Buffalo Chicken Sausage Bites
My new motto is “Sausage Swap,” y’all! It really is the new bacon, if you haven’t heard. Skewer some for a garnish on your Bloody Mary and add it to Dirty Rice for a “Quick and Dirty Dinner!”
I teamed up with Johnsonville again to bring you even more sausage delish– so you can sausage-ize your favorite Game Day dishes. Instead of boring old buffalo chicken wings, swap out with sausage– I made 2 different versions of Buffalo Chicken Sausage bites. You’re not only swapping out for big flavor, you’re also saving on calories, sodium and fat. Chicken sausage has 50% less fat than classic smoked beef sausage and 25% less sodium. I also love how versatile it is– in one of these recipes, you’re simply slicing the sausage as is— in the other, you pull it out of the casing and form meatballs with the addition of jalapenos and mango for a sweet and spicy kick!
You can use buffalo sauce right out of the bottle, but if you add a little melted butter, a few Tablespoons of blue cheese and a bit of white vinegar, the sauce tastes soooo much better. Trust me on this one!
Another tip, once you form your chicken sausage meatballs, saute them in a pan to brown the outside– it also seals in the juicy flavor— and then cook them off in the oven.
Chicken sausage meatballs on the set of Great Day Washington.
With Great Day Washington hosts Chris Leary and Markette Sheppard.
It’s actually a miracle I made it to the set, since I got trapped in the “Pre-Blizzard Ice Storm” that hit the DC area Wednesday night! I didn’t make it home with my groceries until after midnight (what should have been a 20 minute commute took 4 1/2 hours!) Thank goodness Mama Parker stepped in and helped me prep and cook till 3am!
Here’s the link to the segment on Great Day Washington and see below for the recipes…..
*This post and segment was sponsored by Johnsonville Sausage, but all opinions are my own.
- 1 cup Canola oil
- 1 package Johnsonville Apple Chicken Sausage
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup blue cheese, crumbled
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- In a 4 quart saucepan, heat the oil on moderate heat. While the oil is heating, cut the sausages in 1/2 inch coins, and place in a bowl.
- Add the chili powder and corn starch and combine thoroughly.
- When the oil is hot (350 degrees), add half the Chicken Apple Sausage slices and fry until brown and the casings are shrinking just a bit.
- Remove and drain on a pan lined with paper towels and cook the remaining sausage. Coat with melted butter and hot sauce.
- Make the dip by combining the blue cheese and sour cream, adding lemon juice until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Serve with the buffalo chicken sausage bites.
- 2 lbs. Johnsonville spicy chicken sausage taken out of casings
- ½ onion finely chopped
- 1 cup mangoes diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- ¼ C. cilantro chopped
- 2-3 tbsp. finely diced jalapeño
- 1 eggs
- 1 Tb chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 bottle of buffalo hot sauce
- 3 Tb melted butter
- 2 Tb white vinegar
- 3 Tb blue cheese
- Combine ingredients in a sauce pan and serve warm.
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup blue cheese (plus more if you want)
- 2 Tb fresh lemon juice
- kosher salt to taste
- chives for garnish
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Add all ingredients into a bowl and combine thoroughly. Form into golf ball sized meatballs.
- Saute meatballs in 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb canola oil until browned all over (but not cooked through).
- Put meatballs on parchment paper or a greased rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
- Pour buffalo sauce over meatballs and drizzle with blue cheese dressing. Sprinkle with more blue cheese and chives.
- Combine ingredients in a sauce pan on medium heat and pour over meatballs (or dip in with sauce on side).
- Combine ingredients and drizzle over meatballs.
- Serve with chopped chives sprinkled over meatballs.