Sausage Rolls are popular throughout the U.K. and Ireland. They consist of puff pastry wrapped around a pork sausage. Simple really. So simple in fact that no one knows exactly when they were “invented.”
But, by the mid 19th century, sausage rolls were definitely a part of the diet of the Irish and the English. One newspaper story in the 1894 talks about how a Sausage Roll maker in London would soak Brown Bread in a mixture of red clay (dirt), salt, and pepper, wrap the now Red Bread in puff pastry, and pass it off as a Sausage Roll. Yuck!
Today, of course, no one would try such a thing (we hope).
While you can get Sausage Rolls almost everywhere in Ireland and the U.K. from restaurants to bakeries to gas stations, vegan Sausage Rolls are a little more difficult to find.
In London, a couple places offer good Vegan Sausage Rolls including Wenlock Arms. In Dublin, Coffee Works and a couple other spots have Vegan Sausage Rolls.
But, for me, Ground & Co. in Galway makes the best vegan Sausage Roll. What makes theirs so good is the puff pastry has notches cut in it allowing it to get even more crispy (bonus!). This also prevents the puff pastry from getting soggy or having the layers collapse on each other. Very good!
Or, if you want to make Vegan Sausage Rolls at home, try this recipe from the Great British Bake Off.
About the Author
Brent Petersen is the Editor-in-Chief of Destination Eat Drink. He currently resides in Setubal, Portugal. Brent has written the novel “Truffle Hunt” (Eckhartz Press) and the short story collection “That Bird.” He’s also written dozens of foodie travel guides to cities around the world on Destination Eat Drink, including in-depth eating and drinking guides to Dublin, Glasgow, Cork, and Galway. Brent’s podcast, also called Destination Eat Drink, is available on all major podcasting platforms and is distributed by the Radio Misfits Podcast Network.
