# How can I substitute ground beef for mild or medium sausage?



## rach17 (Dec 31, 2008)

I am making party rye pizzas for new years eve, but I do not eat pork. The last time I made them someone said they were bland. I followed the recipe with Velveeta cheese, Worcester sauce, and ketchup. The only difference was using ground beef instead of Rice's Sausage. What can I add to my ground beef that would have the same impact of the taste that's in mild/medium Rice's sausage? Thanks for your help!:chef:


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Well what does rice's sausage taste like?

In general, add salt and pepper to the ground beef and knead it in well. I'm not sure what kind of spices you might add. If it were Italian, you could add fennel and red pepper flakes. If it were breakfast sausage maybe some sage.


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## rach17 (Dec 31, 2008)

Thats the problem....i don't eat pork so I don't know what Rice's brand mild or medium sausage tastes like. When i read the package it just said "spices" in the ingredients with no details.


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

You can purchase sausage seasoning to use with the beef, or use a sausage recipe with ground beef instead of the pork.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

What does the package say? What kind of sausage is it? Italian? Southern? Breakfast? Cajun?

Googling mild rice's sausage turns up this thread.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

Add S&P, crushed fennel, red pepper flakes, crushed garlic or garlic powder, basil, oregano.... do a search for italian sausage recipe.


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## greyeaglem (Apr 17, 2006)

Mary B has the right flavor profile for Italian style sausage, especially the fennel. You might have better results using ground turkey instead of beef. I often season ground turkey for breakfast sausage just because I like it better than pork.


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

I can remember when Iwas growing up, the price of pork (as well as many other things) went through the roof. One night a week we would eat scrambled eggs with sausage for dinner. My mother, being inventive, decided to substitute ground beef for the pork in the sausage. None of us had an issue since she seasoned it exactly like she would her sausage mix. 

Typically, we do not put garlic basil or oregano in our sausage. It's a simple mixture with fennel being the predominant flavor, behind the meat. The only other ingredients we use are paprika for color (it offers a little to the flavor but not too much), crushed red pepper for spice and and salt. 

The resaon for this is when you start adding other ingredients to the sausage, especially ingredients that are the predominant or supporting flavors in a sauce for pizza or pasta, which basil and oregano are, the sausage doesn't really bring anything to the party and blends into what you are using it in. Just MVHPO.


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