Sausage Pinwheels - A Delightful Savory for Cocktails or Teatime

As you know, one of the most delightful repasts for me is a traditional British-style afternoon tea. A beautiful table laden with sandwiches, savories, scones, pastries and a big pot of properly made black tea is truly comfort food to those of us who have developed the habit. I made these for an afternoon tea party last week, and they were a hit!

These savory spirals are also a perfect little cocktail bite to go with your preprandial beverage of choice. Made with frozen puff pastry (homemade or storebought), they're quick and easy to put together. I wasn't able to find any sausage that day that met my requirements (ethically, humanely, sustainably produced pastured pork), but I found pork shoulder that did. So I bought a pound of it and made my own homemade sausage. Made it a little spicy since each pinwheel has just a couple teaspoons of sausage.

If you're using a sausage you haven't tried before, be sure to cook up a bite of it to see how it tastes. Then season it to suit yourself before proceeding with the recipe. What kind of sausage do you like? Mild or spicy? In casings or not? Pork, poultry, game?  

Sausage Pinwheels

(Makes 24)

1/2 pound bulk sausage, cooked and cooled

1 sheet (1/2 package) frozen puff pastry

1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan

1 large egg

1 tablespoon water

1 In small skillet cook sausage, breaking it into small pieces, until browned. Drain any excess fat on paper towels. Set aside to cool. While sausage is cooling, thaw pastry at room temperature for 40 minutes.

2 On very lightly floured 12x12-inch square of foil, roll out the 10x10-inch square of pastry to 10x12-inch square. With long side toward you, sprinkle Parmesan evenly over pastry, leaving a 1-inch border on the long edge farthest from you. Repeat with the cooled sausage

3 Roll evenly toward the clean edge, wet that edge lightly with water and seal the roll. Wrap it in the square of foil. Place in freezer for 45 minutes before slicing. If you're as persnickety as I am and want to ensure perfectly round slices, split an empty paper towel roll and place your wrapped pastry roll in it, holding it closed with a couple of rubber bands or pieces of kitchen string.

4 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet (I use an 18x13x1-inch heavy-duty half-sheet pan) with parchment paper. Whisk together egg and water. Cut the partially frozen roll into 24 1/2-inch slices. Place slices about an inch apart on prepared baking sheet; brush with egg mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Can be reheated at 300 degrees for about 5 minutes just before serving.

Note: Another cocktail or teatime savory made with puff pastry is this Tomato Tart.