Goober's Sausage Rolls

I must refer to my Great Auntie Don again as I discuss this recipe for sausage rolls. When I was in high school, my friend Debbie and I took a trip by bus up to Vancouver,B.C. and stayed a week at Auntie's lovely little home in West Vancouver. It was such a memorable trip as, other than trips with the high school band, it was the first trip I had taken without my family. Two other friends also went at the same time. Gladys and her best friend stayed with her cousin who had an apartment near Stanley Park, which I thought was so grown up and sophisticated!

We had such a fun trip exploring the city by public transit with my auntie giving us directions and telling us that all of the bus drivers in her neighborhood knew her and indeed they did. We went downtown, to Stanley Park and even took a bus to Horseshoe Bay with a packed lunch my auntie sent with us. The lunch included the most delectable sausage rolls and scones studded with raisins and spread with cream cheese and raspberry jam. These sausage rolls are so named because she gave a piece of one to her neighbors big black lab whose name happened to be Goober. Debbie and I thought it was so very funny hearing her say in her lilting English accent "Goober, would you like a sausage roll?" Only 16 year old girls would go into spasms of giggles over something like that.

Sausage Rolls are a recipe that not only my great auntie made, but also my English grandma (her sister) and my mother. So, in order to keep the tradition alive, I felt like trying my hand at making some. Despite the fact that there was a daunting part about actually making a dough and having to roll it out (my fear of pie dough loomed), these turned out quite nicely and as I took my first bite I fondly recalled my English great auntie.

Goober's Sausage Rolls

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

pinch of salt

3 Tbsp cold lard, diced into cubes

3 Tbsp cold butter, diced into cubes

12 oz. bulk pork sausage (I used Jimmy Dean)

1 egg and small dab of cream, beaten for glaze

Make pastry by putting flour and salt into a bowl and adding the lard and butter. Rub the fats into the flour until mixture results into fine crumbs.

Stir about 3 Tbsp. ice water into mixture and gather into a smooth ball of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out pastry onto a lightly floured surface to make a rectangle about 12 inches long and 4-5 inches wide. Cut lengthwise into two long strips.

Divide the sausage into two pieces and shape into two long rolls approximately the same size as the pastry. Lay a roll on each strip of pastry. Brush the pastry edges with water and fold them over the meat, pressing the edges together to seal them well.

Turn the rolls over with the seam side down. Cut each roll into eight pieces and place onto a baking sheet.

With a pastry brush, glaze each piece with the egg/cream glaze. Bake in oven 30 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Cool on wire rack.