How much and how to cook sausages in a saucepan

How to choose sausages

According to GOST R 52196-2011, sausages are classified as cooked products; they are divided into two categories. In group A those with more than 60% meat, in group B from 40 to 60%. Naturally, category A is more tasty and dietary, but also more expensive; only beef products belong to it. In group B - Pork, Ordinary and Shpikachki (they have less meat and more fat). There should be no substitutes for them.

There are no other names in the standard, but this does not mean that they are prohibited. According to their Technical Specifications, manufacturers can produce School, Dairy, Mini, with cheese, etc. The main condition is that they are safe, high quality and tasty with correctly labeled labeling, i.e. All information on the label must be true.

What to look for when choosing and purchasing sausages:

Place of implementation. It is best to purchase in large supermarkets or specialized kiosks with installed refrigerators. Products are usually not stored here. You can’t just take it from your hands without refrigeration, there is a high risk of poisoning.
Package. If you have a choice between weighted and packaged ones, you should give preference to packaged ones. There is more information on them, they definitely have a date of manufacture, no one handled them with dirty hands. The packaging also protects against flies, chapping, drying out, and significantly extends the shelf life.
Compound. The shorter and more natural it is, the better. Ideally, this is meat (pork, beef, a mixture of them), lard or cheek, brisket, salt, sugar, spices, for some items milk, hard cheese, egg products. Sodium nitrite will also always be in the composition, it is thanks to it that sausages, frankfurters and boiled sausages have an appetizing pink rather than gray color.
Date of manufacture. These are meat products, they have a lot of protein and they have their own shelf life. Expired food can cause serious poisoning.
Appearance. The color must be uniform, without dark or light spots, and the shell must be smooth, not wrinkled. If the sausages are darkened around the edges, weathered, slippery and sticky to the touch, then you cannot buy them, they have already spoiled.
Price. Products that are too cheap cannot be of high quality. To reduce the cost, part of the meat is usually replaced with soy, starch, carrageenan is added for juiciness, and flavorings and monosodium glutamate are added to add flavor. To mask defects, they often contain excessive amounts of salt and pepper. Cheap sausages are wasted money: no benefit, no taste.
GOST or TU. According to the standard, the requirements are much stricter, so there is a greater chance of buying a quality product. Products according to Technical Specifications usually contain more substitutes and food additives.

You need to store sausages in the refrigerator at a temperature of +2…+6 degrees. If they are piecemeal, without packaging, then no more than 5 days.

You cannot keep them in a plastic bag; mucus will immediately begin to form. It’s better to put it in a bowl and cover it with a plate or lid to prevent it from drying out. If packaged under vacuum or in an environment of inert, modified gases, they are stored for up to 30 days before opening. Then - no more than 3 days, but in any case no longer than the expiration date indicated on the label.

Do I need to cook sausages before eating and can I eat them raw?

This question was asked by every lover of sausages and sausages. If you look at GOST R 52196-2011, it applies to boiled sausages: sausage, frankfurters, small sausages, and bacon. They are all produced using approximately the same technology, but with different recipes. Products in this group must undergo heat treatment - cooking in production; they do not contain raw meat. They are completely ready to eat, this is spelled out verbatim in the standard. Those. There is no need to cook the sausages; they can be eaten immediately. But most people still prefer to cook them. There are two reasons for this:

It's safer this way. Although products sold in stores and markets should be harmless and fresh, the consumer is not always sure of this. If the products are packaged (under vacuum, in an environment of inert gases), then they are better protected from dust, dirt and insects. There are simply more risks hanging out on display. And there is no confidence in the serviceability of refrigerators. Heat treatment is the best way to kill harmful microorganisms.
It tastes better this way. When heated, the aroma and taste are better revealed in all products without exception. Plus, there is a lot of fat in sausages; some types have pieces of lard or cheese on the cut; these ingredients, when cold, leave a fatty coating in the mouth, which is unpleasant. But eating warm meat products is a pleasure.

So at home it is better to boil meat products or prepare them in another way to protect yourself and enjoy them.

