Spicy Sausage Sandwiches

These spicy sausage sandwiches stack a homemade fresh salsa, pan-cooked sausage patties, and melted Colby cheese on toasted English muffins. The salsa is the star: diced jalapeños, banana peppers, sweet red bell pepper, Vidalia onion, corn, and cilantro mixed together raw.

The three different peppers give the salsa layers of heat and flavor. Jalapeños bring the sharp kick, banana peppers add a milder tanginess, and the sweet red bell pepper gives color and crunch with no heat at all. Leave the seeds in for maximum spice or remove them for a tamer version.

Form the bulk sausage into patties and cook in a skillet until no longer pink. Drop a patty onto each muffin half, spoon on the fresh salsa, lay a slice of Colby cheese on top, and close it up.

Make the salsa ahead and refrigerate so the flavors have time to come together.

Chef Tips

• Use hot Italian sausage for even more heat, or mild sausage if the peppers are spicy enough
• Toast the English muffins so they hold up against the juicy salsa without getting soggy
• Size the patties to match the muffins so everything stacks neatly

Variations

• Add a fried egg on top of the sausage for a breakfast sandwich
• Swap Colby for pepper jack cheese for another layer of spice
• Use ciabatta rolls or slider buns instead of English muffins