[1] What’s on your backyard table this summer? How about a sausage-and-beer tasting (photo © Dovetail Brewery | Chicago)?

[2] If you don’t want to do a sausage tasting, how about a condiment bar (photo: The Nibble)?

[3] Andouille and IPA: just one of several sausage-and-beer pairings to look forward to (photo: The Nibble).

[4] Grill different types of sausage for a tasting (photos © Marcus Spiske | Unsplash)?

[5] A tray of sausage rolls, as easy to make as pigs in a blanket. In fact, they’re often made in that miniature size (photo: The Nibble).

Updated June 2026

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of grilling season, and June 5th is National Sausage Roll Day.

While the British sausage roll (photos #5 and #6) has a different structure—sausage meat wrapped in puff pastry and baked, the larger, original version of pigs in a blanket—we’re choosing to express the holiday as “sausage in a roll.”

Thus, along with the chicken, steaks and fish on the grill, how about sausages instead of conventional hot dogs (which are highly processed, finely ground, and homogenous emulsified sausage)?

Better yet, how about a sausage and beer pairing?

You can throw a quite a memorable pairing party with the combinations below.

Below:

> Sausage and beer pairing suggestions.

> 21 ways to use leftover sausage.

> The history of the sausage roll.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The year’s 16 sausage and hot dog holidays.

> The year’s 28+ sandwich holidays.

> The year’s 24 pork holidays.

> The different types of pork and pork cuts: a photo glossary.

> The different types of French sausages.

> All about German bratwurst.

> The different types of beer: a photo glossary.
 
 
SAUSAGE & BEER PAIRINGS

Whether your sausage is chicken, lamb or pork, there’s an excellent pairing of light- or medium-bodied beer .

Lovers of heavy-body beers can substitute a doppelbock for medium-body beers.

Andouille Sausage – Pork Sausage with Spices
PAIRING: A medium-bodied beer such as an ale, IPA or bock beer.

Chicken Andouille – Chicken Sausage with Spices
PAIRING: A light-bodied beer such as a lager or a medium-bodied beer such as an ale.

Chicken Merguez – Chicken Sausage with Harissa
PAIRING: A medium-bodied beer such as an ale, IPA or bock beer.

Chicken Provençale – Chicken Sausage with Spring Vegetables
PAIRING: A medium-bodied beer such as an ale, IPA, or bock beer.

Chicken Sausage with Spinach & Gruyere Cheese
PAIRING: A medium-bodied beer such as an ale, IPA or bock beer.

Merguez Sausage – Lamb Sausage with Spices
PAIRING: A light-bodied beer such as a Pilsner or a medium-bodied beer such as an ale.

Smoked Chicken Sausage with Apples & Calvados
PAIRING: A light-bodied beer such as a lager, Pilsner or wheat beer.
 
Are you hungry yet?

We sure are!
 
 
21 WAYS TO USE LEFTOVER SAUSAGE

Instead of reheating the sausages for the plate or a roll, change the format.

Slice them, dice them, or remove the meat from the casing; serve with:

 
 
THE HISTORY OF THE SAUSAGE ROLL

The modern sausage roll evolved from the ancient Roman and Greek practice of wrapping meats in dough, a technique that continued through the centuries.

By the early 19th century, it had become a cheap, portable street food in early 19th-century London that feed the booming working class. Here’s how this humble meat-and-pastry snack became iconic British fare:

 

[6] A sausage roll from Gregg’s Bakery, a go-to chain in the U.K.
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.