How to cook sausage without a gas grill?

[Jennifer Murphy]

I love sausage, but no longer have a grill. I tried cooking them in the microwave, in the oven, and boiling them, but the skins are too tough to chew. I can fry them in a frying pan on the stove, but that splatters all over.

Is there a way to cook sausage so that the skins are saoftened like they are on the grill but without the splatter?

These are mostly fully cooked sausages like bratwurst.

Thanks

 

[dcSaute]

I have a large and a small spatter shield for the fry pans

multiple styles avail:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=spatter+...x=spatter+s,aps,132&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_9

the other trick is to use (wood/bamboo) skewers inserted to keep them 'straight' - which makes pan frying much easier. you'll need pliers/snippers to cut the skewers to length...)
looks like




ps: bratwurst are typically not 'fully cooked'

 

[jennyema]

Skillet on the stove with a splatter screen. You can buy them at the Dollar Store.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I have a large and a small spatter shield for the fry pans

multiple styles avail:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=spatter+...x=spatter+s,aps,132&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_9

Great, thanks. So the only way to make the skins edible is some sort of frying, right?

the other trick is to use (wood/bamboo) skewers inserted to keep them 'straight' - which makes pan frying much easier. you'll need pliers/snippers to cut the skewers to length...)
looks like
View attachment 52129

Now that makes a lot of sense. And it makes the splatter screen more usable. I was cutting them into 2-3 pieces so they were less curved and I could turn them more easily. But I had to hold them in place so they wouldn't roll over.

Why are sausages curved, anyway? Can't they make them straight?

Would those skewers be reusable?

What the lowest temperature I can use?

ps: bratwurst are typically not 'fully cooked'

Right. I thought I had bratwurst, but I just checked, it's bangers. When I took them out of the freezer, I didn't look closely. They just looked like bratwurst.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Place your daisages onto bamboo skerwers, as stated by the others. Put them into a lightly oild, cold , heavy pan with.a couple tbs. water. Cover, and place on the stove over medium heat. Cook for 4 minutes. Uncover, and flip them. Cover and cook 4 more minutes. Remove the cover, and place inder your broiler. Broil amother three minutes per side to brown the skins. Take care to avoid piecing the skins to retain the juces inside your sausages. Remove and place on paper towels to drain. Serve piping hot.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[FrankZ]

There's a lot of things you can use a sous vide cooker for that are good, sausage is made for sous vide. Once they are done you can sear them with a torch.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

Place your daisages onto bamboo skerwers, as stated by the others. Put them into a lightly oild, cold , heavy pan with.a couple tbs. water. Cover, and place on the stove over medium heat. Cook for 4 minutes. Uncover, and flip them. Cover and cook 4 more minutes. Remove the cover, and place inder your broiler. Broil amother three minutes per side to brown the skins. Take care to avoid piecing the skins to retain the juces inside your sausages. Remove and place on paper towels to drain. Serve piping hot.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Won't the skins be pretty well browned from the frying pan? Maybe I had the pan too hot, but mine came out almost black. I had it on about 3-4.

What kind of oil? I was using olive oil which seemed to work pretty well.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

There's a lot of things you can use a sous vide cooker for that are good, sausage is made for sous vide. Once they are done you can sear them with a torch.

Really? We love our sous vide. What temperature do you set it to?

I've never used a torch and don't have one. I suppose that's not the same thing as the little "torch" we use to light birthday candles.

Probably just a quick blast?

 

[FrankZ]

Really? We love our sous vide. What temperature do you set it to?

I've never used a torch and don't have one. I suppose that's not the same thing as the little "torch" we use to light birthday candles.

Probably just a quick blast?

140-160.

I use a butane kitchen torch, or you could sear in hot cast iron.

 

[Andy M.]

You can also cook them under a broiler in the oven/toaster oven.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Won't the skins be pretty well browned from the frying pan? Maybe I had the pan too hot, but mine came out almost black. I had it on about 3-4.

What kind of oil? I was using olive oil which seemed to work pretty well.

