Sausages are a breakfast staple, but many people are put off cooking them due to the amount of oil it takes to fry them. However, our food writer has shared a simple hack that makes them taste even better
There’s nothing quite like waking up on a chilly morning and whipping up a buttered sausage roll. However, some find the idea of frying sausages dreadful due to the amount of oil it takes. Not only that, oil has a tendency to splatter all over the place, creating a colossal mess in the kitchen and often scorching the pan.
Food writer Katherine McPhillips recently chanced upon a straightforward cooking technique that renders sausages incredibly juicy and flavoursome without requiring a drop of oil—all you need is a stock cube. She shared: “It may sound unusual, but poaching sausages in a bit of water and a stock cube will take less than five minutes but will infuse them with lots of flavour.”
Most people fry sausages, but this is not necessary as they naturally contain ample fat. Using oil can result in their skin burning and becoming charred, while the interior meat remains predominantly pink and raw.
The intense heat from frying them can also cause the sausages to burst open, which not only creates a mess but also dries them out, making them less appetising to eat.
However, if you initially poach sausages with a stock cube before popping them in the oven, you allow the insides to cook gently and evenly, ensuring the inside is thoroughly cooked without drying out.
Then, simply place them in the oven to allow the skin to crisp up, leaving you with incredibly succulent sausages that taste far superior to merely frying them.
Katherine admitted: “It might seem complicated, but this cooking method is really easy, and when I tried it out myself, the poaching took less than five minutes.”
Here’s how to whip up juicier and more flavoursome sausages
Simply fill a frying pan with a smidgen of water. You just need enough to cook the sausages and partially submerge them halfway, but they shouldn’t be fully underwater.
Pop a stock cube into the water and then crank up the heat until the liquid begins to bubble. Once the water is boiling, dial down the heat to a gentle simmer.
Next, line a tray with baking paper and preheat your oven to 200C, and now you’re ready to cook the sausages. Chuck the sausages into the frying pan and let them sizzle for two minutes.
You only need one minute of poaching per side, so remember to flip them over. After the sausages have been poached, swiftly transfer them to the prepared tray and pop them in the oven.
Mind not to pierce the skin with a fork when moving them, as this could cause all the juices to leak out and make them lose a lot of their flavour. Allow the sausages to roast for roughly 15 to 20 minutes. You’ll know when they’re done as they should look crispy and brown.
Finally, nestle the sausages on a buttered roll, slather in your favourite sauce, and they will taste absolutely heavenly when you sink your teeth into them.
Katherine concluded: “In my opinion, the sausages were packed with much more flavour while still be really crispy. This proved to me that you do not need any oil at all to cook sausages, and I do not think I can go back to frying them ever again.”
