Can You Cook Sausage In The Oven? Tips To Cook And Store Sausages

Can you cook sausage in the oven without drying it out and losing its flavor plus tips to store and reheat them to make the best use and enjoy sausages.

Italian sausage can up the flavor, texture, and taste of any dish and is one of the easiest sources of protein to add to your diet.

They are filled with beef, chicken, pork, or turkey meat; some even come in vegetarian varieties. 

You can either have them cooked in the oven or grilled and add them to your breakfast or chop them up and add them to steamed rice for a quick and easy meal. 

Can You Cook Sausage In The Oven?

Most of us tend to deep fry Italian sausage. But did you know that oven baked sausage is a healthier way of eating them? Read on to find out how to grill sausages in oven!

Types Of Sausages

Sausage comes in literally thousands of different variations, each as distinctive as the location from which it originates.

Let’s look at the various varieties of sausages.

Fresh

Fresh meat, or meat that has not been cooked, is used to make fresh sausage. It must be stored frozen until usage because it is fresh; otherwise, it may spoil. 

Sausage patties, Bratwurst, and Italian sausage are some favorites.

Among the Italian sausage category, you can get mild, medium, hot, and even sweet Italian sausage. 

Fresh sausage can be prepared in a few different ways, such as by grilling or steaming. Make sure to fully cook fresh Italian sausage when preparing it.

You would not like to see any pink when you’re finished cooking.

Pre-Cooked

The type of sausage that is consumed the most frequently is pre-cooked. The following sausages are precooked: hot dogs, mortadella, and bologna.

These Italian sausages have a pureed filling that is encased in an outer casing. You only need to reheat these sausages because the lining and contents are already cooked.

It’s up to you how you heat your precooked sausage. Grilling will produce a lovely char if you’re going for a more natural appearance. 

You can always fry them in a skillet or broil them if you can’t cook them outside. Your only concern is heating them to an edible temperature because they are already cooked.

Cured

Because of how it is prepared, cured Italian sausage is one of the most distinctive varieties. 

The sausage is first freshly made, salted, and hung to cure for weeks at a time. 

The meat is cooked throughout the curing process as a result of the salt, exposure to air, and passage of time. 

Coppa and Cervelat are examples of popular cured Italian sausage varieties.

Try oven baked sausage with crackers or bread if you want to balance the saltiness of cured sausages. 

Smoked

Naturally, smoking is how smoked sausages are made. 

They are placed in a smoker or a smokehouse, where a low-burning fire produces smoke that cooks the meat. 

Andouill and kielbasa are examples of smoked sausages.

Instead of buying smoked sausages, you can smoke sausages at home for the best taste.  

Benefits Of Cooking Sausages In The Oven

• Oven cooked sausages is the healthiest way to eat them as you don’t need to use oil and consume unnecessary calories.
• Moreover, there’s no mess or oil splatter with oven cooked sausages as you simply need to take them out of the packaging and bake.
• Cooking Italian sausage in the oven takes zero prep time and is a great option for busy families.
• How long does sausage take to cook in the oven is another benefit since it takes only 30 minutes or so.
• You can cook a large number of sausages in the oven at the same time.
• You can put the sausages in the oven and forget about it, making it a great hands-off method to bake sausages. 

How To Cook Sausage In The Oven

Follow our step-by-step easy guide to getting baked Italian sausage. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Chilled sausages 
• Baking tray
• Baking sheet or parchment paper
• A pair of tongs

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Take the chilled sausages out of the packaging.
3. Place the sausages on the baking tray in a single layer with some space in between them. 
4. Put the baking tray on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 – 35 minutes at  400°F (200°C) and 350°F(180°C) fan.

That’s how long to cook sausages in oven at 200°C will take. 

5. After 15 minutes or halfway through cooking, flip the sausages with the tongs to cook on the other side. 
6. Take the baking tray out and let the oven baked sausages stand for 5 minutes before you dig in. 

Signs That Sausages Are Done Baking

So, how to tell if sausage is cooked in oven?

Use an instant thermometer to see if the internal temperature of the cooked sausages has reached the desired level of 160°F (71°C) at least. 

You can dial this up to 180°F (82°C) if you want but the minimum temperature is what makes it safe to eat the sausages. 

And if you’re cooking chicken sausages, these should reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) to remain within safe limits.

