Baked Sausage (Sweet Italian, Hot Italian, British Banger, American Country Breakfast, Chorizo Spanish Style, Italian Cheese & Pork) clockwise
There are so many ways to cook sausage; Grilled, Boiled, Broiled, Pan Fry, Pan Steamed and Baked to name a few.
Having tried all of these techniques I can say that baking sausage (homemade or store bought), is the simplest, easiest, least mess and for me the most confident way to know that they have been completely cooked.
When cooking sausage there is a double concern. The first concern is that all ground meat should be cooked to 160 degrees and the second issue is that pork in the United States can harbor the parasite Tricinosis.
Baking sausage is simple.
- Remove the sausage from the refrigerator 10 – 15 minutes before cooking to remove the chill from the meat.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius)
- Layer the baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper
- Place the sausages evenly on the cooking sheet
- Place the baking pan in the oven on the middle rack
- Baked for (40 to 60 minutes if the sausages are especially large / thick, turning them once)
- Remove from oven and enjoy
It is that simple and does not require you to continually turn the sausages as they cook in a frying pan or on the grill. The only downside to baking sausage is that you will not have the characteristic grill marks that are created when pan frying or grilling. Personally, I am willing to forgo the grill marks when the alternative is simpler, easier and not as messy.
Italian Sausage (Hot & Sweet) Cooked on a Baking Sheet
- Aluminum Baker's Half Sheet
- Ultra Fast Digital Food Thermometer
- Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat 2pk
- Premium Silicone Kitchen Tongs
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> The first concern is that all ground meat should be cooked to 160 degrees and the second issue is that pork in the United States can harbor the parasite Tricinosis
Those are actually the same concern. Cooking to 71°C (for ground meat; pork steaks are fine at 65°) is what kills Trichinella. And it’s only a problem with cheap crappy meat. Buy good-quality sossinge, have an awareness of the source, and you’ll be fine.
Yes, must cook very well, as Pajh said, to kill the dangerous viruses, worms, etc. I like these sausages and I like other styles like the ones showed here:
200c or 400f = gas mark 6
Thank you for sharing this!
My kids are picky eaters, but they LOVE sausage! I found your directions, and I reference it often so that I can make a lot of sausage at once for my family. It gets dinner on the table faster, and saves me time in front of the stove. I also love that the directions are so easy that I can ask a sitter to make the kids’ favorite without it being too much hassle!
I had one question though: have you tried searing the outsides of the sausage in a skillet or placing them on some kind of roasting rack so they will have a crisper skin? I haven’t tried either method yet, I was wondering if you had. Maybe our sausage isn’t coming out with as crisp of a skin because we prefer turkey to pork.
Either way, thank you so much! Your directions have become a staple in our family’s kitchen. THANK YOU! 🙂
I have a question. Can you bake the sausage a day in advance, then throw them on the grill to warm them up?
As long as the sausages are cooked and then refrigerated you can reheat them, however they will be a bit drier than freshly cooked
i’ve backed sausage this way for years. Simple, easy, and great with a baked potato, too. If you want a nice golden colour to your sausage, turn on the broiler for a few minutes just to brown the skin a bit.
I also think it helpful to pierce the skin of the sausages before baking. It keeps the casings from splitting or the juices from being ejected under pressure.
If you put your baking sheet in the oven while your pre-heating it, it will help crisp the skin up a bit more! Just gave it a test and it worked great.
Don’t poke a hole in the sausage. It cooks inside the case. That’s all the flavor your allowing to escape. You can usually tell the sausage is done once the skin starts to brake open.
Great post!! After a few weeks/months of that my kitchen flore is like a ice skatin rink covered in dust! This way is the best way to make sausage! I can’t believe I never thunked of this ever in my hole life! No more greasy floors. Thanks for this post.
Quick easy and tasty. I took one of the reviewers ideas and turned on the broiler for 2 mins each side … excellent browning and color. For a little extra flavor, I cut up half an onion into slices and laid them on top of the sausage while in the oven. That added a nice flavor as well.
