When it comes to the holidays, certain dishes make the season complete.
In eastern North Carolina, many people make oyster stuffing or serve raw oysters as a side to the turkey or ham.
My family always had an ample supply of cookies baked by my grandmother.
For many Southern households, it just isn’t Christmas without Sister Schubert’s sausage wrap rolls.
I tried these rolls this past summer. A few weeks later, I was surprised when I wasn’t able to find them anymore. They’re fast to make and really good.
After being reminded of how these rolls are a holiday tradition in many homes in the Golden Triangle, we did some research.
The Alabama-based company discontinued the rolls a few months ago, according to their parent company, T. Marzetti.
A representative from Sister Schubert’s recently explained the decision to Garden and Gun magazine. The call came down to sales.
“Typically, we discontinue an item when it isn’t selling well, which is what was happening with the sausage rolls,” Kristy Gross told the magazine. “So, we switched them out for sausage pinwheels.”
The company describes sausage pinwheels this way on its website: “Perfect for breakfast, snacking or an appetizer, Sister Schubert’s Sausage Pinwheels are made with savory sausage and cheese baked in our soft rolls. In your grocer’s freezer section.”
Unhappy customers launched a petition (started by Ashley Lambert) called “Bring Sister Schubert’s Sausage Wrap Rolls Back!” on Change.org . As of Tuesday morning, it had more than 12,730 signatures and hopes to get 15,000. The comments make it clear the public wants the rolls back, and soon.
As petition commenter, T.M. Longmeyer put it: “One of our favorite family traditions has been to enjoy Sister Schubert’s Sausage Rolls Thanksgiving morning, as the kids watched the parade, while the parents prepared the turkey and fixings. However, this year we will be forced to thaw rolls, implant lower quality sausages, and then bake in hopes of the kids not catching on. Perhaps we should purchase King’s Hawaiian Rolls so we can skip the thawing process! The past 18 months have been tough enough. Please, do not take this tradition away from us.”
Commercial Dispatch readers also commented on a Facebook post about the discontinuation of the holiday staple.
Judy Enlow remarked, “I used them all the time when we had company and the grands loved them.”
Bill Fox questioned the timing of the discontinuation. “During holidays?!?!? We eat them year round! Travesty. Amy Fox how will we go on?”
On the petition, Elizabeth Speed said, “Don’t take them away! We need more easy and delicious, not less!! These are essential to early football games!”
Several petition signers noted that it’s not Christmas morning without sausage wraps.
“These sausage rolls are tradition for Christmas and we love them year round! They are my children’s favorite!” posted Jennifer Lindsey.
The easiest way to possibly recreate these rolls would be to thaw frozen biscuit dough and stuff a small Vienna sausage or something similar into each roll. Then you’d put them either in a greased or lined circular pan or lined up individually on a nonstick sheet pan and bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes or so, until the dough is golden brown.
If planning to prepare and immediately bake the sausage rolls, use biscuits in a can. I prefer buttermilk biscuits in the thinner tubes. You don’t need huge biscuits for one little sausage.
While they aren’t the exact same thing, you may want to try the following recipes for Johnsonville’s sausage roll-ups or sausage bread.
The sausage roll-ups use crescent roll dough and have cinnamon and sugar seasoning, making them more of a sweet breakfast treat. You could just go with a good breakfast or small sausage and remove the spices for something a bit more in line with Sister Schubert’s rolls.
Sausage bread is more labor intensive, but it is a good way to expand your culinary adventures.
SAUSAGE ROLL-UPS
Ingredients
1 package (9.6 ounces) Johnsonville Vermont Maple Syrup Fully Cooked Breakfast Sausage Links
2 containers cans (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Maple syrup, honey, jam or preserves, to serve
Directions
■ Preheat oven to 375° degrees.
■ Prepare sausage links according to package directions; set aside.
■ Separate dough into 16 triangles. Place one cooked sausage link onto the wide end of each dough triangle. There will be 2 extra rolls that will not have a sausage link. Bake and enjoy.
■ Roll up each triangle and place on an ungreased baking sheet point side down.
■ In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over roll-ups.
■ Bake for 10-12 minutes.
■ Serve hot with maple syrup, honey, jam or preserves.
Air Fryer Directions
■ In a bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar; set aside.
■ Separate dough into 16 triangles. Place one cooked sausage link onto the wide end of each dough triangle. You will have extra rolls that will not have a sausage link. Air fry and enjoy!
■ Roll up each triangle and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture.
■ Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees.
■ Arrange rolls in a greased air fryer basket; making sure they do not touch. Airfry for 5-6 minutes.
■ Repeat with remaining rolls.
■ Serve with maple syrup, honey, jam or preserves.
SAUSAGE BREAD
Ingredients
2 loaves (1 pound each) frozen white bread dough, thawed
1/2 pound mild pork sausage
1/2 pound bulk spicy pork sausage
1-1/2 cups diced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 large eggs, divided use
2-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
■ Cover dough and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook sausage, mushrooms and onion over medium-high heat until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up sausage into crumbles, 6-8 minutes. Drain. Transfer to a bowl; cool.
■ Stir in two eggs, cheese and seasonings. Roll each loaf of dough into a 16×12-in. rectangle. Spread half of the sausage mixture over each rectangle to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seams to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet.
■ In a small bowl, whisk remaining egg. Brush over tops. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm.
Freeze option: Securely wrap and freeze cooled loaves in foil and place in resealable plastic freezer bags. To use, place foil-wrapped loaf on a baking sheet and reheat in a 450° oven until heated through, 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove foil; return to oven a few minutes longer until crust is crisp.
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