Recipe: Mango Chicken Breakfast Sausage

By Heather Christo From Thee Kitchn

Last year I spent a glorious week in Hawaii with my family, complete with a rather deluxe breakfast buffet. My husband was totally in heaven, but I typically find your average breakfast buffet a bit of a minefield. Given our allergies, I have to gently guide my daughters and myself past the sticky buns (gah!) and the bagel bar (sigh … ) as well as the line for the fluffy custom-made omelets.

I’m not sure about you, but I need protein with my morning breakfast or I will be a shaking mess come noon, with snacks hanging from my every pocket.

My 5-year-old, Coco, had about seven pieces of bacon on her plate in three seconds flat (she is quite the carnivore). However, I found something much more interesting and ultimately very delicious: mango breakfast sausage links. I tasted them and was beyond excited! It turns out the chef was making them by hand each morning with fresh mango from a local farm; I was totally hooked, and the kids and I ate them every morning for a week.

I was inspired, and the minute I got home, I was all over figuring out the perfect recipe for my own mango breakfast sausage. Pork breakfast sausages with apples and other fall and winter seasonal fruits and herbs were a family staple, but I had never thought about the possibilities of doing the same with fresh spring flavors. The mango changed all that with its sweet, bright juiciness. I chose to make it with chicken, because I appreciate the leanness of the protein and I think it is a nice mild pairing that lets the mango really shine.

While I hope that you will try this particular combination, other proteins like pork or turkey work too. And feel free to try apples, pears, or persimmons when we get to the colder months! Fresh sage, chives, and rosemary all make wonderful additions, too. It’s really about experimenting and figuring out what you and your family love.

I MADE THIS
Mango Chicken Breakfast Sausage

Serves 4 to 6
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1/2 cup very finely diced yellow onion
13 ounces ground chicken
1/2 cup finely diced fresh mango
1 tablespoon minced, seeded red Fresno chile
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
2 tablespoons dehydrated potato flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet until shimmering. Add the onion and sauté until soft and tender, about 5 minutes.

Scrape the onion into a medium bowl. Add the chicken, mango, chile, chives, potato flakes, and salt. Using clean hands, mix everything together really well. Form the mixture into 6 to 8 equal-sized patties or logs. Set them on a plate or a sheet of wax paper.

Heat the same skillet or griddle over high heat. When the pan is really hot, reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Gently place the sausage in the pan and cook until golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they are just cooked through. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Reprinted with permission from Pure Delicious by Heather Christo, copyright (c) 2016 by arrangement with Pam Krauss Books and Avery Books, members of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company.

IMAGES:
(Image credit: Maria Siriano)

For more on this story go to: https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-mango-chicken-breakfast-sausage-230820