In the technique I posted, the water in the pan with the cover on turns to steam. There isn't enough water to make the skins too soft, just enough to steam the sausages until cooked through. Once the cover is removed, the water evaporates, and allows the sausages to brow through the mallard reaction. If you want to use a broiler, or grill to brown your sausages, that's a great flavor as well.

As for oil, olive oil will work. However, extra virgin olive oil isn't suitable for frying due to its low smoke point. A more refined olive oil is needed. Other cooking oils that will work include sunflower, safflower, peanut, avocado, and corn oil. Common vegetable oil is usually made from soybean, which can be an issue for those with soybean sensitivity. I don't use Canola oil, as I'm not convinced that it's all that healthy. But that's a personal choice.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

I'm tired of hearing about EVOO's supposedly low smoke point. Sure, there are some oils that have higher smoke points. But, for regular cooking, even for most deep frying, it's high enough. It's 190°C - 374°F.

 

[dragnlaw]

I'm not understanding why people would pay the extra for OO, whether cold-pressed, EV or anything in between for any kind of frying.

 

[Just Cooking]

I'm not understanding why people would pay the extra for OO, whether cold-pressed, EV or anything in between for any kind of frying.

For me,its mainly habit.

I seldom fry anything now but, I like EVOO for sauteing veggies, shrimp, dressings, etc.

For everything else, I use plain veggie oil.

Ross

 

[taxlady]

I'm not understanding why people would pay the extra for OO, whether cold-pressed, EV or anything in between for any kind of frying.

If one wants a cooking / food oil that isn't chemically extracted, but pressed, then EVOO is the most readily available. EVOO (and I imagine virgin OO) are usually the cheapest of those mechanically extracted oils. At least that's my experience.

 

[CraigC]

Use a charcoal grill if you don't have a gas grill. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Since nobody else answered, bamboo skewers are not reusable. Buy some metal ones if you want to reuse. They do come in different sizes.

When you stuff sausage, it naturally curves as you fill it when you are doing long runs. We filled and then twisted to make links. I'll bet the commercial companies do the same, except using machines.

Sure, you can make straight sausage, VERY short and skinny links, twisting as you go, but you'd have to do that yourself as I sincerely doubt commercial companies are going to make anything like that, except maybe some of the breakfast sausage companies.

 

[LVDeb]

We installed the gas grill in the kitchen and got rid of the stove/oven. Problem solved.

 

[thisamericanplate]

I love sausage, but no longer have a grill. I tried cooking them in the microwave, in the oven, and boiling them, but the skins are too tough to chew. I can fry them in a frying pan on the stove, but that splatters all over.

Is there a way to cook sausage so that the skins are saoftened like they are on the grill but without the splatter?

These are mostly fully cooked sausages like bratwurst.

Thanks

Absolutely, there are methods you can use to cook your sausages so that the skins become softer and not tough to chew. Here's a method that combines stove-top and oven cooking, which should help you achieve the desired texture:

Stove-Top and Oven Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large, oven-safe skillet (preferably non-stick or cast iron), add the sausages and enough water to cover them halfway. This helps to render out some of the fat and plump up the sausages, while also keeping the casing from getting too tough.
3. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat on the stove. Let the sausages cook until the water has almost completely evaporated.
4. Once the water has evaporated, add a bit of oil to the pan (about 1-2 tablespoons). This will help to brown the sausages and add flavor.
5. Continue cooking the sausages on the stove for a few minutes until they start to brown on one side.
6. Turn the sausages and place the skillet in the preheated oven. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the sausages are cooked through and browned on all sides.

This method should result in sausages with a softer casing, similar to what you'd achieve on a grill. The initial simmering in water helps to soften the casing, while the oven baking allows for even cooking and browning without the splatter you'd get from frying.

Remember to always check that your sausages have reached the recommended internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit for pork, beef, or veal sausages, or 165 degrees Fahrenheit for turkey and chicken sausages.

Enjoy your bratwurst!

 

[thymeless]

Sausages are curved because they're stuffed into intestine casings and so the natural curve of the intestine is replicated with the stuffed sausage.

Sausages stuffed in collagen casings can be straight.