Smoked Sausage Hasselback Barbecue Bites

[maybetoday]

Smoked Sausage Hasselback Barbecue Bites

Ingredients

2 (12 oz) packages smoked sausage link (or other favorite flavored sausage in link form
1 cup favorite barbecue sauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
chopped parsley for garnish, if desired

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Cut sausage link into 3 inch pieces. Partially slice through sausage into 1/2 inch pieces making sure not to cut all the way through the sausage. Each 3" sausage piece should have 4-5 partial slices. This cutting technique will create the Hasselback look.

NOTE: the bottom should still be intact. (For a visual reference, make sure to check out my attached video.)

Place the partially sliced sausage into the prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together barbecue sauce, maple syrup, mustard, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika until well combined.

Using a pastry brush, coat the sausages very well with the sauce. Make sure to use all the sauce.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the sausage are cooked through, crispy on edges, and the sauce has caramelized on the sausages. The sausage slices will have opened up to look like a Hasselback bite.

Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve as an appetizer or as the main course of your bbq, picnic, or dinner. We enjoy with potato salad, cole slaw, and bbq beans. 

link