Other signs that your sausages are cooked in the oven are if the juices in the baking pan are clear and there is no pink tint in the inside ground meat. 

How To Cook Sausage In The Oven From Frozen

You can cook frozen sausages without thawing in the oven but it will take more time compared to chilled sausages that you store in the chiller section of your fridge. 

To start, take the packet of frozen sausages out of the freezer and let them sit at the counter for 5 minutes. 

Then take them out of the packaging and run them under warm running water to loosen them up and separate them. 

Then follow the same instructions as above for cooking sausages except you need to cook frozen sausages at 375°F (190°C) for 40 minutes.

A thumb rule is to extend the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes when cooking frozen sausages in the oven.

How Long To Cook Sausages In The Oven

At 350°F(180°C)	35-40 minutes
At 400°F (200°C)	30 -35 minutes
Frozen sausages at 375°F (190°C)	40 minutes
Italian sausages	30 – 40 minutes
Chipolata sausages	15-20 minutes
Cooked cocktail sausages	8 minutes
Bratwurst sausages	20-25 minutes
Cumberland sausages	20-25 minutes

The cooking time for sausages also depends on the type of sausages and their thickness. 

Thicker sausages take a longer time to cook as it takes more time for the heat to travel to the center and cook the sausages evenly. 

At 400°F (200°C), it will take 30 minutes to cook sausages.

At a lower temperature of 350°F(180°C), it will take 35 to 40 minutes. 

To cook frozen sausages at 375°F (190°C) will take 40 minutes. 

There is an art of cooking Italian sausages in the oven and since these are usually a bit thicker, it will take 30 – 40 minutes to bake them in the oven.

Chipolata sausages are smaller in size and take 15 – 20 minutes to bake in the oven. 

Already cooked cocktail sausages will take 8 minutes. 

Bratwurst sausages take 20-25 minutes to cook in the oven.

Cumberland pork sausages also take between 20-25 minutes. 

What Should I Serve With Sausages?

To make a sheet pan meal, you can cook a variety of vegetables along with the sausages in the oven. 

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Onions 
• Mushrooms 
• Bell peppers
• Cherry tomatoes
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts

If you don’t want to make a sheet pan meal, you can serve sausages with toast, baked beans, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, or scrambled eggs. 

How To Store And Reheat Baked Sausages

If you have leftover baked sausages, you can store them in the fridge after cooling them and putting them away in a Ziploc bag or airtight container. 

Refrigerated and cooked sausages will last in the fridge for up to 5 days.

If you want to store them longer, freeze them after cooling them to room temperature and put them into freezer bags or airtight containers. 

Don’t forget to add a label and put the date and content name before freezing. 

Cooked and frozen sausages will last for up to 6 months. 

For reheating chilled or frozen cooked sausages, simply use the air fryer, oven, or microwave oven. 

All you need to do is put them in a microwave-safe dish and heat them on full power at 30-second intervals until they are warmed properly. 

If you want to use an air fryer for reheating sausages, place them in the basket or tray and heat them through for around 4 minutes at 356°F (180°C).

It will take around 5 to 8 minutes to reheat them in the oven at 356°F (180°C).

You can add leftover sausages to frittatas, pizza, sandwiches, omelets, and even soups and stews to get a meal high in protein. 

Tips To Bake Sausages In The Oven

For the best results, follow the tips below to bake sausages in the oven:

1. Don’t fork holes in the sausage as the juice and the flavor along with it will come out and leave your baked sausages high and dry. 
2. Line the baking tray with parchment paper or foil to make cleaning easier. 
3. The standing time of 5 minutes at the end of baking should be done outside, not inside the oven as that would keep cooking the sausages and make them dry. 
4. Don’t forget to flip the sausages halfway through baking to ensure even cooking. 
5. How to stop sausages spitting in the oven? Make a tiny hole in the skin of your raw sausages to allow fat to drain and prevent splitting when cooked in the oven.
6. If you don’t have a food thermometer, cut open the sausages and take a look at the inside to see if they are done or still pink. 
7. Add a bit of oil to the baking tray if you want to get the sausages a bit crispy on the outside.

Or, you can preheat the baking tray when you’re preheating the oven. 

A third option to get the sausages crispy is to keep the broiler on at low for the last 5 minutes of baking sausages in the oven. 

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