Important!

Do not confuse sausages (boiled, completely ready to eat) and grilled sausages, which are very similar in shape and size, made from raw meat. They must be subjected to heat treatment.

Other heat treatment methods

Boiling sausages in water is the easiest way, but not the only one. How else can you prepare the product:

fry in a frying pan, incl. Breaded;
cook on fire (bonfire, grill);
use a grill or barbecue;
bake in the oven.

Sausages can be used as an ingredient instead of boiled sausage for first courses, or added to pies or pizza. It’s also delicious to cook them right away with pasta or potatoes, stew them with cabbage, make them like sausages in dough, stuff them with cheese or herbs.

Do I need to boil sausages?

The assortment on store shelves is wide and varied. Sausages are made from ground chicken, pork or beef. A typical product contains one type of meat. Other products contain several types of minced meat. In addition to the main product, sausages contain preservatives and flavorings. As well as vegetable, mushroom or cheese additives.

Sausages are processed before being released for sale. And the purchased fresh product is consumed without additional conditions. But if the variety lingers on the supermarket shelf or in the home refrigerator, there is a danger of poisoning. Therefore, before consumption, sausages undergo heat treatment at home.

In addition, eating hot sausages is much more enjoyable. The fat melts, which affects the taste and juiciness. And only heated soy added to the product worsens its taste.

But home processing does not only mean cooking. Sausages are doused with boiling water, heated in the microwave, fried or baked. The procedure depends on the contents of the original product:

boiled sausages - all the above methods are used;
boiled-smoked types – boiled or heated;
smoked varieties - doused with boiling water or heated in the microwave.

Buy only the highest quality products. Although it has a high cost, the taste is significantly different from similar qualities of cheap sausages.

General rules for preparing sausages

Before you start cooking a product in a saucepan, slow cooker, microwave or other technique, it must be prepared. First of all, you should check the expiration date (if there is a label) or look and smell to determine freshness. If the product is spoiled, then cooking it will not save it.

Should I remove the shell or not?

Unlike sausages, sausages practically do not use polymer (polyethylene) casings. The two most popular types are:

Natural. It represents cleaned intestines. It has good vapor permeability.
Artificial protein. It is made from collagen, elastic and considered as edible as natural.

So there is no need to peel the sausages before cooking.

To wash or not?

For hygienic reasons, sausages should be washed before cooking, especially those bought by weight. It is enough to rinse them under running cold water. Those sold in vacuum packaging do not need to be washed. The beauty of cooking is that the shell quickly warms up in boiling water to 100 degrees. Even if there are microbes on it, they die quickly.

What to do if sausages are sticky?

Under incorrect storage conditions (elevated temperature, in a bag), with long-term storage, the sausages begin to deteriorate. One of the signs is mucus. Due to the proliferation of microorganisms, products become sticky to the touch. This is often accompanied by a sour smell.

You cannot eat such products! A slimy surface indicates that the product inside is also spoiled.

How to store after cooking?

It is best to eat sausages immediately after cooking. If there are too many of them, then you need to let them cool and put them in the refrigerator. It is permissible to keep them there for 2 days, no more, without wrapping them in film (just on a plate).

How to fry sausages with potatoes

Products

Potatoes - 500 grams Butter - 2 medium cubes Vegetable oil - 20 milliliters Apples - 2 pieces Lemon - half Sausages - 4 pieces Cream - 40 milliliters Milk - 75 milliliters Flour - 15 grams Mustard - 1 teaspoon Salt - half a teaspoon Pepper - to taste Any dried herb seasoning - a large pinch Parsley - a few sprigs

