View source for Sausage roll

{{Short description|Savoury pastry snack}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Sausage roll
| image            = Sausage roll - One Market, One Garden Brighton (cropped).jpg
| image_size       = 
| caption          = 
| alternate_name   = 
| associated_cuisine = United Kingdom
| country          =
| region           = 
| creator          = 
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| type             = 
| served           = Hot or room temperature
| main_ingredient  = [[Puff pastry]], [[sausage]] meat
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

A '''sausage roll''' is a savoury dish, popular in current and former [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] nations, consisting of sausage meat wrapped in [[puff pastry]]. Although variations are known throughout Europe and in other regions, the sausage roll is most closely associated with [[British cuisine]]. In the British bakery chain [[Greggs]], they sell around 2.5 million sausage rolls per week, or around 140 million per year.

==Composition==
The basic composition of a sausage roll is sheets of [[puff pastry]] formed into tubes around [[sausage]] meat and glazed with egg or milk before being baked.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sausage-roll-recipe/index.html | title=Sausage Roll Recipe | publisher=[[Food Network]] | access-date=28 October 2009}}</ref> They can be served either hot or cold. In the 19th century, they were made using [[shortcrust pastry]] instead of puff pastry.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Our New Cook-Book|journal=Peterson's Magazine|date=July 1866|volume=15|pages=438|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4iHQAAAAMAAJ&q=sausage+roll&pg=PA438|access-date=26 March 2012}}</ref> A [[meat-free sausage roll|vegetarian or vegan approximation of a sausage roll]] can be made in the same manner, using a [[meat substitute]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Greggs working on vegan versions of all its bestselling foods |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/23/greggs-to-develop-vegan-versions-of-all-its-bestselling-foods |access-date=11 October 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=23 August 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Saucijzenbroodje.jpg|thumb|A [[Dutch cuisine|Dutch]] sausage roll (''saucijzenbroodje'') showing the puff pastry surrounding the roll of minced meat inside]]
The wrapping of meat or other foodstuffs into dough can be traced back to the Classical Greek or Roman eras. Early versions of the roll with pork as a filling proved popular in London during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and it became identified as an English dish.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

On 20 September 1809, the ''Bury and Norwich Post'' mentions T. Ling, aged 75, (an industrious vendor of [[saloop]], buns, and sausage rolls).<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Bury, Sept 20, 1809 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000156/18090920/007/0002 |newspaper=Bury and Norwich Post |location=England |date=20 September 1809 |access-date=19 March 2018 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' first mentions the food item in 1864 when William Johnstone, "[[wholesale]] [[pork pie]] manufacturer and sausage roll maker", was fined £15 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|15|1864|2021|r=-2}}}} in 2021), under the [[Nuisances Removal Act (Amendment) Act 1863]], for having on his premises a large quantity of meat unsound, unwholesome and unfit for food.<ref>[[The Times]] ''Police'' 27 October 1864; pg. 9</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=28 June 2017 |title=Brits furious after America claims it invented the sausage roll |url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/eat/brits-furious-after-america-claims-it-invented-the-sausage-roll/news-story/41403605e6de3a5c2070126804f86ca0 |website=[[News.com.au]]}}</ref> In 1894, a theft case provided further insights into the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] sausage roll production whereby the accused apprentice was taught to soak [[brown bread]] in [[red ochre]], [[salt]], and [[Black pepper|pepper]] to give the appearance of [[beef sausage]] for the filling.<ref>The Times, ''Police'', 5 February 1894; pg. 14</ref>

==National variants==
Similar meat and pastry recipes include the Czech ''[[klobásník]]'', the Belgian ''worstenbroodje'', the Dutch ''saucijzenbroodje'', the German ''Münsterländer Wurstbrötchen'' and [[sausage bread]] in the United States.{{Cn|date=May 2023}} Hong Kong has developed its own style of sausage roll. Instead of having sausage meat wrapped in puff pastry like the traditional western style, the Hong Kong style "sausage bun" (Chinese: 腸仔包) consists of a sausage wrapped inside a soft [[Japanese milk bread|milk bread]] style bun.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sausage rolls (Hong Kong style) - How to make it at home |url=https://tasteasianfood.com/sausage-rolls/ |website=Taste Of Asian Food |access-date=20 October 2021 |date=13 April 2020}}</ref>

== Sales and legacy ==
[[File:Greggs sausage rolls.jpg|thumb|Sausage rolls for sale in the UK at a branch of [[Greggs]]]]
In the UK, the bakery chain [[Greggs]] sells around 2.5 million sausage rolls per week,<ref name="sausagevatrow">{{cite news |last=Kollewe |first=Julia |date=22 March 2012 |title=Budget 2012: Sausage roll VAT row turns unsavoury |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/mar/22/budget-2012-sausage-roll-vat-row-unsavoury?newsfeed=true |access-date=26 March 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> or around 140 million per year.<ref name="telegraphgreggsvat">{{cite news |last=Wallop |first=Harry |date=22 March 2012 |title=Budget 2012: Greggs sausage rolls to be hit |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9158703/Budget-2012-Greggs-sausage-rolls-to-be-hit.html |access-date=26 March 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> The sausage roll is most closely associated with [[British cuisine]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-06-24 |title=Sausage roll row: US 'invents' new summer snack |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40392410 |access-date=2023-05-07 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* The 1896 [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operetta ''[[The Grand Duke]]'' features sausage rolls as a plot device,<ref name="SullivanGilbert2001">{{cite book|author1=Arthur Sullivan|author2=William Schwenck Gilbert|author3=Ian C. Bradley|title=The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pPj0nly_1OQC&pg=PA1090|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-816710-5|pages=1090–}}</ref> where conspirators recognise one another by eating sausage rolls.
*From 2018 to 2022, English YouTuber [[LadBaby]] had five consecutive [[Christmas number one|Christmas number ones]] on the [[UK Singles Chart]] with [[cover version]]s of songs where the lyrics were rewritten to reference sausage rolls, including "[[I Love Sausage Rolls]]", "[[Don't Stop Me Eatin']]", and "[[Sausage Rolls for Everyone]]".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Snapes |first1=Laura |title=LadBaby break Beatles' record to score fifth Christmas No 1 single |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/23/ladbaby-break-beatles-record-to-score-fifth-christmas-no-1-single |access-date=2023-08-25 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=23 December 2022}}</ref>

== See also ==

{{portal|Food}}

* [[Beef Wellington]]
* [[Jambon]]
* [[List of sausage dishes]]
* [[List of stuffed dishes]]
* [[Pigs in a blanket]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Sausage rolls}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/bigsausagerolls_86258 Sausage Roll recipe - BBC Food website]
* [http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/6687/sausage+rolls Sausage Roll recipe - taste.com.au]

{{Hot dog variations}}
{{sausage}}
{{Street food}}
{{Dutch cuisine}}

[[Category:British snack foods]]
[[Category:Fast food]]
[[Category:Sausage dishes]]
[[Category:Street food]]
[[Category:Australian cuisine]]
[[Category:British cuisine]]
[[Category:Dutch cuisine]]
[[Category:French cuisine]]
[[Category:German cuisine]]
[[Category:New Zealand cuisine]]