Is Ground Pork the Same as Breakfast Sausage

I am a heavy meat eater, and pork is one of my favorite types of meat. As unhealthy as it may be, I love eating ground pork for breakfast, whereas my wife loves sausages. But, one fine morning, she asked me, “is ground pork the same as breakfast sausage?”

Ground pork and breakfast sausages are different despite having pork. The spices and herbs used in marinating and cooking indeed distinguish them. Breakfast sausage has a spicy and herby flavor for thyme, sage, and black pepper. Contrarily, ground pork has a strong porky taste containing salt only.

To know more about the two sausages in detail, continue reading the article.

Is Ground Pork The Same As Breakfast Sausages?

Is your morning meal all about sausage? Let me guess Jimmy Dean sausage? Well, who doesn’t love this breakfast sausage garnishing many US household dining tables?

These alluring pork sausages, seasoned with salt, black pepper, thyme, and sage, is indeed yummy.

However, is breakfast sausage another name for ground pork? Or are they two different food items?

Well, simply put, they are not the same.

While ground pork and breakfast sausage have the same primary ingredient, the pork, the main difference is the manufacturing process.

While ground pork is just plain pork meat, breakfast sausages undergo several steps of seasoning, such as mixing fat, salt, and other herbs.

Other than that, ground pork tends to be freshly made daily, and breakfast sausage is premade and aged. Furthermore, breakfast sausage has an intestine and several varieties such as dried, smoked, cured, etc.

Difference Between Ground Pork And Breakfast Sausage

Both ground pork and breakfast sausages indeed use pork as primary ingredients. However, you will be surprised to know these two types of meat have numerous differences.

Here are some notable differences between ground pork and breakfast sausages.

1. The Type Of Meat

Most people would assume it’s just pork, so both ground pork and breakfast sausage have to be the same thing. However, that is not the case.

Ground pork is pork in its purest form with no additional spices or mixture of any sort. It’s 100% meat.

On the other hand, breakfast sausages have a mixture of pork and spices. Furthermore, it also maintains a ratio of fat to meat. So you are not eating pork in its purest form.

Moreover, breakfast sausages can have different tastes according to the recipe. Despite being generally pork, breakfast sausages can also have other types of meat, such as beef or wild boar.

2. Taste and Flavors

Ground pork and breakfast sausage have very different flavors. It is due to the several spices and herbs used in sausages that enhance and change the pork flavors.

All ground pork usually tastes the same regardless of where you buy it from. It has a no-frills pork taste. However, freshness may have a bit of an effect on the taste. 

In contrast, breakfast sausages don’t always taste the same. Differences in recipes make them taste distinctive from each other. Some taste garlic and paprika, while others have a strong black pepper and thyme taste.

Which Is Healthier

Heath properties might be one of the biggest differences between the both. Ground pork is plain pig meat without extra spices, salt, or preservatives.

In contrast, breakfast sausages contain salt in a large amount. Moreover, it contains extra fat.

So you can say that ground pork is the healthier option of the two.

Let’s check the nutritional facts of these two.

Source: https://www.nutritionix.com.

3. Versatility

Ground pork can be used to make a wide variety of dishes such as different types of sauce, meatballs, lasagna, pizza, or any other dish that requires unseasoned meat.

When it comes to sausages, as they already have a very strong taste due to the spices and herbs used, they are not as versatile. Breakfast sausages are usually combined with bread, beans, potatoes, etc.

Which Is Better, Ground Pork Or Breakfast Sausage?

The answer to this question largely depends on the person themselves, but for people who want to be healthier, ground pork is the better option.

But if you are looking for something with more flavors, spices, and kick to it, then breakfast sausage is the thing you are looking for. In addition, breakfast sausages are faster to prepare and easier. So it may be a better option.

Can You Replace Ground Pork With Breakfast Sausage?

If it is for a recipe for some dish, then we do not recommend replacing it because breakfast sausages contain different spices that may not go with the recipe, thus ruining it. You could rather use turkey meat or grounded beef.

However, if it is something where the spices won’t matter much, like a pizza, you can for sure replace it.

To add to it, you can also ground pork with breakfast sauce in your diet plan to add some spice to your diet. It can be a delightful treat for your tastebuds.

How To Turn Ground Pork Into Sausage?

Imagine you open your fridge to get some breakfast sausages and see you are out of it. That is a sad reality, but fear not; if you have some ground pork, it only takes a few steps to make sauces using ground pork.

The steps are-

1. Take all the grounded pork into a metal bowl. And put salt according to taste. We recommend putting a lot of salt as it helps get the right texture and helps the proteins in the meat blend.
2. Now add pepper, paprika, and garlic powder according to taste. Use your hands to mix them well. We want all the spices to be evenly distributed.
3. If you have some pork fat, mix it in, too, because 1/3 of the sausage weight is fat. Fat also enhances the richness and taste of sausage.
4. Then shape it like a sausage or fill it in a pork/cow intestine if you have it and let it rest for a fit.

With these simple steps and you have breakfast sausage ready at home.

FAQ’s:

• Are ground pork and pork sausage the same thing?

They are made of the main primary ingredients but are not the same thing; this is because ground pork is plain pork, but pork sausage has several other components, from spices to fat. Both have different tastes too.

• How is sausage different from ground pork?

The main difference is that sausage is pre-seasoned. Meaning sausages already have salt and spices added, whereas ground pork is just meat with nothing added to it.

• Is Jimmy Dean sausage a ground pork?

Yes, Jimmy Dean sausage is made out of ground pork and several other unique seasonings. To add to it, Jimmy Dean is known for making sausages with premium quality ground pork.

Take Away

Is ground pork the same as breakfast sausage? The answer is no; they are different.

Ground pork is just plain pork, whereas breakfast sausage can contain several other ingredients.

Furthermore, breakfast sausages are not just made from pork; they can be made from other elements such as turkey or beef.

Lastly, they may not be the same thing, but as both can be made of pork, some people find them of similar taste.