Sausages may seem simple to cook, but they often dry out and remain cold in the middle if you just fry them. Most people just throw their sausages into a hot pan with oil, but this can brown one side too quickly while leaving the rest undercooked.
Natasha, a cook and founder of The Cherry Plum Kitchen has shared the easiest way to get crispier and juicer sausages is to take 10 minutes to poach sausages first before cooking them. She said: “My preferred method is to first poach my sausage. Set a pan of water over a high heat and bring it to a boil.”
It might sound unusual, but poaching sausages first helps them cook evenly by using steam to lock in moisture and fat.
When sausages are fried from raw the high heat can cause the casings to split or burn one side before the inside is fully cooked, which leaves them dry, and unappetising.
However, poaching slowly brings the sausage up to temperature so the inside stays juicy and flavourful while also stopping them bursting open.
Poaching usually takes 10 minutes but is really easy to do and will result in crispier and more flavourful sausages that are perfectly cooked on each side.
How to make tastier sausages
To begin, fill a pan with water, and place it on a low heat. You want the water to be simmering so is it bubbling slightly but not boiling.
If you wish, some people add stock, herbs or even beer to the pan instead of water to add more flavour to the sausages, but this is completely optional.
Once the water is gently simmering, carefully add you sausages to the pan, then let them cook in the liquid for 10 minutes. When the time is up, take the sausages out of the water and place them on paper towels, then pat them dry.
Finish the sausages by frying them in a pan with oil to give them colour and crisp them up. This should only take a minute or two.
Natasha said: “What you are doing now is browning the outside. There’s no risk of the outside being done before the inside is cooked so this method allows you to turn the heat up. I fry mine over a medium to high heat.”
Poaching helps seal in the juices so your sausages will be tender, juicy and have plenty of flavour while still bring crispy on the outside.
