This $2 Aldi Breakfast Sausage Is the Most Underrated Item in the Grocery Store
I’m a huge fan of those coffee-shop sausage breakfast sandwiches. You know the ones I’m talking about — the sausage, cheese and English muffin concoctions that pair well with a nitro cold brew. The only problem? They run about $3.50 a pop. If I’m feeding myself and my kiddo, who can easily consume two or three, it’s not fiscally responsible to go through that drive-thru that frequently. So I make my own. And while making them doesn’t require any great culinary talent, they do require buying bulk breakfast sausage. And finding decent breakfast sausage can be a bit of a chore.
Whenever I shop for bulk breakfast sausage at non-ALDI grocery stores, I have to read the list of ingredients carefully. Usually, that list runs long and contains things like BHA, BHT, propyl gallate, and monosodium glutamate. It seems like you need a chemistry degree just to translate the words, and since I don’t have one, I end up using Dr. Google, which tells me that BHA is butylated hydroxyanisole; BHT is butylated hydroxytoluene, and I still don’t understand what the heck propyl gallate is — so I end up walking away empty-handed.
If I order breakfast sausage from my sausage guy — and yes, I do have a sausage guy — I know what I’m getting is basically pork, salt, sugar, and seasonings. But he’s an hour away and even more expensive than the drive-thru, so I don’t go to him often enough to meet my sausage needs. Instead, I go to ALDI.
Appleton Farms Pork Sausage Roll, $2.19 for 16 ounces
The grocer’s Appleton Farms Premium Pork Sausage is all you’d ever want to satisfy your coffee-house breakfast sandwich cravings. It’s $2.19 for an entire pound, only contains pork, water, and (less than 2%, according to the label) salt, vinegar, flavorings, and dextrose (which is a type of corn sugar). It also promises no artificial colors or flavors.
It’s also great for plenty of other things besides breakfast sandwiches. If I’m making homemade pizza, I mix in a little bit of Italian seasoning and fennel seed, and it’s the perfect topping. It’s also great for making what is sort of a Midwestern (read: more meaty and cheesy) take on Scotch eggs: Fill up sweet or hot peppers with goat or cream cheese, then wrap them in sausage, then wrap them in bacon, and then either fry or grill them to perfection before dumping them in barbecue or sweet and sour sauce.
After you try this ALDI sausage, you probably won’t want to use other kinds. Unless you have a sausage guy. They make pretty good sausage, too.
Do you have a favorite breakfast sandwich you make at home? Tell us in the comments below.