Everything You Need to Know About Cooking Sausages
Versatile sausages can inspire simple dishes and lend themselves well to festive meals. Classic, smoked or spicy, whatever your preference, you still want to yield the best results when cooking them. Check out our tips to ensure they’re juicy and perfectly browned each and every time.
Types of Sausages
These charcuterie products are made from casings filled with a blend of seasoned ground meat (pork, beef, poultry, lamb or game). They fall into four main categories:
1. Fresh sausages. These are made with raw meat and are perfect for summer grilling:
- Toulouse
- Italian sausages
- Chipolata
- Merguez
2. Pre-cooked sausages simply need to be reheated or grilled and can also be eaten cold:
- Strasbourg sausage
- White or blood pudding
- Frankfurt sausages
- Mortadella
3. Smoked sausages like hot dogs, which are part of this category, are pre-cooked, but other varieties of this type are also available raw. The flavour of these sausages is enhanced through a smoking process.
4. Dried sausages are ready to eat and don’t need to be cooked. They’re air-dried for 2 to 3 weeks and are perfect for appetizers:
- Dry sausage
- Dry chorizo
- Salami
- Sopressata
Cooking methods
- On the grill
Sausages are a summer meal must when cooked on the grill. Use indirect heat for even cooking and more flavour.
- Place the sausages on the unlit part of the grill and not directly over the flames. This will keep them from charring on the outside before getting fully cooked on the inside.
- Turn them regularly so that they’re evenly browned on all sides. Doing so prevents the casings from bursting, which would let the juices escape and dry out the sausage.
Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes, depending on sausage size.
- In a pan
This popular method is quick and easy and the result is just delicious.
- Heat the pan over medium heat without adding any fat and wait until it’s hot before adding the sausages.
- Turn the sausages regularly on all sides to ensure even cooking and preserve the casing and the juices.
Cooking time: 12 to 15 minutes
Resting time after cooking?
You should ideally let the sausages rest for 2 to 5 minutes after cooking to allow the juices to redistribute and the residual heat to finish the cooking process. This will make the sausages more tender and juicy.
- In the oven
Roasting sausages in the oven is the ideal cooking method when preparing a large quantity and you want to avoid grease splatters on your stovetop.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Place the sausages on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and then put them in the oven.
- Be sure to turn the sausages halfway through cooking.
Cooking time: 25 to 30 minutes
- Steaming or boiling in water
Steaming is a gentle cooking method often used to reheat blood sausages and other delicate sausages with thin casings. Boiling in water is also a simple way to reheat sausages or to pre-cook them evenly.
- Poach the sausages in simmering (not boiling) water for 5 to 20 minutes. The cooking time will vary depending on the size and type (pre-cooked or raw) of the sausage.
- Preheat the grill to high heat if you want to brown sausages that have been poached in water. The grill marks add flavour.