There seems to be a trend among manufacturers of frozen breakfast foods (as well as other “convenience” breakfast foods) of having the “maple syrup” flavor baked directly into the pancakes (or waffles, or French toast, or whatever the “bread” component of the dish happens to be)… my guess is that this trend was sparked by the iconic McGriddle sandwich from McDonald's, and for some reason, every product that tries to copy that flavor seems to fall a bit short. I wonder what it is that makes that flavor so difficult to imitate? (Hmm, top-secret McGriddle technology… sounds scary!) Sounds like this product is another one of these “McGriddle imitators” that isn't quite up to the standard set by the original in terms of flavor. Then again, I never expect greatness from a Jimmy Dean product; I've always found the brand to be pretty disappointing.

Too much “filler” (usually in the form of gross pockets of gristle) is one of the most common problems that can ruin the sausage in “mass-market” breakfast meals… yes, I know that sausage by definition has quite a bit of fat in it, but a good quality sausage should have a decent amount of actual meat in it, rather than having just a *tiny* bit of meat overwhelmed by large quantities of fat and other fillers. This problem is what completely ruins the taste of a lot of breakfast sausage for me… which is unfortunate, because when it comes to this type of breakfast meal, I *always* prefer sausage over bacon (I know, I know, I'm a freak… I'll admit it: I hate bacon), and all too often the quality of the sausage turns out to be disappointing. Yes, pouring syrup over the sausage can help a little (is there any breakfast food that *isn't* improved by having syrup poured over it?), but it isn't enough to completely redeem a low-quality breakfast sausage. Nothing can completely mask the nasty texture and flavor of cheap, greasy, gristly sausage.

All in all, this sounds like a decent meal in *concept*, albeit not anything new or innovative (then again, pancakes and sausages are a classic breakfast combination… had the quality been there, why would you *need* to mess with a classic?)… but as usual, it seems that the Jimmy Dean brand fell short in terms of quality. The biggest disappointment here is that other frozen food manufacturers have shown that it is possible to make decent frozen pancakes and sausages… they will never be as good as a “made from scratch” breakfast meal, of course, but the frozen pancake/sausage breakfast meals can still be much better than this one. They could have done better. I mean the (sadly no longer in existence) So Lean brand pulled off making a tasty breakfast sausage product (even though it was served in a sandwich rather than with pancakes), and it was even somewhat healthy! If they could do that, there's just no excuse for all of the mediocre frozen breakfast sausage products out there.

As always, keep up the great work… I will continue to vote for you daily in the Podcast Awards!

Oh crap. The calories suck. As do microwave mandatory foods that I want to eat. Husband keeps the microwave in the garage to make for difficult access. This is the rule ever since one of the kids caught the last microwave on fire by forgetting to add water to the Oodles of Noodles. Dammit!

thanks for this entertaining review

I wrap my sausage in bacon since sausage isn't fatty enough for me.

Favorite thing on my sausage is over-grilled peppers and onions that have been on the griddle just a tad too long served outdoors on Yawkey Way on a steamy July afternoon with a cold Coors Light in a 16oz plastic cup in the opposite hand. Good luck in the Podcast Awards, bro. I represented as often as I could remember to…

Ok I am all about the shortcut in the morning. 2 lunches to make and 3 breakfasts and did I mention I am not a morning person? So yeah, shortcuts are lifesavers.
My new favorite though are these spray-on organic pancakes from Batter Blaster. Ridiculously easy and they taste good. The kids will eat them every time without a bit of grumbling.
Win-win!