What can I make with sausage?
Sausage is the ingredient most weeknight dinners get built around, and it rewards a little technique more than a long ingredient list. Below are recipes from our library that use sausage, followed by the browning, temperature, and storage notes that make the difference between a good result and a grey one.
12 recipes with sausage
Breakfast Hash
Skillet-crisped potatoes with peppers, onion, and eggs.
American40m4Currywurst
A popular German fast food dish made from a grilled sausage smeared with a spicy tomato-based sauce, curry powder, and onions.
German50m4Caldo Verde
A hearty and flavorful soup from Portugal, made with potatoes, kale, and sausage.
Portuguese60m4Feijoada
Slow-cooked black bean and pork stew over rice.
Brazilian170m8
Bean & Sausage Hotpot
In a large casserole, fry the sausages until brown all over – about 10 mins.
British4
English Breakfast
Heat the flat grill plate over a low heat, on top of 2 rings/flames if it fits, and brush sparingly with light olive oil.
British4
Bigos (Polish hunter's stew)
step 1 Put the cabbage in a heavy casserole dish, add the stock and cook over a low heat for about 50 mins, until tender.
Polish4
Toad In The Hole
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6.
British4
Potato Salad (Olivier Salad)
Cut the potatoes and carrots into small uniform cubes.
Russian4
Belgian Stoemp
1.
4
Lao Naem Khao
Slice the onion and shallots thinly.
4
Rosemary braised red cabbage with kabanos
step 1 Halve the cabbage, remove the tough stem and thinly slice.
Ukrainian4
How to cook sausage so it stays tender
- 1Pat the sausage dry and salt it 15-40 minutes ahead. Dry surface means browning instead of steaming.
- 2Preheat the pan until a drop of water skitters, then add a thin film of oil. Crowding the pan is the number one reason sausage turns grey.
- 3Brown in a single layer without moving it for 2-3 minutes per side, then build the sauce in the same pan so the browned bits dissolve into it.
- 4Cook to temperature, not time: 160F for ground meat, 130-135F for a medium-rare cut, then rest 5 minutes before slicing.
What goes well with sausage
Sausage is at its best with onion, garlic, tomato, potato, paprika and red wine. Any two or three of those, plus sausage, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing sausage
Keep raw sausage on the bottom shelf of the fridge and use it within 1-2 days, or freeze it flat in a bag for up to three months. Cooked leftovers keep 3-4 days and reheat best with a splash of stock in a covered pan rather than in the microwave.
Substituting sausage
If you are out of sausage, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Sausage recipes: common questions
- What can I make with sausage and not much else?
- Plenty. With sausage plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest sausage recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute sausage?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover sausage?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover sausage without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- What temperature should sausage be cooked to?
- Use an instant-read thermometer rather than timing: 165F for poultry, 160F for ground meat, 145F for whole cuts and fish, all measured at the thickest point away from bone. Rest larger cuts for five minutes before cutting.