Sausage is a prized pork product among most Amish cooks. You generally won't see Amish shoppers grabbing a package of bulk Bob Evans sausage at the supermarket. Most Amish cooks have their own ready supply of home-sourced sausage, either from their own home-raised hogs or from friends and family. Sausage-making can be a messy job,but the end result is wonderfully flavored meat that soothes and fills.
Sausage is enjoyed with breakfast, crumbled into soups and chilis, and baked into pies like this Homemade Sausage Pie, which is a Mennonite recipe. Imagine enjoying a hearty slice of this on a cold winter’s night as the snow swirls outside and a warm fire crackles inside.
So, then begs the question: how does one freeze and store-sausage without an electric freezer? Well, I have been to Amish settlements where they do an annual “ice cutting”, cutting blocks of ice from frozen ponds, store the ice in an insulated trailer (ice house) and there will still be rock hard ice in the middle of July. I mean, these freezers will keep food frozen year-round. It's pretty impressive.
Other Amish take a more modern approach. While electricity is not allowed, they’ll own gas-powered, off-the-grid freezers and refrigerators. These have really gained in popularity over the past decades.
Still, other Amish go the unusual route of “renting” freezers from non-Amish people a close distance from their house. Sausage for supper? No problem, just hop into the buggy, drive a mile down the road to a non-Amish owned shed fitted with electricity and freezers and help yourself. The rental fees allow the non-Amish person to recoup costs and everyone is happy.
So, there are a variety of ways Amish freeze foods without having direct access to electricity. And, yes, a small number of Amish do embrace electricity and those will have electric freezers.
Making Sausage Pie
This is a delicious recipe that makes an amazing supper.
🙋 FAQ
It's difficult to match the flavor and authenticity of a homemade dough but,yes, you can save yourself some time by using a pre-made pie crust for this recipe if you choose.
Season your potatoes however you want. The recipe, though, just calls for some basic black pepper and salt.
This is where you mix up the dough. This step can be cut in favor of using a pre-made pie crust, but this dough is really easy and this step doesn't take a whole lot of time, so, take your pick!
This is the sausage mixture that will go into the pie. Interestingly, the recipe never really says what kind of sausage to use. We used cut link sausage in this recipe but if I had to do it over again I would have used bulk crumbled sausage, but sometimes you just have to use what you have on hand. It'll turn out either way.
We used a loaf pan and it worked great for this recipe, you also could use a 9 X 13 inch pan. The loaf pan made for a deeper crust, like a deep dish pie, but you can use a 9 X 13 inch pan or a deep loaf pan. The recipe should work either way.
Spoon the sausage mixture into the crust. You could add some mushrooms and someone suggested spinach too, but I'm not sure about sausage and spinach.
Cover the mixture with 8 slices of cheese. This is where you can get creative. You can use sharp cheddar, or a milder colby, or you can mix it up and use mozzarella cheese or provolone cheese. You could also use shredded cheese instead. Whatever your cheese creativity, this is the spot to use it!
Seal in the cheese with the top crust.
Bake for about 45 minutes and you get this golden brown beauty.
A perfect winter meal and soothing sausage for supper.
🥧 Old-Fashioned Sausage Pie
Pie:
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups potatoes, grated
- 1 /2 teaspoon salt
- 1 /4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1 /2 pound sausage
- 2 cups water
- 8 thin slices of cheese
Batter:
- 1 /2 cup water
- 1 /4 cup flour
- 1 /2 cup half and half
Dough:
- 1 1 /2 cups sour cream
- 3 /4 teaspoons soda
- 2 cups flour
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 /2 teaspoon salt
📋 Instructions
- Saute onion in butter.
- Add potatoes, salt, and pepper.
- Cook until soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a separate skillet, brown sausage. Drain. Add water. Bring to a boil and stir in batter.
- Cook until thickened.
- Add potatoes.
- Mix up dough.
- Divide into two pieces.
- Roll dough out and line the bottom of a 9 X13 casserole dish.
- Put in sausage mixture.
- Top with 8 thin slices of cheese and over with remaining dough.
- Bake at 350 until golden brown, 45 - 50 minutes.
🥧 More Amish Meat Pie Recipes
Chicken Pot Pie With Cheddar Biscuits
No-Crust Beef Pie
🖨️ Full Recipe
Old-Fashioned Sausage Pie
Ingredients
Pie Filling
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups potatoes grated
- 1 /2 teaspoon salt
- 1 /4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ pound sausage crumbles or links
- 2 cups water
- 8 thin slices of cheese
Batter
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup half and half
Dough
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 3 /4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Saute onion in butter.
- Add potatoes, salt, and pepper.
- Cook until soft.
- Brown sausage.
- Drain. Add water. Bring to a boil and stir in batter.
- Cook until thickened.
- Add potatoes.
- Mix up dough.
- Divide into two pieces. Roll dough out and line the bottom of a 9 X13 casserole dish.
- Put in sausage mixture.
- Top with 8 thin slices of cheese and over with remaining dough.
- Bake at 350 until golden brown, 45 - 50 minutes.
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