Sausage Patties — The Fire We Keep Burning for the Ones We Love

July 2023. I am 64 years old. 13th annual sickle cell fundraiser, $16,500, gene therapy testimony. This is one of the weeks that marks itself on the calendar of a life — not every week does, most weeks are the quiet kind, the working kind, the weeks that hold the world together without anyone noticing. But this week noticed itself. This week demanded attention. And I gave it, the way I give attention to everything that matters: fully, with both hands, with the understanding that attention is the rarest gift a man can give.

The family gathered around this moment the way smoke gathers around a shoulder — drawn by the heat, filling every space, changing the flavor of everything it touches. Rosetta, Walter Jr., Denise (legacy) — these are the people who showed up, who always show up, because showing up is what Johnsons do, and the showing up is the love, and the love is the showing up, and the cycle doesn't break because we don't let it break.

I cooked, as I cook for everything that matters. The smoker received the news the way it receives all news — with heat and patience, transforming raw ingredients into something that feeds and comforts and says, without words, that someone cares enough to spend hours tending a fire for you. Uncle Clyde's steel drum has held every Johnson milestone in its smoke — weddings and funerals and birthdays and ordinary Saturdays — and this week it held another one, and the holding was steady, and the smoke rose into the Memphis sky, and the sky received it the way the sky receives everything: openly, without judgment, with infinite capacity for what rises.

Rosetta was beside me through it all, as she has been for decades, the constant in every variable, the harmony beneath every melody. She said what needed saying and didn't say what didn't, and the balance between her words and her silence is the rhythm of our marriage, which is the rhythm of my life, which is the rhythm of the smoke: slow, steady, transformative, enduring.

Whenever we fire up Uncle Clyde’s steel drum for something that matters — and this week mattered more than most — Rosetta and I always make sure the full spread is there, right down to the sausage patties that have anchored our family tables since before the kids were old enough to know what a fundraiser was. There’s something grounding about seasoning meat by hand, pressing it into shape, and laying it down on the heat while the smoker does its slow work in the background — it keeps your hands busy when your heart is full. These patties aren’t fancy, but they don’t need to be; they just need to be there, the way the people who love you need to be there, showing up and holding steady.

Sausage Patties

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 8 patties

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground pork (80/20 blend preferred)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil or neutral cooking oil

Instructions

1. Mix the seasoning. In a large bowl, combine the salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, dried sage, and brown sugar. Stir to evenly blend the spices.
2. Season the pork. Add the ground pork to the bowl. Using clean hands, gently work the seasoning into the meat until evenly distributed. Do not overwork the mixture or the patties will become dense.
3. Form the patties. Divide the seasoned pork into 8 equal portions. Press each portion into a round patty roughly 3/4 inch thick. Make a small shallow indent in the center of each patty with your thumb to help them cook flat.
4. Preheat the pan. Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the oil and allow it to shimmer before adding the patties — do not crowd the pan; work in batches if needed.
5. Cook the patties. Place patties in the hot pan and cook undisturbed for 5–6 minutes on the first side until a deep brown crust forms. Flip once and cook an additional 4–5 minutes until cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 160°F.
6. Rest and serve. Transfer cooked patties to a plate lined with paper towels. Let them rest 2–3 minutes before serving so the juices redistribute. Serve alongside eggs, grits, or as part of a full family spread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 13g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 1g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 320mg