How Long to Boil Sausage – Cooking Sausages Properly So They’re Not Raw

You can only prepare sausages in one way. And if you don’t do it right, the sausages won’t taste right. Sausages that are not cooked well end up raw in the middle. They taste weird but that’s the least of your problems. Side effects of eating raw sausages are stomach pain, diarrhea, and in severe cases, even food poisoning.

So if I were you, I’d read this article very carefully. Because I finally found the right way to make sausages which also answers the most pressing question of them all – how long to boil sausage?

How Long to Boil Sausage

Even though you can cook sausages in many ways – frying, baking, grilling, and boiling. Boiling sausages is the most common way of them all. So here’s from where you can start.

1. Fill the pot with water

Use a deep-dish boiling pot and fill 3/4 with water. You can use tap water or filtered water. That depends on what you’re comfortable using.

To add extra flavor, if you like, you can add one part of plain water with one part of the stock, wine, broth, or herbs to the pot. This will add a pleasant aroma to the water and give the sausages a boost of flavor.

2. Set to high temperature

Do not add the sausages just yet. First, let the water come to a boil by keeping it on the highest level of the burner/stove. A clever way to get the water to boiling temperature faster is by putting a lid on top of the pot.

Once the boiling water is letting out plenty of steam and heat, that’s when you do this next.

3. Add the sausages using tongs

Never place the sausages inside the pot with your bare fingers. Since the water is at a really high, boiling temperature, it will splatter.

Use tons or a fork to gently place the sausages into the hot water. Do not drop them into the water either.

After adding the sausages, turn the heat to medium-low and place the lid back on. The water inside should simmer, although not too aggressively.

4. Boiling the sausages

So how long to boil sausages in this way? Since the hot water in which you’ve placed the sausages is simmering, it shouldn’t take too long for the sausages to cook all the way through. It takes 10 minutes for pre-cooked sausages to cook. If you’re using raw sausages that have not been pre-cooked, wait for 30 minutes for them to cook.

If you’re fussy about how well you want the sausage to cook, you can use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of the sausage when it’s done.

The right internal temperature for cooked sausage is between 160 and 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Just stick the thermometer right down to the center of the sausage to get an accurate reading.

Types of Sausages

There are a few types of sausages that you should keep in mind from next time. Sausages are a mixture of ground meat with salt, seasonings, and preservatives. This mixture is transferred to casings that give it its long and tube-like shape.

If you want to avoid the preservatives, you can also buy fresh sausages that you can purchase in bulk. These patties vary mostly in how the sausages are made rather than their shape and size.

So without further ado, let me walk you through some of the common sausages and how you can cook them…

Fresh Sausages (Uncooked)

This is what you’re most likely to get in meat markets or shops. Uncooked sausages are chopped, ground, and pureed using fresh meat. You can refrigerate or freeze them until cooking. And they also do not contain high salt or preservatives as they are ground and sold fresh.

Cooked sausages do not look pinkish at the center which means they are cooked all the way through.

This applies to frying, boiling, baking, and broiling sausages. You can also cut up smaller pieces of sausages to stir fry and add in pasta, fried rice, soups, and other dishes.

Pre-Cooked Sausages

Hot dogs have pre-cooked sausages. They are smoother, more pureed, and packaged to last longer than fresh sausages. Pre-cooked sausages also contain more salt and preservatives to prolong shelf life.

This meat, salt, and preservative mixture are pureed and stuffed in sausage-shaped casings. Then the sausages are cooked but partially. You can then bring a pack of pre-cooked sausages home and cook them until they are completely cooked.

Pre-cooked sausages can be fried, boiled, steamed, pan-seared, and cut up into smaller pieces as well. You do not need to cook them for a long time. Because they are already partially cooked, they do not retain the smell of raw meat.

Smoked Sausages

Smoke sausages are stored in smoker rooms where a cool fire first cooks the meat thoroughly and then forms a smoked, charcoal exterior. This process is slow but very appetizing. The smoke that is released from the slow-burning fire cooks the sausages evenly and leaves a caramelized flavor when you pan-fry them. Making it a great ingredient in sandwiches, salads, and other deli recipes.

Conclusion

Know more about the different types of sausages that you can buy next time. This knowledge will help you not only cook sausage better but also guide you to use the correct type of sausage in recipes.

For example, smoked sausages taste better in sandwiches than in hot dogs. You can also add slices of fresh sausages to fried rice. Incorporating different kinds of sausages and learning how to cook them is cooking 101 for meat lovers.

The time it takes to cook these types of sausages depends on what you’re making and how. Boiling sausages is the simplest thing in the world. It takes hardly any effort on your part. And only a single dish on a burner!