How to fry sausages with potatoes

1. Wash and peel the potatoes, cut each potato in half. 2. Place the potato halves in a saucepan, add water so that it covers the potatoes by two fingers. 3. Place the pan with potatoes over medium heat and cook for 20 minutes from the moment they boil. 4. Mix milk and cream in a metal mug, place over low heat, heat until warm, but do not boil. 5. Drain the broth from the pan with the potatoes; mash the potatoes in the same pan with a masher for several minutes. 6. Pour the milk mixture into the potatoes, add a cube of butter, continue pounding until the puree becomes homogeneous. 7. Wash the apples and cut them into cubes about 1.5 centimeters thick. 8. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon. 9. Drizzle fresh lemon juice over the sliced apples. 10. Place a frying pan over medium heat and melt a cube of butter in it. 11. Place apples in melted butter, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. 12. Pour vegetable oil into a separate frying pan and heat over medium heat until bubbles appear. 13. Peel the sausages from synthetic skin; if the skin is natural, you can leave it. 14. Place sausages in heated oil and fry for 5 minutes on both sides until a crust appears. 15. Remove the sausages from the frying pan and leave the frying pan on the stove. 16. Pour 250 milliliters of boiling water into the frying pan where the sausages were fried, add flour, salt, pepper, add mustard, mix, and keep on the stove for several minutes. 17. Add stewed apples to mashed potatoes, add salt and mix. 18. Wash the parsley and chop it. 19. Place potato-apple puree and fried sausages on plates, pour mustard sauce on top, sprinkle with dry herbs and chopped parsley.

Why do sausages burst?

It is very unpleasant when, during cooking or immediately after it, sausages burst, they are literally torn from the inside. It doesn't affect the taste, but it doesn't look appetizing. There may be several reasons why this happens:

The casing is too tightly packed. Even if you make the most proper meat “sausages” at home, if you fill the shell too tightly with minced meat, it will burst when heated.
Meat products were placed in boiling water. Although many people recommend putting it in boiling water, natural skins may not withstand sudden temperature fluctuations.
There are many substitutes in the composition. If the manufacturer has added starch, flour, semolina, cellulose (fiber, dietary fiber), vegetable protein, then there is a risk that during cooking they will change greatly in shape and burst.
The sausages were cooked too long. If you boil the product for more than 20 minutes, they will probably lose their attractive appearance.

Regardless of the reason, the only remedy for this is to prick the skin with a toothpick or the tip of a knife or fork in several places before cooking.

How to cook sausages in a saucepan

The simplest and most affordable cooking method is cooking in a saucepan. What do I need to do:

Rinse the sausages under cold water. Do not peel them, pierce them (raw) in 5-6 places with a toothpick or once with a fork so that they do not burst.
Place in a pan of a suitable size; there is no point in taking a container that is too large.
Pour enough cold tap water into it so that the liquid completely covers the meat products and is 1 cm higher. If they float, you can press them to the bottom with your hand while the water is filling.
Place the pan on the stove. Let it boil. No need to add salt. Modern meat products are already quite salty and peppery.
After boiling, cook for no more than 10 minutes over medium heat. Drain the water.

Serve immediately while they are hot. Meat products go well with any side dish: potatoes, cereals, pasta.

How long to cook sausages in natural casings after boiling

The exact cooking time depends on their geometric dimensions - length and thickness. If the products are small, then after boiling it is enough to cook them for 5-7 minutes; for larger ones, 10 minutes are needed. They should have time to warm up until the very middle.

To remove sausages from the pan, two options are available:

Drain the water from the pan. It will be convenient to take out the products with a spoon.
Remove from boiling water with tongs, then they will definitely not roll away. A slotted spoon will also come in handy.

You should not pierce or pry with a fork or knife to “catch” the sausage; it may burst. They are served on the table without first being cleaned; everyone does it themselves.

How and for how long to cook sausages

There are many nuances in preparing this type of sausage. You definitely need to know not only how long you need to cook sausages, but also how to properly prepare them for this process. It should be understood that beef requires longer processing than tender veal. It doesn’t hurt to remember that you can’t cook them in an artificial shell, and in a natural shell it is even recommended that the cooking time for frozen ones is almost twice as long as for fresh ones. We will consider these and other points in more detail below.

In a saucepan

Fresh sausages in a natural casing should be placed in a pan after boiling water and cooked for 5-7 minutes depending on the size.

There is another way to prepare sausages. They must be placed in cold water, brought to a boil over low heat and then boiled for at least 3-5 minutes from the moment of boiling.

