Johnsonville’s New Sausages Are An Unusual Flavor

A little sweetness in our sausages? Don’t mind if we do. Not to be too grandiose about it (but hey, I’m gonna be grandiose, so buckle up), but sausages are a culinary playground: A place where savory, salty, herby, and sweet can come together in one wrapped-up, elongated package – and that last element makes all the difference. Maple breakfast sausages, chicken apple sausages – you name it, I like it. 

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So I’m cautiously intrigued by Johnsonville’s new sweet-tinged sausages, which go in a slightly less travelled direction: Into the berry world. And they have a lot of people questioning whether they’ll actually be any good or not. Let’s unpack. 

Johnsonville Blueberry Breakfast Sausages

Yesterday, the ever-faithful new product tracker @candyhunting (via @snackolator) alerted me, and the world, to the real-life existence of Johnsonville’s new Blueberry Breakfast Sausages. These slim links are made with pork and real blueberries, with @candyhunting noting that the latter might cause some problems straight off the bat. “That dark spot in the sausage third up on the right isn’t mold, it’s a blueberry,” they said of the picture they posted of the slim links – and I have to admit it does kinda look like these have been left in the fridge for a few days too long…

But I digress. Johnsonville Blueberry Breakfast Sausages contain no nitrates or nitrites and no artificial flavors or colors. They aren’t quite as simple as just pork and blueberries, though: According to the ingredient list on Johnsonville’s website, they also contain corn syrup, brown sugar, and dextrose, as well as corn starch and “natural flavors.” Everything about these is screaming sweet, sweet, sweet. 

And What Do The People Think? 

Well, the people are…not altogether delighted. @candyhunting’s comment section was hit pretty much immediately with a fairly negative sentiment from their followers. “Yuck,” “A new low,” and vomiting emojis were just a few of the choice reactions to these sausages. A couple of other people also pointed out that blueberries in sausages aren’t a new concept, which is very true: Several brands make their own blueberry sausages, and Jimmy Dean has its Blueberry Pancakes & Sausage On A Stick (which, once again — sorry! — look ever so slightly like they’ve sprouted mold).

Whether the initial mixed reaction to these sausages will be backed up by mixed responses to its actual taste has yet to be seen; I haven’t been able to find any reviews of them just yet. If you want to be the first to report back, though, you can find them at Hy-Vee.