to carbohydrate-rich entrées. Orzo is a delicious and elegant pasta that is perfect with the enhanced texture and flavors of quality Italian style ground sausage.  Create a unique lasagna your customers will love, with one layer of cooked ground sausage meat.

And don’t forget that the most delicious and tender meatballs are a combination of lean beef and traditional ground sausage, with some fresh parsley, garlic, and parmesan cheese for an authentic Southern Italian flavor.  Try incorporating some ground sausage to create a delicious House Burger for your menu, or a delicious sausage patty with grilled peppers or fruit, on a hoagie style bun.  The possibilities are endless, and your customers will appreciate having an alternative to beef and poultry when they are in the mood for something different.

Food Safety Tips for Ground Sausage

When you are purchasing wholesale sausage meat for your establishment, consult with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety checklist to learn about the labeling requirements and specifications for fat content by weight.   For instance, meats labeled “Breakfast Sausage” may contain no more than 50% fat by product weight.  For food safety, remember that uncooked sausage meat derived from ground beef, pork, or veal should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F.

 

We hope that our team at Miami Beef® has given you some innovative suggestions to help you get creative with ground sausage and create some new menu and appetizer options.  Experiment with some seasonal LTO’s (limited time offers) and test out some exciting new recipe ideas.  Keep it fresh, and creative to keep your customers coming back for more.