Dutch sausage rolls or saucijzenbroodjes are popular savory snacks featuring flaky, buttery puff pastry wrapped around a tender and flavorful ground meat filling. Bake them up as a snack or include them as part of a simple lunch. They're also perfect for picnics and parties.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl add the ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and mix just until combined. Divide into 4 equal portions.
Unfold or unroll each of the puff pastry sheets onto a lightly floured surface (work with 1 pastry sheet at a time if you have limited work space). Cut each rectangular sheet lengthwise in half to create 2 strips from each puff pastry sheet (4 strips total between both sheets).
Take each portion of the ground beef mixture and shape it into a long sausage shape. Place each beef log off center on each puff pastry strip so it runs down the length of it.
Beat the egg and water together to make the egg wash and brush a little down the length of each puff pastry strip on both sides of the sausage log.
Fold each pastry sheet over to enclose the sausage mixture, carefully pressing the edges together to seal the length. The sealed length should be to the side of the sausage roll (not on top). Press the tines of a fork down the sealed edge to create a crimped pattern and further seal the roll together. Repeat with the remaining puff pastry strips and meat filling.
Trim the edges if desired to square them off and remove excess pastry. Cut each roll into 4 equal sized pieces, yielding a total of 16 sausage rolls. If desired, make 2 slits on top of each sausage roll to create a decorative look.
Place the sausage rolls on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and evenly space them out. Chill the pan of sausage rolls in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes just to firm up the dough before baking.
Brush egg wash over the portioned sausage rolls. Bake until the meat is cooked through and the pastry is crisp and golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. These are best served warm or hot.
Notes
Once cool, wrap leftover sausage rolls in aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To refresh the puff pastry, reheat in a 375°F oven or toaster oven for about 10 minutes or until the sausage rolls are crisp and heated through. The longer you store them, the more the puff pastry may soften and lose its crispness.
The Worcestershire sauce is listed as optional because it's not super traditional in this recipe, however it's a great complement to beef and I highly recommend including it to give these sausage rolls even more flavor.
Packages of puff pastry can vary in size. You'll need about 1 pound of puff pastry, but if your puff pastry package is larger like the 18.3-ounce boxes from Trader Joe's, you can still use the entire package. Your saucijzenbroodjes will simply have a slightly greater ratio of pastry to meat, as mine do. You could also trim the excess, but that feels wasteful to me.
You may shape the "sausage" filling into a log on another surface or by squeezing it carefully between the palms of your hands until it creates a long rope. If necessary, you may shape each one into a few pieces (for ease) and arrange them on your puff pastry side by side so the ends are touching.