How Long To Grill Italian Sausage (And Why)?

How Long To Grill Italian Sausage (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 20 Minutes

Sausage is one of the perfect foods out there. It’s a great standalone dish to enjoy with friends and family, or one can add it to many other dishes to create something new and exciting. 

Spicy, savory, and delicious: that’s what one gets with Italian sausage. It is a versatile food that fits into so many amazing dishes like sausages and peppers, sausage hoagies, and many more.

Italian sausages are cut into fine pieces in a dest of their own, and it can be an amazing dish with proper preparation. Therefore it is essential to put some thought into preparing and the right cooking time.

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How Long To Grill Italian Sausage?

TypeDuration
Total sausage cook time20 minutes
Flip each side6 to 7 minutes

Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the sausage, but for a typical sandwich or dish, it can be around 20 minutes. One will want to place them over medium-high heat so that they cook quickly and end up juicy. Turn midway through cooking to brown all sides evenly. This will also shorten the cooking time if needed.

One of the most common sources of confusion about cooking sausage is not cooking ground meat until well done, as many think it’s safe to eat medium, but this is also one of the easiest dishes to make incorrectly. 

A food thermometer is the safest way to know when one has cooked any sausage meat sufficiently. Hence, if one is grilling sausages and wants them cooked through, experts recommend checking on them after at least five minutes by sliding a knife into one and feel if it’s warm. If that seems okay, keep watching and check every two more minutes again, then they should be ready in 20 minutes.

The primary benefit of Italian sausage is that it’s easier to digest. That sounds counterproductive, but the spices in Italian sausage help break down meat and fat into more easily absorbed pieces. This may be due to the release from the spicing ingredients in hot dogs 

One can buy Italian sausages at any grocery store. The best practice is to grill it on medium heat rather than high heat for a delicious texture.

Why Would Grilling Italian Sausage Take So Long?

Cold-formed sausages are grilled at a relatively low temperature because they will char and become dry if heated quickly.

If the collagen in the muscle meats begins to break down, all those wonderful juices dry up and disappear and those fats that hold in moisture. 

Hence, by not heating up too quickly, it’s less likely to lose its juiciness or produce that dry or tough meat we associate with overcooked chicken parts. 

Instead, these proteins will sand eventually dissolve into gelatin before eventually liquefying completely because of the slow cooking process. This also helps impart a very moist and tender texture.

Grilling sausage takes longer because the fat in the sausage needs to cook and render out before one can enjoy it fully. It’s different from a ribeye, for example, which one needs to sear only on the surface of its exterior so that one can eat it quickly and not let any of its juices run out onto the plate.

Some instructions to grill Italian sausages effectively:

  1. Don’t grill them at a high temperature
  2. If the grill is too high in temperature, the sausages will dry out
  3. Ensure to set the grill at medium heat, like 400 or 425 degrees Fahrenheit
  4. Place the sausage on the grill with some spaces in between
  5. Flip them once the grill marks appear on the sausages
  6. Cook until the sausage receive an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit
  7. Use some toppings like onions, hot pickled peppers, mustards, dill pickles, and many more.

Conclusion

Cook the Italian sausages on medium heat till both sides are cooked perfectly. If the sausages are cooked in high heat, the outside might be charred and raw or uneven inside. The sausages must be on the grill for 6 to 7 minutes on each side. 

Top the sausages with a roll or hoagie along with grilled pepper and onions. Make sure to use sauces like mustard or marinara sauce for extra flavor. Once the toppings are done, garnish them with fresh basils.

Cooking for the precise time is important because it might otherwise split or disintegrate. Also, ensure it does not pierce the skin.

References

  1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-4557.2005.00010.x 
  2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0023643897902449
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AboutNidhi

Hi! I'm Nidhi.

Here at the EHL, it's all about delicious, easy recipes for casual entertaining. So come and join me at the beach, relax and enjoy the food.

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