013 / 75 · Small bites, big entrance
Apple-Mustard Sausage Coins on Cabbage Squares
24 small fork-friendly cabbage squares topped with sausage coins · Active 30 min · Cook 35 min · Total 1 hr 10 min
Print recipe · PDFCooked sausage gets a sharp apple-mustard finish on small roasted cabbage bases. These are warm two-bite pieces served with forks, rather than a stack guests must balance in their fingers.
Use a fully cooked sausage
The method reheats a commercial ready-to-eat product. Raw sausage needs a different initial cooking stage and is not substituted on this clock. Cut 24 even coins so every cabbage base receives the same modest amount.
The cabbage is a vegetable base
Keep a few leaf layers together when cutting the squares. They will soften in the oven, so a rigid tray and small forks make more sense than toothpicks. The glaze should cling to the sausage rather than pool underneath the cabbage.
Ingredients
- 350 g/12 oz prepared green cabbage in 24 small layered 4 cm/1½ in squares, about 1 cm/⅜ in thick; reserve loose trimmings separately
- 15 ml olive oil (1 tablespoon)
- 1 g fine salt (about ⅙ teaspoon)
- 480 g/17 oz fully cooked ready-to-eat sausage, cut into 24 coins of 20 g each
- 90 g smooth unsweetened apple butter (about ⅓ cup)
- 30 g Dijon mustard (about 2 tablespoons)
- 15 ml apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon)
- 15 ml water (1 tablespoon)
Set out
Oven, Roasting tray with usable 40 × 30 cm/16 × 12 in base, Knife and board, Small saucepan, Tongs and spatula, Food thermometer, Rigid oven-safe serving tray and small forks, Foil, Refrigerator and shallow containers
Allergens
Mustard. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Coat all 24 cabbage squares with oil and salt on the roasting tray. Keep in one layer and roast 15–20 minutes until the thick leaf parts are almost tender.
- Meanwhile heat apple butter, mustard, vinegar and water in the saucepan, stirring 2–3 minutes until smooth and spoonable. Do not add extra sweet glaze from an unmeasured jar.
- Turn each cabbage base with a spatula and add one sausage coin to each. Spoon the complete glaze over the 24 coins. Return to the oven 10–15 minutes until cabbage is tender and sausage centers reach 165°F/74°C; check several thick coins and extend cooking if needed.
- Transfer every piece to the serving tray, using a spatula beneath the cabbage. Serve with small forks. The 24 pieces are small party tastes, not 24 main meals.
Bring it
Use the rigid covered oven-safe tray and maintain 140°F/60°C or above if taking hot. Alternatively chill and carry at 40°F/4°C or below. Unprotected transport and display share 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C.
Finish at the gathering
For chilled pieces, arrange a 375°F/190°C oven for 15–25 minutes until sausage centers reach 165°F/74°C. Bring the small forks and spatula; do not ask the host to build 24 pieces during service.
Make it yours
Two neat rows on several small trays replenish more easily than one huge warm platter. The apple-cabbage pairing is useful for a winter supper or a casual game-night spread.
Ingredient labels
Sausage may contain milk, wheat, soy or other allergens; read its actual label. Dijon contains mustard. Check the fruit spread too.
A useful detail
The 70-minute total includes cutting and organizing the 24 bases, the 35-minute maximum roast and a few minutes for transfer. Sausage thickness and its initial refrigerator temperature affect reheating time.
Another way
- Use 480 g fully cooked ready-to-eat poultry sausage and keep the 165°F/74°C reheating endpoint.
- Use 90 g smooth pear butter in place of apple butter; choose a plain spread without unlisted additions.
Keep it well
Refrigerate shallow portions promptly at 40°F/4°C or below. Use within 2 days or the sausage package’s earlier opened deadline. Follow the Bring it handling limits and reheat portions to 165°F/74°C; the glaze does not preserve the sausage.