Leftover sausage links are going into the tomato sauce or being mixed into scrambled eggs for an omlette … whichever recipe comes up first!!
I bake them at 425 for 20 minutes, turning them over after 10, then I turn on the broiler and let them brown for two minutes on each side. And yes, I pierce them before baking otherwise the blow up and spew juices all over the oven.
For mine, i cut up some onions and peppers and carmelized them first…then put them in a glass pan, put the sausages on top and baked them in the oven. (Covered with tin foil)…i made sure to test the temperature with a meat thermometer first! Turned out great!
True Italians Bake the Sausages before adding it to Pasta,
Sandwiches, with peppers and onions etc.
Main Reason , It won’t shrink anywhere like fried does.
TRY IT.
It didn’t work with a toaster oven. Cooked 400° for almost 45 minutes and it was still raw and squishy inside. Then I pan fried it (I was running out of time) and unfortunately burned everything haha…
It probably takes about an hour+ of baking to accomplish in toaster oven.
As with normal ovens, it could be that the thermostat in your toaster oven needs to be calibrated and is probably running at a lower temperature than expected
This idea was perfect. I flipped the sausage after 15minutes and cooked 10 more minutes. Since they needed to cook a little more I gave them 10 minutes more. Now I have nice crispy brown Italian sausage.
Love this…much more likely to have sausage during the week now versus waiting to cook on Outdoor grill to avoid mess.
@All concerned with trichinosis
That’s not a problem in the first world. If you’re here and doing that, you’re overcooking your food.
However, though the risk of infection in domestic reared pork has decreased substantially, the CDC in the US still suggests that public education about trichinosis and the dangers of consuming raw or under-cooked meat still is needed.
How well does this method work in a halogen oven? I have just over a pound of chorizo that I bought at the local farmer’s market, and I’d love to cook it this way…
I don’t see why not
To make cleanup easier, I use a square baking pan and I skewer the sausages with a metal skewer so that they are held in the air and the fat drips down in the square pan. I make diagonal cuts on the surface of the sausage so that they won’t burst as they cook. This method prevents the sausages from sticking to the pan so cleanup is easy. I put a bit of water in the square pan so the dripping fat won’t start to smoke.
The fat from the sausage I separate from the water by putting it in the fridge and removing the congealed fat. I add it to the bacon fat I save to cook.
There is an increasing body of evidence that suggest that Aluminium should be kept off food as AL tends to accumulate in he body and later in life it can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
I followed Jacques G.’s instructions, skewered them, put a 1/4 cup of water in the pan and 25 minutes later they were perfectly cooks and browned !! The pan will not need scrubbing by any means and no messy splattered grease all over my stove top. Love this simple method. Thanks
I cook sausages in the oven, but I put them in a roasting bag so if they so burst the over stays clean. Also, when the fat/liquid comes out of them it stays in the bag, so easy to clean up and separate the fat from the meat juices …
As the CDC states Tricinosis has all but been eliminated in the pork that is industry raised you buy in your supermarket. Even cheap cuts at discount markets are equally safe. There is no guarantee in home farm raised pigs. Sausages should be cooked but tricinosis is of no concern. Pork loin is now very safely served pink.
Though there maybe places in the world that this isn’t true
I just put parchment paper in the bottom of a 13 X 9, baking sish and clean up is a snap
I’ve been boiling my sausages for 15 minutes
Then I put them in an oven at 425f for 10 minutes
This not only guarantees the sausage is cooked
All the way through. It also reaches the correct
Safety temperature. And you get a succulent
Juicy sausage with a crispy finish.
You can also use this method for the barbecue
Just boil them first . And then finish on the barbecue
Very helpful! My husband put our 3yo ram in the freezer and decided to try mutton sausage. Baking it has made dinner so much easier as we’ve had it with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Yum!
if you cook them with a cooling rack you may get the grill marks still .i did it and wife and son loves the way they come out. cook them at 400 for the time given.