Three-Ingredient Bisquick & Sharp Cheddar Sausage Balls
Front Porch Gatherings & Holiday Spreads
The yellow box of Bisquick sits beside a block of sharp cheddar—no church potluck or neighborhood tailgate may commence without a platter of sausage balls. Knead handfuls of cold bulk sausage into the mix until your knuckles shine, roll them tight, space them evenly on a half-sheet pan, bake until the pork fat sizzles into a greasy, golden crust, and serve.
Before you start
Temperature is everything.
Mixing cold fat and cheese with dry flour guarantees a crumbly, frustrating mess; let the sausage and cheese sit on the counter for 30 minutes before starting.
Grate the cheese by hand.
Commercial pre-shredded cheese is coated in cellulose to prevent clumping in the bag, which will ruthlessly absorb the moisture your dough desperately needs.
Use your bare hands.
Put away the wooden spoon or stand mixer. The literal warmth of your hands is required to melt the fat just enough to bind the dry baking mix into a proper dough.
Ingredients
- bulk pork breakfast sausage1 lb
- sharp cheddar cheese4 cup
- Original Bisquick Baking Mix3 cup
- whole milk1/2 cup
Method
- 01
Preheat the oven and prepare the baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil.
- 02
Combine the foundational ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl, add the room-temperature sausage, freshly grated cheddar cheese, and Bisquick.
- 03
Knead the mixture entirely by hand.
Squeeze and knead the mixture together for 3 to 4 minutes; it will seem impossibly dry at first, but the warmth of your skin will eventually render the fat from the sausage and cheese, bringing the dough together.
- 04
Hydrate the dough if necessary.
Modern pork is leaner than it used to be, so if the dough still refuses to hold together after 4 minutes of kneading, splash in the whole milk one tablespoon at a time until a slightly sticky, cohesive mass forms.
- 05
Portion and roll the sausage balls.
Using a spring-loaded cookie scoop or a tablespoon, scoop the dough and roll it lightly between your palms to form uniform 1-inch to 1.5-inch balls.
- 06
Bake until golden brown.
Arrange the balls on the prepared baking sheet with an inch of space between them and bake on the center rack for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bottoms are deep golden brown and the cheese is sizzling.
- 07
Let them rest before serving.
Remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes to firm up before transferring to a paper-towel-lined platter.
Notes
Sourcing the right sausage.
Jimmy Dean brand—specifically the 'Hot' or 'Sage' variety—is the undisputed Southern standard, offering the exact fat-to-lean ratio required to hydrate the dry biscuit mix properly.
Freezer friendly for busy weeknights.
Roll the raw dough into balls, freeze them solid on a baking sheet, and transfer to a zip-top bag. Bake them straight from frozen whenever needed by adding 5 to 8 extra minutes to the oven time.
From Cook Southern Food.