Fried up and slapped on a roll, you can’t eat a more Scottish breakfast than a square slice of Lorne sausage! Slather on some brooon sauce and you’ll be happier than having mince and tatties for dinner.
In This Post You’ll Learn
Why We Love This
Nothing beats a good make ahead recipe. We love making a batch of Lorne on the weekend, freezing it, and then having them on hand whenever we need a quick breakfast (or lunch…or dinner). They’re so nice even by themselves as a quick and filling snack!
When popped in a roll, Lorne is super filling and easily transportable so you can eat it on the go if you’re heading out to work etc. We love adding a slice of cheese to ours, but you can add a fried egg and onions if you prefer.
Related: Scottish Tablet / Aussie Rissoles
Quick Tips to Easily Cut Your Lorne Sausage
There’s few things that will make it WAY easier when slicing your squares:
– Use a bread tin or washed out square milk carton to shape your loaf.
– Cooling your loaf is essential – whether it’s setting in the fridge overnight, or in the freezer for a couple of hours.
– A serrated knife will cut through easiest, especially with fattier mince.
What is Lorne Sausage?
Lorne sausage, square sausage or slice is a popular breakfast item in Scotland. You’ll see it slid amongst a breakfast bun (also called a morning roll) like we’ve made today, or as part of a big Scottish breakfast, piled up alongside baked beans, mushrooms, fried eggs, tattie scones and maybe some black pudding to top it all off.
The process of making the sausage is setting the meat in a loaf tin in the fridge or freezer, then cutting it into slices and frying it up very similar to making hamburger patties or rissoles.
You’ll find variations of square sausage scattered throughout Scotland – from corner shops, local butchers, supermarkets and of course homemade. If you want to order a square sausage in a roll while you’re in Scotland, you can ask for a “roll and square”, “Lorne roll” or “roll and sausage”.
What You’ll Need
- Pork and Beef Mince – We’ve used high fat mince (around 20-30%), and a ratio of 50% each for both the pork and beef. The fattier the mince the better (that’s 3 star mince in Australia). You can also use 100% beef if you prefer.
- Breadcrumbs – If you can source Butcher’s rusk in the first instance, this is what is traditionally used in the sausage. Otherwise, fine breadcrumbs are your next best bet. You can also make your own rusk using rusk biscuits and popping them in a food processer to blend them into a find powder.
- Nutmeg and Mace – More traditionally, you’ll want to add mace, but you can use nutmeg as well. Mace is slightly more peppery in taste, and fun fact – nutmeg and mace come from the same tree. Nutmeg is the inside seed, and mace is the outside waxy, lacy layer covering the seed.
- Ground Coriander – We’re not talking about the “soapy” leaves of coriander that so many dislike, but ground coriander seeds instead. This will add nice earthy spice without adding the flavour of coriander leaves.
- Cold Water – This is an important ingredient for a few reasons – it helps to tenderise the meat, allow the seasoning to really soak through and helps to bind it together, keeping the slice nice and juice once cooked.
- Egg – We use egg as a binder in this recipe, it is possible to leave it out if you prefer.
- Salt & Pepper – It wouldn’t be Lorne without a healthy sprinkle of salt and pepper to add some bite to every mouthful. We used sea salt and black pepper, but white pepper works just as well.
How to Make Scottish Square Sausage
First, gather your ingredients: See recipe card below for measurements.
- Mix the beef mince, pork mince, fine breadcrumbs, ground coriander, ground nutmeg, black pepper, salt and egg in a large mixing bowl with your hands until very well combined.
- Add the cold water and continue mixing until smooth.
- Line a loaf tin with baking paper, then add in your sausage mix and press it down firmly, especially along the edges.
- Cover with more baking paper and a couple of rubber bands, To set, pop in the freezer for 2-3 hours or place in the fridge overnight (around 8 hours). Essentially we want to give the sausage time to firm up, so it can be sliced easily.
- Remove the loaf out of the tin and onto a chopping board. Slice with a serrated knife in 1.5cm / 0.6 in widths.
- If cooking straight away: Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat and drizzle in your vegetable oil. Add your slices of sausage, up to 4-6 at a time depending on your frying pan size, leaving space between each piece. Cook for 4 minutes each side, then serve up on your favourite morning roll or as part of a big breakfast.
