Buttermilk Is The Secret Ingredient For Juicier Breakfast Sausage

While many people go for the store-bought version, real sausage lovers know there's nothing quite as satisfying as homemade. However, there's a way to add even more flavor and juiciness to this breakfast favorite that you may not be aware of, and it's sitting right in the dairy section. It's buttermilk, the fermented, slightly tangy dairy product traditionally left behind when cream is churned into butter. These days, it's intentionally made with milk fermented with special bacteria cultures.

While many sausage recipes call for water or another liquid to be added for moisture, buttermilk is a superior alternative. Buttermilk provides the moisture necessary for juicy sausage, and its slightly acidic nature can also gently tenderize the pork ahead of cooking, breaking down proteins to create a juicy mixture for even more delicious results. In addition, it offers the benefit of a subtle creamy, tangy flavor that perfectly complements sausage seasoning. 

Many rightly consider buttermilk a secret ingredient, as it's nearly impossible to detect in the rich sausage juices and savory spices. For this reason, cooks should ensure guests avoiding dairy for health or other reasons are aware of its presence.

Another advantage of this technique is that you don't even need to purchase real buttermilk to do it! While you're free to buy it as a staple ingredient to have on hand for this recipe and others, you can also make a simple buttermilk substitute from ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen, namely regular milk and an acid like lemon juice. In a recipe like ground sausage, it will work in the same way as its store-bought alternative. Give this simple trick a try the next time you're whipping up a batch of homemade sausage, and you may be surprised how much it transforms the final product hitting your breakfast table.