Pork and Fennel Sausage Rolls

This calls for 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds, plus more for finishing, but only 1 teaspoon is used in Step 2. Am I reading this wrong or are the instructions in Step 2 incorrect?

I get less of a soggy bottom if I put the quarter sheet pan in the oven while it's preheating. That way the rolls go on a hot pan and the bottom starts cooking immediately. Hope this helps!

Looking forward to making these. Developed a taste for sausage rolls while living in Canada, where British things (and I would assume the Aussies inherited these from the Brits) are more common. Resumed at a great British food shop between Woodstock and Saugerties, NY. One hesitation. As much as I love the taste of fennel, I'm not sure about biting down on whole fennel seeds. I think I'll use ground fennel and skip the sprinkle on top.

Clarification, please: The recipe calls for one package of puff pastry (2 sheets) for 4 rolls. Does that mean each sheet should be cut in half? This seems awfully large, but maybe I just don’t have the appetite of an Australian schoolboy.

A pet peeve: WHICH Kosher salt? Diamond Crystal takes almost twice the volume of Morton’s Kosher salt by volume, so almost two teaspoons of DC to equal one teaspoon of Morton’s.

Solution to soggy bottom that worked for me: rack in sheet pan, topped with parchment paper that had been pricked with a knife many times. Fat went through but rolls came up clean (no sticking).

I made these last night and they were delicious. We had an outdoor social distancing event (with a fire pit - this is Wisconsin) and everyone loved them. I put them on a rack for cooking having read about the soggy, greasy bottoms and they were as advertised, i.e., soggy and greasy on the bottom and I lost some of the bottom pastry getting them off the rack. I think I'll grind my own pork next time. Store bought ground pork has too much fat. I cut the 2 pastry sheets into 1/2s for 4.

I'd like to add that this seems so versatile: we're already planning a ground lamb with cumin and red pepper version, with a tzatziki sauce on the side, as well as a ground pork with garlic, 5 spice and ginger, and mushrooms, with a reduced soy drizzle and scallion greens over top. Yum.

Lindy in Sydney, Sorry to burst your patriotic sense of pride in Aussie food, but the sausage roll can trace its ancestry back to the 18th century and were commonplace in England before Australia was being settled by Europeans. Love Australia and its wonderful food!

I've made these twice now - once because they sounded good, the second time because we wanted an encore. I used one of the two sheets in the package each time and rolled it out just a little to get a 6" x 9" rectangle. (That also helped to get rid of the creases.) Cut in four rectangles I rolled my four little sausage shapes and left the ends open. The fennel seeds on the top do get crisp and are perfect.

As soon as I saw the sprinkle on top I was thinking about what great flavor would be added by using Everything But The Bagel seasoning! The combination of sausage, pastry and bagel seasoning is my idea of heaven!

Question: is the mixture supposed to be squeezed and made firm, or is it supposed to be more like meatloaf, and mixed gently with just the fingers or a fork?

I made a roasted red pepper sauce: yogurt, mayo, salt, pepper and the peppers: pureed all and voila! Great tasty sauce!

The correct amount of Fennel seeds in step 2 is definitely 1 tablespoon. Super tasty. Will make again, maybe with half pork and half turkey. Note to myself: Ends should not be sealed.

The recipe contemplates a single sheet of puff pastry weighing one pound or a bit less.