Maple Apple Sausage

Why you'll love this recipe:

Some recipes just feel right, and this homemade maple apple sausage is one of them. It’s cozy, flavorful, and the kind of food you keep thinking about long after the meal is over. If you love sweet-and-savory combos, this one’s going to be a favorite.

The maple and apple bring just the right amount of sweetness without turning it into “dessert sausage.” The maple adds warmth, the apple keeps things fresh, and together they balance out the savory flavors perfectly. Every bite is comforting without being heavy.

Another big reason to love this recipe? It works for pretty much any meal. These sausages are amazing at breakfast next to eggs, just as good for lunch, and totally at home on the dinner table. You can grill them, pan-fry them, or slice them up and use them in other dishes—leftovers never feel boring.

Making them at home is part of the fun, too. You get to choose real ingredients, skip anything you don’t want, and adjust the flavors to your taste. Plus, there’s something really satisfying about cooking something from scratch and knowing exactly what went into it.

This recipe is also a great one to share. It’s a little unexpected, which makes people curious, and once they try it, they usually go back for seconds. It’s comfort food with a twist—familiar, but still interesting.

If you’re looking for a recipe that feels homemade, flexible, and just plain good, this maple apple bratwurst checks all the boxes. It’s the kind of recipe you’ll come back to again and again.

What you'll need:

Tools:

• Meat Grinder (Optional): I use the metal KitchenAid meat grinder attachment. I usually grind no more than 5 pounds of meat at a time, so this attachment is super convenient and works really well—especially since my KitchenAid lives on the counter and is always ready to go.

• Sausage Stuffer: When I first started making sausage, I used the metal KitchenAid meat grinder attachment for stuffing as well. The kit comes with two different sausage stuffer sizes—I use the larger one for this recipe and the smaller one for meat sticks. For a hobby sausage maker or occasional batches, the KitchenAid attachment works really well. That said, if you plan on making sausage often or in larger quantities, I’d recommend investing in a dedicated sausage stuffer (like the LEM one I’ve linked below). A standalone stuffer sits level with the counter, which makes it much easier to work solo—you don’t need a second person to manage the casing. With the KitchenAid attachment, the stuffer sits fairly high off the counter, so having an extra set of hands is almost a must. These days, I still use the KitchenAid attachment for grinding the meat, but I switch to the dedicated sausage stuffer when it’s time to stuff. It’s a setup that’s worked great for me.

• Large Mixing Bowl

• Food Scale: I have a super basic one from amazon that has lasted me years. You don't need anything fancy.

Ingredients:

• 32mm-35mm Natural Hog Casing: I cannot recommend the Bearded Butcher one enough. It is great and they are just all around a great company.

• 80/20 Ground Pork

• Grated apple, squeezed dry or dehydrated: I like to use Honeycrisp apples for this recipe but any apple will do. The big thing is when making this is that you want to make sure that the grated apples are really dry. If they aren't it will make the sausage watery. I do this one of two ways depending on the amount of time I have. If I planned in advance to make this I will grate them the day before and put them on my dehydrator at 135 degrees for about 12 hours to make sure a good amount of water is out. If you are wanting to make these ASAP or you don't have a dehydrator you can grate them and just squeeze them dry with paper towels and lay them out thinly to dry.

• Salt

• Black pepper

• Garlic powder

• Onion powder

• Ground sage

• Maple syrup: Make sure you use 100% Maple Syrup not just pancake syrup

• Red pepper flakes (optional): I love adding Flatiron Pepper Company's Sweet Heat to this but any red pepper flake will taste great. We leave these out when my daughter will be eating it and the recipe still taste great!

Recipe:

Check-out this link for a how-to video!

See the items I use here!

Ingredients:

• 80/20 Ground Pork: 2 pounds

• Grated apple, squeezed dry or dehydrated: 1 cup / 110 g

• Salt: 1 tsp / 9 g

• Black pepper: 1 tsp / 2 g

• Garlic powder: 1/2 tsp / 2 g

• Onion powder: 1/2 tsp / 1 g

• Ground sage: 1/2 tsp / 1 g

• Maple syrup: 4 tbsp / 80 g

• Red pepper flakes (optional): 1/2 tsp / 1 g

• 32mm - 35mm Sausage Natural Hog Casing

Tools You Will Need:

• Meat Grinder (Optional)

• Sausage Stuffer

• Large Mixing Bowl

• Kitchen Scale

Directions:

1. Place all metal grinder parts in the freezer for at least 30 minutes so everything is fully chilled.

2. Grate the apples, then squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Alternatively, you can grate the apples the day before and dehydrate them in a dehydrator.

3. Rinse the natural casings well in lukewarm water, then soak them in fresh lukewarm water for 30–60 minutes.

4. In a well-chilled bowl, combine the pork, grated apple, and seasonings. Mix until the mixture is well blended and slightly tacky.

5. (Optional) Run the mixture through the meat grinder using the largest grinding plate to thoroughly mix apple and meat together

6. Stuff the sausage into the casings, filling them firmly but not too tightly, and tie off the ends.

7. Twist the sausages at even intervals to form links, alternating the direction of each twist.

8. Refrigerate the links overnight to allow the casings to set.

9. Cut the links apart, prick each one twice per side, and cook by grilling, pan-frying, smoking, or poaching in a beer bath.

Note: You can skip the casings and shape the mixture into patties for an easy breakfast sausage.

Note: These Brats freeze well for up to 3 months