This Puff Pastry Sausage Braid is an easy and impressive looking side or appetizer. Puff pastry dough is rolled into cheese, rosemary, sesame seeds, and salt, and wrapped around a whole turkey sausage. When dipped into a Beer Cheese Sauce made with American wheat ale, cheddar, and smoked Gouda, you get a savory, salty, sweet n’ smoky explosion of flavor.

Today’s post is sponsored by Jennie-O, who supplied me with the Hardwood Smoked Turkey Sausage. But as usual, all these opinions are my own.  Jump to Recipe

Puff Pastry Sausage Braid

I laughed at how Christmas-like this ended up looking but oh well. It’s super tasty and easy to make even though it looks fancy.

You just need 1 whole turkey sausage, 1 puff pastry sheet, Parmesan cheese, smoked Gouda, rosemary, sesame seeds, salt, and you are in business. And don’t worry. There’s no need to go practice braiding on Barbie’s hair. I called it a braid because it sounded better than “wrap the strips of dough around the turkey sausage.”

But if you do want a challenge, check out this Puff Pastry Tutorial to learn how to make it from scratch. I used store bought puff pastry this time, but it’s actually fun to make when you have time.

Like the Puff Pastry Twists, you simply roll the dough onto a herb and cheese mixture, sprinkling and folding once to get some flavor in-between the layers.

I cut the dough into 1 and ½ inch strips and then wrapped them around the turkey sausage. When you wrap, the ends usually end up on the inside or towards the bottom of the sausage, so it’s easy to pinch the next strip on without it being too noticeable.

Beer Cheese Sauce

One of my good friends always passes by my house on the way back from Bend, Oregon, where her sister is a brewer at Deschutes Brewery. She always comes bearing gifts and this time she brought an American Wheat Ale.

The hop flavor is subtle and it’s a lighter beer that has some citrus flavor to it. When heated it starts smelling like peaches. I wanted to blend those flavors with a smoked Gouda to get a sweet n’ smoky taste. Despite the smoke, I’ve always felt Gouda is one of the sweetest cheeses.

Cheddar cheese is still the base and I included some honey and Dijon mustard to help along those sweet and tangy flavors. Once again I packed everything up and went to Heretic Brewing in Fairfield to catch up with friends.

And because this makes a lot of sauce, guess what that means? Leftovers! Check out this Leftover Cheese Sauce Broccoli Soup that you can make in 10 minutes.

I hope all your Labor Day Weekends went well. Did any of you do anything different and fun, or did you just enjoy an extra day of rest?

Other Jennie-O Inspired Recipes

Kimchi Eggs in Hell with Turkey Sausage and Feta

Roasted Cherry Crostini with Goat Cheese and Smoked Turkey

Other Pub Inspired Recipes

Fudgy Beer Brownies

Puff Pastry Twists with IPA Beer Cheese Dip + Tutorial

3 Bean and Quinoa Vegetarian Chili

5 from 3 votes

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Puff Pastry Sausage Braid with Beer Cheese Sauce

This Puff Pastry Sausage Braid is an easy and impressive looking side or appetizer. Especially when dipped into a Beer Cheese Sauce made with American wheat ale, cheddar, and smoked Gouda for a sweet n’ smoky explosion of flavor.

Course Sides and Snacks

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 6

Author Megan Wells

Ingredients

Puff Pastry Sausage Braid

• 2/4 cups Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup smoked Gouda, grated
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 1 (14 ounce) package Jennie-O Hardwood Smoked Turkey Sausage

Beer Cheese Sauce

• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 12 ounces American wheat ale wheat beer, blonde ale, pale ale, or pilsner
• 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 cups smoked Gouda cheese, grated
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• pinch Morton Kosher Salt, to taste

Instructions

Puff Pastry Sausage Braid

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2. Mix together the grated cheese, rosemary, and sesame seeds. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the mixture onto the countertop in a rough 5 by 9-inch rectangle. 

3. Roll out the puff pastry sheet onto the cheese and herb mixture until it’s 1/4 of an inch thick. If you are using frozen puff pastry, wait until it is thawed, unfold it and roll it a little to press the cheese into the dough. 

4. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup of the cheese and herb mixture on top of the puff pastry sheet. Roll it out until it is 1/8 of an inch thick. 

5. Sprinkle with a 1/2 teaspoon of coarse sea salt. 

6. Fold the puff pastry sheet in half, turn the dough so that the seam is on your left, and sprinkle with another 1/4 cup of the cheese and herb mixture. 

7. Roll out the puff pastry sheet until it is 1/8 of an inch thick and 10 inches long. 

8. Sprinkle with another 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt. 

9. Cut the puff pastry sheet into 1.5 inch thick strips of dough. 

10. Remove the Jennie-O Turkey Sausage from the package and pat it dry with a paper towel. Place it on the prepared baking sheet. 

11. Starting from one end, wrap the strips of dough around the sausage.  

12. Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. 

13. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower the heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the puff pastry is a deep golden color, puffed and crispy, and feels dry to the touch. 

14. Let the braid cool briefly on the baking sheet until it’s firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack. 

Beer Cheese Sauce

1. Toss the grated cheese with 2 tablespoons cornstarch. 

2. Heat the beer and milk on medium heat. Once it’s hot, stir in the cheese until completely melted. Add more cornstarch until the desired consistency is reached. This cheese sauce is supposed to be pourable at room temperature.

3. Stir in the honey, mustard, and salt and stir. Pour the cheese sauce into a container and serve hot or at room temperature. If you put the sauce in the fridge it might slightly solidify. If so, just put it in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds and stir until it's the consistency you want.