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Appetizer · Australian

Halloween Mummy Sausage Rolls

Beef and pork sausage rolls wrapped in puff pastry strips like little mummies, with dotted eyes. Easy finger food for a kids' Halloween party.

Prep
35 min
Cook
25 min
Total
1 hr 15 min
Serves
16

Updated

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Ready in 1 hr 15 min, serves 16.

Total time
1 hr 15 min
Serves
16
Course
Appetizer
Cuisine
Australian
Ingredients
13
Steps
6

Make ahead / storage: Unbaked, wrapped rolls freeze well for up to 2 months, wind on the pastry strips first then freeze on a tray before bagging.

Mini mummy sausage rolls wrapped in strips of puff pastry with red sauce eyes on a white plate

These are a standard sausage roll filling dressed up for the occasion: instead of wrapping the mince log in a full pastry sheet, you cut the pastry into strips and wind them on at angles, leaving gaps for two dots of tomato sauce or a couple of currants to look like eyes. Kids go for the look before they go for the taste, which is most of the point.

The filling itself is a straightforward beef and pork mix bound with breadcrumbs and egg, the same base you'd use for any home-made sausage roll. Don't overwork it once the meat's in the bowl, overmixing makes the texture dense and a bit rubbery once baked.

Chilling the rolled log for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting the pastry strips makes a real difference. Warm pastry stretches and tears instead of wrapping cleanly, and a firm log also holds its shape better under the strips.

These freeze well raw, so it's worth making a double batch and keeping half in the freezer for whenever the next party comes up, Halloween or otherwise.

Recipe

Halloween Mummy Sausage Rolls

Prep
35 min
Cook
25 min
Total
1 hr 15 min
Serves
16

Ingredients

16 Servings

Filling

Pastry and decoration

Method

  1. Step 1: Combine the beef mince, pork mince, grated onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, mixed herbs, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix with your hands just until everything is combined, don't overwork it.

  2. Step 2: Divide the mixture into 4 portions and shape each into a log about 9¾ inch long down the centre of a pastry sheet, 1¼ inch from one edge. Roll the pastry over to enclose the filling, seam side down, and transfer to a tray. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling, then chill the logs for 15 minutes.

    Tip: A chilled log cuts and wraps much more cleanly than one that's still soft from mixing.

  3. Step 3: Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced) and line two baking trays with baking paper. Cut each log into 4 shorter rolls, about 6cm each.

  4. Step 4: Cut the pastry trimmings into thin strips, roughly ½ inch wide. Wind 2 or 3 strips around each roll at an angle, leaving a small gap near one end for the eyes. Place the rolls seam side down on the trays, spaced apart.

  5. Step 5: Brush the pastry strips with egg wash. Dot a little tomato sauce (or press on two currants) in the gap for the eyes.

    Tip: Use the handle end of a teaspoon to dot the sauce, a dollop from the spoon itself tends to spread too wide.

  6. Step 6: Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and the filling is cooked through. Rest for 5 minutes before serving, the filling holds its heat.

Tips

  • Grate the onion instead of dicing it. The filling cooks more evenly and little kids are less likely to pick out visible chunks.
  • If your pastry strips keep splitting as you wind them, the pastry has gone too soft, pop the whole tray back in the fridge for 5 minutes and continue.
  • Make the eyes a touch bigger than feels right. They shrink and darken slightly in the oven and can disappear if they start out too small.

Variations

  • Gluten-free: use a gluten-free puff pastry and gluten-free breadcrumbs, both are available at most major supermarkets.
  • Vegetarian: swap the meat filling for a store-bought vegetarian mince, cooked off first and cooled before mixing with the egg and breadcrumbs.
  • Spicier: add 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika and a pinch of chilli flakes to the filling for the adults' tray.

Storage and make-ahead

Unbaked, wrapped rolls freeze well for up to 2 months, wind on the pastry strips first then freeze on a tray before bagging. Bake from frozen, adding about 8-10 minutes to the time. Baked rolls keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days and reheat well in a 180°C oven for 8-10 minutes.

Nutrition per serving, estimated

Calories
195
Protein
8g
Carbs
12g
Fat
12g

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