cooking fresh polish sausage
- Thread starter Chuck H
- Start date
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I never boil sausages. Lightly simmer in a favorful liquid--seasoned stock, juice, beer, wine, water, depending on the sausage--yes, but never boil. Often I just grill indirect at moderate temps then, depending on the integrity and fat level of the sausage, might move to direct to finish.
I make the decision whether to steam/simmer based on the sausage and on how I'm serving. If I want the sausage's flavor to be boosted or tweaked before grilling I will make enough of the liquid mix to come about halfway up the sides of the sausages, laid single-layer in the pan, and gently heat at a low simmer, pan partially covered, for 15-30 min, depending on the size of the sausages, turning them once. These I'll either immediately grill or will cool and grill later when I need them.
Sometimes I steam as above, then grill, then retrn to the liquid mix to hold them (kept very low) till serving time. Mostly they're just served directly off the grill.
Imo, plain water robs sausages of flavor and boiling, regardless of liquid, pushes them toward overcooked pretty easily.
I make the decision whether to steam/simmer based on the sausage and on how I'm serving. If I want the sausage's flavor to be boosted or tweaked before grilling I will make enough of the liquid mix to come about halfway up the sides of the sausages, laid single-layer in the pan, and gently heat at a low simmer, pan partially covered, for 15-30 min, depending on the size of the sausages, turning them once. These I'll either immediately grill or will cool and grill later when I need them.
Sometimes I steam as above, then grill, then retrn to the liquid mix to hold them (kept very low) till serving time. Mostly they're just served directly off the grill.
Imo, plain water robs sausages of flavor and boiling, regardless of liquid, pushes them toward overcooked pretty easily.
David Lohrentz
TVWBB Pro
When I was a novice on the grill, I would put the sausages over high direct heat, then try to cook them with the lid off the grill. The grill would flare up to roaring heights and those sausages would get charred on the outside before the inside was cooked to a safe internal temp. Then I heard that others were boiling their sausages before grilling so I tried that. I even poked holes in them to get the juice out before boiling. I'm hypothesizing, but I wonder if the reason that people started boiling their sausages was a counter to my type of rookie grill mistake.
The key is to avoid grilling a raw sausage over high direct heat, and to avoid grilling with the lid off. Either grill them over low direct heat with the lid on, or grill them indirect with a drip pan under the sausages. I prefer the latter approach, with the use of smoke in most cases. You can finish them over direct heat for about 15 seconds per side if you want them to have a more crisp exterior. A good sausage should be nice and juicy on the interior and have a nice pop when you bite through the casing. A boiled sausage will be very dry in comparison.
The key is to avoid grilling a raw sausage over high direct heat, and to avoid grilling with the lid off. Either grill them over low direct heat with the lid on, or grill them indirect with a drip pan under the sausages. I prefer the latter approach, with the use of smoke in most cases. You can finish them over direct heat for about 15 seconds per side if you want them to have a more crisp exterior. A good sausage should be nice and juicy on the interior and have a nice pop when you bite through the casing. A boiled sausage will be very dry in comparison.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">A good sausage should be nice and juicy on the interior and have a nice pop when you bite through the casing. A boiled sausage will be very dry in comparison. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Right. Boiling raises the internal temps of the sausages too high. A gentle low simmer or, better, if you'll be doing other things, a pre-simmer (liquid temps in the 160s) will prevent this. Simmering is not at all necessary. It can be useful if you want flavor(s) added and/or for holding after grilling. I do prefer your preference of a juicy interior--and I do like a crisper casing. Can't stand dry sausages!
Right. Boiling raises the internal temps of the sausages too high. A gentle low simmer or, better, if you'll be doing other things, a pre-simmer (liquid temps in the 160s) will prevent this. Simmering is not at all necessary. It can be useful if you want flavor(s) added and/or for holding after grilling. I do prefer your preference of a juicy interior--and I do like a crisper casing. Can't stand dry sausages!
Chuck H
TVWBB Member
I know this is getting a little off the subject of sausage but I have cooked burgers on the grill and when cooked I brought them in the house to rest while getting other side dishes ready. When time to eat I placed the burgers in the microwave (Iknow ..taboo) but... this heats the burgers nicely and allows the cheese to melt and removes the pink centers for those that like a burger with no pink center. quick fix...may help with sausage!?