If the casing is artificial, it must be removed before cooking the sausages. It's not just a matter of taste. The synthetic substances contained in the shell will be in the water, and this is very dangerous. Cook these sausages in already boiled water for 3-5 minutes.

Advice! If you add salt and a little spices to the water, the boiled sausages will acquire additional flavor notes and aroma.

For cooking, it is better to use an enamel pan, and while waiting for the water to boil, it does not hurt to rinse the sausages under running water.

After cooking, they must be removed from the water and placed on a plate to cool.

In the microwave

Many people like to cook sausages in the microwave. The easiest way is regular warming up. To do this, you need to rinse the sausages, put them inside on a dish, cover with a lid and turn on the heating mode for 2 minutes at a power of 700-800W.

You can also boil them in water. To do this, you need to rinse them, put them in a deep bowl and pour in so that about one cm of water covers the sausages and cover with a lid. At a power of 800W they will cook in about 4-6 minutes.

If your microwave has a “Grill” mode, be sure to try cooking sausages with it. To do this, you need to wash them and dry them. If the shell is artificial, it must be removed; if it is natural, you can leave it, but then it is advisable to either make cuts on top, or even cut it lengthwise. Cook in the “Grill” mode for 3-5 minutes, depending on the selected power. It turns out very tasty!

In a slow cooker

The microwave oven has been replaced by a multicooker. You can cook anything in it, including sausages. There are several ways. The first is to pour cold water into the bowl or, after boiling, immerse the sausages. The time in the “Cooking” mode is the same as when cooking in a pan.

And if you have a steaming stand, you can use it. To do this, pour water into the bowl, turn on the “Steam” mode, install a stand, place the sausages on it and cook for about 7 minutes.

In a steamer

Cooking sausages in a double boiler is very easy. They need to be washed, put in a bowl, pour the amount of water specified in the instructions into the container and cook for 12-14 minutes. Sausages prepared in this way turn out fluffy and healthier, but you just have to be 100% sure of their quality. If you bought a second-class product, it is still better to cook it in water. So the processing is more thorough.

How to quickly peel sausages

According to the rules of etiquette, the shell is removed using a knife and fork. In this case, small pieces are first cut off from the product and then cleaned. Since sausages are produced in a natural or collagen casing, they can be eaten with skins.

If such a “skin” bothers you, in order to remove it faster and easier, you need to remove the sausage from boiling water and let it cool slightly. Then cut lengthwise and remove the skin. It still won't come off perfectly clean, it's not cellophane. In any case, the shell should be removed from hot products; from cold products you will have to cut it off.

You can try to rinse the product in cold water immediately after cooking, but if it is not of very high quality, it will burst due to a sudden temperature change.

Is it possible to eat sausages raw?

To answer the question “is it possible to eat raw sausages”, you must first understand what they are. Many people mistakenly believe that this is a smaller version of boiled or boiled-smoked sausage, but in fact the production technology is different. Sausages are made from ground meat with the addition of spices, as well as various preservatives and stabilizers. During production, they undergo certain processing and, in principle, immediately after release they can be consumed fresh. However, after a couple of days, the risk of poisoning increases significantly.

It is recommended to eat sausages hot. When heated, the fat melts, making them more tasty and juicy. Many can argue with this, saying that some types, on the contrary, are much tastier raw, and this is true. Just remember that the basis of sausages, which lose their taste when heated, is not meat, but soy.

How to cook sausages in the microwave in 2 minutes

Since everyone’s technique is different, it’s worth reading the instructions first. Usually it contains various cooking options; many manufacturers even include recipes for the main dishes. They indicate power, mode and time.

Under no circumstances should you use metal utensils in the microwave. Ceramics, heat-resistant glass or special plastic containers marked that they are suitable for microwaves are suitable.

