How to cook italian sausage?

[chrisgreaves]

>I must make it through till tomorrow when I can have some!
Why don't you do what i do, and plaster the cat into the bathroom wall until you've eaten?

[timelord]

I have to disagree with not boiling the sausage. For the longest time I only had a stove top and no oven or grill. Now, I am a HUGE fan of good bratwurst (which leaves out Johnsonville, let's not even begin to suggest they know what they are doing). Since I did not have a grill I ended up boiling my brats and had very good results. There were 2 important things I did to make this work. The first was to add spices directly to the water when it started boiling, then I added the brats and cooked for 15 minutes. As I pulled them out of the pan I pricked the skn where they were bloated making sure that the hole was tilted to the pan (usually the liquid squirted in the pan without a major mess).

Now, I should mention that now that I can pan grill and outdoor grill I will not be boiling any more.

[chrisgreaves]

>Since I did not have a grill I ended up boiling my brats and had very good results.
Makes sense, but especially the bit about draining the juices.
I have to say (ahem!) that my Italian Sausage meat sauce has been very well received (and discharged) on two occasions, one of which was a Dutch lady who was married to an Italian, so she ought to know, eh?

And in writing that comment Inoted the leading characters of "Sausage" and "sauce" and start to wonder if the words are related in origin, especially since the one is generally full of the other as juice/sauce.

[Leif]

>> ...wonder if the words are related in origin...

Well, dictionary.com gives the origin of sausage as:
[Origin: 1400–50; late ME sausige < dial. OF sausiche < LL salsīcia, neut. pl. of salsīcius seasoned with salt, deriv. of L salsus salted. See sauce, -itious]

and the origin of sauce as:
[Origin: 1300–50; ME < MF < LL salsa, n. use of fem. of L salsus salted, ptp. of sallere to salt, deriv. of sāl salt]

So the answer is, probably.

And you must know that 'sausage sauce' in French is 'sauce à saucisse'?

[chrisgreaves]

>And you must know that 'sausage sauce' in French is 'sauce à saucisse'?
Well, yes, having eaten there for 2.5 years.
Now, for bonus points "A little bit of sausage sauce in a shallow platter".
Go for it, Leif. I know you can do it!

[Leif]

Un peu de la sauce à saucisse dans un plateau peu profond?

[MickeyMouse]

What brand do you recommend? I usually go to a local butcher for my sausages but have been know to resort to a package of Johnsonville when the need/desire arose.

[timelord]

I am more of a fan of Bratwurst actually, from http://www.carlesbrats.com/. They are about a 2 hour drive from me so I go get them direct, but they say they do mail deliveries too. I have also gotten hot sausage there, but was not thrilled. As for hot italian sausage, I get Giant Eagle brand, they are my local grocery store. I am still trying other brands to see if anything works better. I do not have a local butcher, just grocery stores.

[chrisgreaves]

Phew!
I was looking for a soupcon, at least, if not from a saucepan.

[gdrezek]

I certainly agree with you. Brats got it! <img src=/S/yum.gif border=0 alt=yum width=15 height=15> I've taken to cook brats the old fashioned Wisconsin way (although I've never lived there I've got some good friends from there and I'm sold on the method!). Boil 'em in beer and then grill them over med-high heat, turning every 5 - 7 minutes or so, until they're nice and brown. A hearty ale works best for me, while the brats taste best when boiled in a lager. <img src=/S/cheers.gif border=0 alt=cheers width=30 height=16>

[pccoyle]

I have read somewhere that pricking the skin of sausages allows the juices to run out and they can become dry. According to that source a "good" sausage cooked over a moderate heat should not leak.
Dined on Austrian sausages last night, no skin at all <img src=/S/chef.gif border=0 alt=chef width=19 height=22> Not sure i will repeat that experience <img src=/S/munch.gif border=0 alt=munch width=19 height=17> <img src=/S/heavy.gif border=0 alt=heavy width=40 height=34>

[powderhorndachs]

for these recipes do not use a lid on the pan or things can get mushy also a heavy cast iron fry pan is best to use

for breakfast I have cut links into 4 lengthwise slices, pulled off the skin and slowly cooked them in a lightly oiled pan
then fry an egg flipping to cook the yolk
place egg and sausage in 2 pieces of toast with some cheddar cheese to make sandwich
put sandwich on microwave safe plate and cook for about 15 seconds to melt cheese
remove from microwave and enjoy

or

chop the sausage into small pieces and cook in lightly greased fry pan on medium low, stirring and flipping with spatula
when browned add a little less than the same amount of chopped onion, stir and flip until the onion is cooked
add as much or more shredded potatoes, stir and flip occasionally until the mix is cooked with nice brown to the potatoes
stir in egg mixture of eggs that have been scrambled and amount to about 1/2 to 2/3 volume of the cooked potato mix
cover the new mix with thin cheddar cheese slices to cover
cook over medium low heat until cooked about 2/3 up from bottom
place 6-8 inches under broiler to cook the top of mix and make a light brown crust to some of the cheese
remove from broiler with thick hot pad and handle pan for next 20 minutes carefully as it will be very hot
cut slices and remove with clean spatula and serve topped with tomato salsa
better if you accompany it with warm tortillas

enjoy

maybe I'll post my spagetti sauce that uses a pound of italian sausage and a pound of ground buffalo and other things such as 1/2 bottle of a red rioja and kalamata olives cooking it takes all day but everyone loves it and the cook gets to drink the rest of the wine during the process

[chrisgreaves]

>for breakfast I have cut links into 4 lengthwise slices,
>chop the sausage into small pieces

Thanks for the response. I bought another batch of sausage and will thaw it next week.
Both these recipes rely on dis-assembling the sausage before cooking; the first would appear to reduce the original sausage to a mass of sausage meat.
I have no problem with that, but it highlights my original problem - that of treating Italian sausage as I would English bangers.
Leaving on the lid has been pointed out as a no-no.

My Italian Sauce turned out OK (which is why I bought another couple of pounds of sausage), but I'll try the divide-and-conquer method for breakfast again.

[DaveA]

Cooking 101
"Leaving on the lid has been pointed out as a no-no."
Does NOT allow the steam to leave. If you want a watery meal one leaves the cover on, but to reduce the moisture one must NOT use a cover. <img src=/S/evilgrin.gif border=0 alt=evilgrin width=15 height=15>

[chrisgreaves]

>to reduce the moisture one must NOT use a cover.
Success!
I have, on two separate occasions, "fried" an Italian sausage in a small saucepan, and then diced the cooked article into thin slices to serve with a bit of coleslaw as an appetizer. With great compliments from my dinner guests.

Which I pass on to you (all!)