- If freezing for future use: Lay slices on layers of baking paper in an airtight container and place in the freezer so you’re easily able to separate as needed.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Heat – Medium high heat is your key when cooking your slices – it allows the meat to cook through to the middle, and crisps the outside without burning it.
- Thickness – If you prefer a thicker slice, that’s fine, just remember to allow extra time for it to cook through and keep that heat lower so you don’t burn it!
- Storage – You can layer the uncooked slices between sheets of baking paper in an airtight container for a couple of days in the fridge or a month in the freezer. Once cooked, pop them in the fridge and eat up within 2-3 days.
FAQs
Scottish morning rolls are what you’ll traditionally pop Lorne in. Otherwise, you can also use small dinner rolls, baps or even just hamburger buns. Soft, small rolls work best.
Sure thing!
For the oven – Pop them on a lined oven tray and cook at 180°C / 360°F for 10-15 minutes until cooked through. You can flip them over half way through if you prefer.
For the air fryer – Layer 3-4 slices at a time in your air fryer (don’t over crowd). Set to 200°C / 390°F for 8-10 minutes until cooked through, flipping half way through.
Drinks wise, they go down a treat with a cup of tea or a Scottish Irn Bru.
Food wise, we love having them with a sunny side up fried egg and / or wedging in a tattie scone as well.
Variations
- Herbs & Seasonings – If you like a more flavourful slice, feel free to add a teaspoon or two of chopped herbs such as sage, parsley, thyme or oregano, or try different herbs to see what you prefer. You could also experiment with adding dukkah or baharat to completely tweak the flavour.
- No Filler – If you prefer, you can leave out both the rusk / breadcrumbs and egg fillers for a more meaty slice. Be aware this will change the texture slightly and it won’t be as soft. You’ll also have to adjust the amount of water required and only add a splash at a time to get that nice pliable texture of the mince.
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Ingredients
- 500 g beef mince 1 lb
- 500 g pork mince 1 lb, sub all beef
- 1 egg
- 1 cup bread crumbs sub butcher’s rusk, 135 g / 4.76 oz
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg sub mace
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup cold water
- ½ tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Mix the 500 g beef mince, 500 g pork mince, 1 cup bread crumbs, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp black pepper, 2 tsp salt, 1 egg in a large mixing bowl with your hands until very well combined.
- Add the ¼ cup cold water and continue mixing until smooth.
- Line a loaf tin with baking paper, then add in your sausage mix and press it down firmly, especially along the edges.
- Cover with more baking paper and a couple of rubber bands, To set, pop in the freezer for 2-3 hours or place in the fridge overnight (around 8 hours). Essentially we want to give the sausage time to firm up, so it can be sliced easily.
- Remove the loaf out of the tin and onto a chopping board. Slice with a serrated knife in 1.5cm / 0.6 in widths.
If freezing for future use
- Lay slices on layers of baking paper in an airtight container and place in the freezer so you're easily able to separate as needed.
If cooking straight away
- Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat and drizzle in your ½ tbsp vegetable oil. Add your slices of sausage, up to 4-6 at a time depending on your frying pan size, leaving space between each piece. Cook for 4 minutes each side, then serve up on your favourite morning roll or as part of a big breakfast.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Heat – Medium high heat is your key when cooking your slices – it allows the meat to cook through to the middle, and crisps the outside without burning it.
- Thickness – If you prefer a thicker slice, that’s fine, just remember to allow extra time for it to cook through and keep that heat lower so you don’t burn it!
- Storage – You can layer the uncooked slices between sheets of baking paper in an airtight container for a couple of days in the fridge or a month in the freezer. Once cooked, pop them in the fridge and eat up within 2-3 days.
- Herbs – If you like a more flavourful slice, feel free to add a teaspoon or two of chopped herbs such as sage, parsley, thyme or oregano. Feel free to try different herbs to see what you prefer.
- No Filler – If you prefer, you can leave out both the rusk / breadcrumbs and egg fillers for a more meaty slice. Be aware this will change the texture slightly and it won’t be as soft. You’ll also have to adjust the amount of water required and only add a splash at a time to get that nice pliable texture of the mince.
Nutrition
2 Comments
FoodJunkie
07/12/2023 at 11:22 amSounds wonderful. Although not traditional and a little harder to find it seems a square burger mold would make it easier to shape the patties
Wandercooks
07/12/2023 at 11:28 amOh totally! You could also use straight edge bread tins to get a more of a square shape as well. At the end of the day, at least the shape doesn’t affect the taste haha