BEEF AND CHEESE SAUSAGE ROLLS

Introduction & method

If you love sausage rolls, you'll adore this version. Really meaty, really cheesy, and the pastry is really buttery.

Make the Rough Puff Pastry

Of course, you can buy ready-made puff pastry, but this works out cheaper, is tastier, and not as hard to make as you might imagine.
Your butter needs to be cold and firm - you might want to pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes before you start. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Cut 50g (2 ounces) of the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour so it looks a bit like sand. Add enough cold water to bring it together into a dough. Cover and rest in the fridge (the dough, that is) for 20 minutes. Flour your worktop and rolling pin, and roll out the dough into a rectangle that's about 3 times as long as it is wide. Grate half of the remaining butter and arrange it in a flat layer across the bottom two-thirds of the dough rectangle. Fold the top third down over the buttered section, so you still have one-third of the dough showing. Fold this bottom third up over the rest of the dough. Turn it 90 degrees and roll it out into a rectangle the same size as the one you started with. Grate the last of the butter, spread it out, and repeat the folding and rolling process. Turn, fold and roll a couple more times, then wrap the pastry and put it in the fridge to rest for 20 minutes.

Make the Filling

Grate the cheese and add it to the meat with the breadcrumbs, herbs and pepper. Wtir in the water, and the egg. Mix it and squeeze it with your hands until the mixture holds together.

Assemble the Sausage Rolls

Preheat your oven to 190°C (374°F) for a fan/convection oven, 210°C (414°F), gas 7. Take half of the pastry and roll it out into a rectangle on your floured worktop. It should be about 30cm (a foot) long and 75-100mm (3-4 inches) wide, and 3-4mm (just under a quarter of an inch) thick. Grab half of the meat mixture and roll it into a sausage between your hands. Place this near one of the long edges of your pastry, and work it a little to make it reach right up to the short edges of the pastry. Moisten the furthest long edge with water, and roll the pastry around the meat. The two long edges of the pastry should overlap. Smooth the seam with a finger, and roll the roll so the seam is on the bottom. Cut the long roll into shorter lengths, about 75cm (3 inches). Repeat the process for the other half of the pastry and meat mixture.
Line a shallow baking sheet with greaseproof paper or a silicone mat and place the sausage rolls on it. Make sure they're not touching. Paint each one with eggwash (a beaten egg with a dash of milk), then make 3 diagonal score lines in the top of each one.

Bake the Sausage Rolls

Bake the sausage rolls for 25 minutes, until golden brown. You may want to turn the tray around halfway through. When they're cooked, place on a wire rack to cool down. You can eat sausage rolls hot or cold.

The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Beef and Cheese Sausage Rolls on YouTube.

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Ingredients & Info

ROUGH PUFF PASTRY
•  250 grams plain white (all-purpose) flour
•  180 grams butter
•  half a tsp salt
•  210 ml water
FILLING
•  400 grams minced (ground) beef
•  150 grams mature cheddar cheese
•  50 grams breadcrumbs
•  1 tsp dried parsley
•  1 tsp thyme
•   ground black pepper to taste
•  a few tbsp water
•  1 egg

PLUS
One beaten egg and a splash of milk for glazing.

Makes about 10 sausage rolls
Prep time: 30 minutes. Resting time: 1 hour.
Cooking time: 25 minutes.
Total time: 1 hour 55 minutes.

Watch the video on YouTube