Sausage McMuffins (Chicken): McDonald’s Copycat

The McDonald’s breakfast menu is one of my guilty pleasures. I particularly like their Sausage McMuffins (even better with egg). But nowadays McDonald’s breakfast ends earlier at 10:30am, and I always end up missing the window. I also noticed their sausage patties are insanely salty of late. It could just be me getting older, and my body is instinctively rejecting salt for the sake of my blood pressure. In any case, I got inspired to make my own.

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The Thought Process

I think this thought started when I discovered Joshua Weissman’s YouTube channel. On his channel he has a series called But Better, where he makes copycat versions of famous fast food items, but better. One after another I started bingeing on his videos, and after looking at his McDonald’s Sausage Egg and Cheese Biscuit recipe I thought, why don’t I borrow elements from it to make my own elevated Sausage McMuffins?

For the sausage, in place of the pork Boston butt I used boneless chicken thighs, including all the fat and skin. In my photos I didn’t do a good job, but the goal is to chop the skin as finely as possible, to prevent them from getting stuck in the grinder. I used dried sage leaves instead of fresh, and substituted Cukup Rasa for the MSG. Mushroom powder is also a great substitute for MSG.

As per the recipe I used 1 slice each of Monterey Jack and cheddar, then used English muffins in place of the biscuits. Just be sure to look for halal-certified or vegetarian versions of these cheeses.

The Outcome

The result? All I can say is, once you’ve tried this version, you’ll never want the original ever again. I made this for brunch for my friends one weekend, and they told me they were forever ruined 😅. Sure, I’d still buy it at the drive-through from time to time for convenience, but this one is so worth the effort. Make the sausages ahead of time and store in the freezer, double the recipe if you like, and take them out on weekends for an indulgent brunch.

For this post, I’m only including the recipe for the sausages. You can make your own English muffins, or just pick some up from the store.

Step by Step

The Sausage

Remove the skin from the chicken thighs, and chop into fine pieces. Cut the chicken meat into 2-inch cubes.

In a large mixing bowl, add the chicken meat, skin, and all the spices.

Mix until thoroughly combined.

Run the seasoned meat pieces through your grinder.

Run the ground meat through the machine again to further emulsify the mixture.

Shape into 10 equal-sized patties.

Arrange the patties on a lined baking sheet until ready to use.

Assembling the Sausage McMuffins

Cook the sausage patties. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

When the pan is hot, working with one patty at a time, add a patty to the pan. Press the patty to about 3/4-inch thickness using a burger press.

Sear for 1 to 2 minutes, then flip. Sear for another 1 to 2 minutes, until cooked. Repeat for the remaining patties.

Assemble the sausage muffins. Fork-split or slice each muffin into half.

Toast in an toaster oven, or an air fryer at 180 degrees C, until lightly browned and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes.

Working with one muffin at a time, on the bottom half of the muffin, place a slice each of the American and Monterey Jack cheeses, and a cooked sausage patty. Top with the remaining half of the muffin. Repeat for the remaining muffins.

Enjoy!