There are two ways to cook sausages in the microwave:

With water. In this case, place the meat products in the dish. Pour water until they are completely covered with liquid. Set the microwave power to maximum (600-700 W) and turn on for 5 minutes. After this, drain the water and you can have lunch.
Without water. This method is even easier and faster. Just put the sausages on a plate, be sure to pierce them in several places. Large ones can be cut in half. Turn on the microwave at maximum power for 2 minutes. That's the whole secret. The dish turns out tasty, juicy, no fuss with water.

In both cases, you need to carefully remove the dishes from the microwave oven (using kitchen gloves, a towel), because they will be very hot.

In the microwave

To cook sausages in the microwave, choose one of two options.

Warming up

This simple method will only take 2 minutes.

Description of steps:

wash the sausages under running water;
cut or prick the skin;
place in the microwave oven;
cover the product with a lid;
turn on the device, setting the power to 800 W.

A tasty and healthy dish is ready to eat.

In water

Before cooking, the sausage product is washed and the skin is cut. Then, according to the usual scheme:

sausages are placed in the microwave bowl;
pour water 1 cm above the product;
close with a lid;
kept in a microwave oven for 4–5 minutes at a device power of 800 W.

The natural shell is not removed. But it will take twice as long to prepare the dish.

In a slow cooker

This kitchen appliance can replace a stove and takes up very little space. In a slow cooker the dish is prepared as follows:

Place sausages in the multicooker bowl, preferably in one layer.
Fill them with water, cold or slightly warm, but not boiling water. The liquid should cover them.
Close the lid. Turn on the “Cooking” mode for 7 minutes.

In a multicooker, it is permissible to cook sausages in the “Steam” mode using the plastic container that comes with the kit. Place the sausages in it in one layer, pierce them, and pour water (2 measuring cups) into the bowl. Cooking time 10 minutes.

In a steamer

It is very easy to prepare a dish in a double boiler:

Rinse the sausages in cold water and pierce them in several places with a fork. Place them in a container.
Fill the compartment with water.
Turn on the device for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the products.

The good thing about a steamer is that it has several containers, which allows you to cook meat products in one and vegetables to go with them in another.

Process description

Place chopped onion and crushed garlic in a frying pan greased with olive oil. All this is fried until soft. Then diced sausages and tomato paste are added to them. In just a couple of minutes, crushed tomatoes, salt and spices are poured into the total mass. Mix everything well and simmer under the lid. After another five minutes, pasta is loaded into the frying pan, previously boiled until half cooked in three liters of salted water.

The resulting mixture is transferred to a heat-resistant container. Top it all with feta, parmesan, mozzarella and chopped herbs. At this stage, the future pasta casserole is put into the oven. Cook it at 180 degrees for half an hour. It is served warm, after being cut into portions. If desired, top the casserole with any spicy sauce.

Is it possible to cook frozen sausages?

In fact, sausages as a product do not require freezing according to GOST or information on the label regarding storage conditions. But if you managed to buy them with a reserve during the promotion, you didn’t have time to eat them all, and you need to go somewhere, then everything “extra” should be frozen. This way the meat products will be stored for several months.

Frozen sausages are prepared in the same way as chilled ones, only they will take longer to cook.

Place the product in a pan without defrosting.
Pour in cold or slightly warm, but not hot, water and certainly not boiling water. No need to add salt.
Place on the stove. As soon as they start to boil, pierce the skin with a skewer in several places to prevent them from bursting. By this point they will already be soft.
After boiling, cook for 15 minutes.

If you plan to cook in a microwave or double boiler, then the sausages must be thawed first. To do this, take them out of the freezer in the evening and put them in the refrigerator; by the morning they will have time to thaw. The second way to defrost is to fill them with regular cool water and change it after 10 minutes.

Important!

It is permissible to freeze only fresh product, without signs of spoilage, in its “original” packaging or in a tightly closed bag or cling film.

How long to cook sausages:

In a saucepan	After freezing	In the microwave		In a steamer	In a slow cooker
5-7 min.	8-12 min.	Warming up	In water	12-14 minutes	For a couple	In water
		2 minutes.	4-5 min.		7 min.	10 min.

Sausages are a delicious product. And if you approach the preparation with skill, the return will be ensured. Minimum time – maximum taste.