How to Prepare Sausage Dishes

Heat the pan on the stove. Turn the stove to medium heat. Place a sturdy pan on the stove and let it heat for about 1-2 minutes.

• When the pan starts to smoke slightly or sizzles upon adding a drop of water, you’re ready to fry the sausages.

Add a small amount of oil to the pan. Sausages contain a fair amount of fat, so you don’t need to use too much oil. However, the fat inside sausages takes a few minutes to render out, which means they might stick to the pan and burn initially. To prevent this, coat the pan with a spoonful of cooking oil (such as canola oil) to create a non-stick surface before the sausage fat melts.

• Be cautious with olive oil. Olive oil has a lower smoke point compared to other cooking oils, meaning it will start to smoke at lower temperatures. While not dangerous, this can trigger smoke alarms and slightly affect the sausage’s flavor.

Place the sausages in the hot pan. Carefully arrange each sausage in the pan, ensuring they have enough space and don’t touch each other. This allows them to cook evenly on all sides. If you have many sausages, you may need to cook them in batches.

• If the sausage casings are stuck together, separate them with a knife before placing them in the pan.

Cook until the sausages are evenly browned. Initially, let the sausages sit undisturbed in the pan. Flip them after 2 minutes. Continue turning them every few minutes until they are evenly browned all over. Depending on their size, this process may take 10-15 minutes.

• Once browned, you can cut one open to check. The sausage should be firm, fully cooked, with no pink color, and the juices should run clear. If not, continue cooking.
• Use long tongs to protect your hands from hot oil splatters.

Flatten or slice the sausages to reduce cooking time. Waiting for sausages to cook thoroughly can test your patience. Fortunately, there are ways to speed up the process:

• Slice the sausages in half. Use a sharp knife to cut them lengthwise, then open them like a butterfly and place them cut-side down in the pan. Cook until evenly browned.
• Alternatively, flatten them for quicker cooking. Press down with a heavy skillet or pan to flatten the sausages before frying.

If needed, steam the sausages after frying. Some sausages, especially larger ones, take a long time to cook through. If you’re concerned about overcooking or burning them, try this method. Prepare a lid that fits your frying pan.

• Fry the sausages as usual until they are browned on the outside but still raw inside.
• Add half a cup of water to the hot pan. Cover it with the lid. The steam will build up inside, evenly heating the sausages.
• Reduce the heat. Steam for 5-10 minutes, then carefully remove the lid to avoid steam burns. Fry for a few more minutes to restore the crispiness of the sausage casing.

Prepare the grill. Grilling sausages is similar to frying them but not exactly the same. First, light the grill and let it heat up gradually. If using a gas grill, set it to medium-high heat. If using charcoal, light a sufficient amount of briquettes and wait until they are covered with ash and glow bright orange.

• If you’re using charcoal and unsure how to start, you can refer to the article Lighting a Charcoal Grill for more details.

Set up the "hot" and "cool" zones on the grill. Once the grill is hot, you’ll need to make some adjustments. Create a hot zone on one side and reduce the heat on the other. Follow these steps to achieve this:

• For a gas grill, simply turn down the heat on one side.
• For a charcoal grill, use tongs to move most of the hot coals to one side, leaving a thin layer on the other. Carefully place the grill grate over the hot zone.

Sear the sausages on the hot side of the grill. Place each sausage on the hot side of the grill, spacing them slightly apart to ensure even cooking. Similar to pan-frying, if the sausage casings are stuck together, separate them with a knife before grilling.

• Flip the sausages after 2 minutes. The underside should be dark brown but not burnt. Sear the other side for about 1 minute before moving to the next step.

Move the sausages to the cooler side of the grill. Once the sausages are evenly browned, use long tongs or a fork to transfer them to the cooler side. Continue cooking, but now you won’t have to worry about them burning as you would on the hot side. Grill for about 10 minutes, flipping occasionally.

• As mentioned earlier, sausages are done when they are evenly browned, firm, and no longer pink. The juices should run clear.

Fill the pan with water until it covers three-quarters of the sausages. While you can use plain water, it won't enhance the flavor of the sausages. Instead, consider using a mixture of water and your favorite liquid ingredients. For instance, broth, wine, beer, or tomato sauce can infuse the sausages with rich flavors during boiling.

• Boiling doesn't create a crispy exterior but helps retain moisture and fat inside. This method is ideal for sausages with a smooth texture made from ground meat, fat, and water, such as Bratwursts, Hot dogs, Frankfurters, Weisswurst, Knockwurst, and Serdelki.

Bring the water to a boil. Set the stove to high heat since you're heating a large amount of water. It may take a few minutes for the water to reach boiling point.

Place the sausages into the boiling water. To avoid splashing hot water, use tongs or long chopsticks to gently lower each sausage into the pot. Avoid dropping them from a height. Once all sausages are in, reduce the heat to a simmer.

Wait for the sausages to cook. Cover the pot with a lid. If the sausages are pre-cooked (like most hot dogs), boiling them for about 10 minutes until evenly heated is sufficient. For raw sausages, boil for up to 30 minutes before removing. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking.

• Boiled sausages will look different from grilled or fried ones. They won't have a brown crust but will appear firm and evenly colored, with no pink meat visible. Some sausages may have a less appealing grayish hue, which is fine as long as they're fully cooked.

Another method is pan-frying the sausages until they turn brown. Boiled sausages can be eaten immediately. However, if you prefer a crispy outer layer, you can pan-fry them. Heat a pan, add a tablespoon of oil, and fry the sausages evenly on both sides until they achieve a golden-brown color.

• Many sausages from Central and Eastern Europe are typically eaten after boiling. However, they also taste delicious when fried, so don’t hesitate to try this method.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. While waiting for the oven to heat up, you can move on to the next step.

Prepare the baking tray. There are several ways to bake sausages in the oven — the simplest is placing them directly on a metal baking tray. However, for better results, try this method to allow excess fat to drip away, similar to grilling:

• Line the tray with aluminum foil. This makes cleanup easier.
• Place a metal wire rack on the foil-lined tray. Ensure the rack is tight enough to prevent sausages from falling through.

Arrange the sausages on the rack. As with other cooking methods, space the sausages about 2.5 cm apart to ensure even cooking. If the casings are stuck together, separate them to spread the sausages out properly.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Place the sausages in the center of the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip them once and continue baking for another 10 minutes.

• Use long tongs to handle the hot sausages, as they can sometimes be slippery and difficult to grip.

Check for doneness before serving. After baking, the sausages should resemble those cooked on a grill. The exterior should be evenly browned and crispy, while the inside remains moist and firm, with no pink meat and clear juices.

• If the sausages appear undercooked, bake them in additional 5-minute intervals until fully cooked. Larger and thicker sausages may require more time.

• Some sausages (often those found in supermarkets) come with cooking instructions on the packaging that may differ from the methods in this article. However, there’s no need to worry. In countries like the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, sausages are safe to consume when prepared according to the package directions, such as frying, grilling, or BBQ oven baking.
• Perfectly cooked sausages should have an internal temperature of 60-66°C. If you have a meat thermometer, use it to check if the sausages are fully cooked.
• When frying sausages, you can use the leftover fat in the pan to cook other foods (e.g., vegetables, sliced bread, etc.). These dishes will absorb some of the sausage’s flavor.