Sausages are the staple of any outdoor barbecue. A perfectly grilled Bratwurst served on a toasted bun with lots of onions, sautéed pepper, topped with some Dijon mustard and maybe a bit of mayo makes a heavenly treat. But getting that perfectly seared, brown on the outside, juicy on the inside sausage requires some pro tips.
Overcooked sausages are every host’s nightmare. A few minutes of inattention or careless cooking renders them dry and flavourless. Cooking sausages over direct high heat, causes the juices inside to quickly reach their boiling point. This ruptures the outer casing of the sausage and lets the flavourful juices drip down onto the flames, often creating flare ups and burns.
Here are our tips for grilling sausages right
1. Use tongs, not forks. You do not want to inadvertently poke the casing and lose the juices.
2. Grill the sausages a minute or two over high heat. This gives them the nice brown colour.
3. After that you need medium heat to slow cook the inside of the sausage. Either reduce the flame to medium or move them over to the unused burner and use the indirect heat.
4. Depending on the thickness 10-15 minutes of slow cooking with the lid closed should be ideal.
5. The trick is to wait until the inside temperature of the sausages reaches 160 F.
6. Remove from the grill and serve
Another crowd favourite is Poach and Grill, where the sausages are partially poached, often with additional flavourings, before putting them on the barbecue to finish.
1. Take a large pot of water and beer, preferably in equal measure. Adding beer enhances the flavour and gets the sausages partially cooked.
2. As the liquid comes to a boil, add the sausages. Wait long enough for the sausage skin to tighten. You are aiming for an inside temperature of about 160F when the fat inside is starting to liquify.
3. Transfer the sausages to a hot grill over a medium low fire.
4. Once you have the brown colour, it is time to serve.
Whoever said there are just grilled sausages for entrée did not obviously look around. Here are some classic and offbeat recipes to go with grilled sausages.
