Browning whole sausages

[MatthewB]

Last night I tried out Arthur Swartz's recipe for pasta fazool.

He's fairly insistent that one brown whole sausages by starting the sausages in a cold pan with a bit of oil & then browning them over medium-low to low heat.

The fresh sausages I used were "arced" so it was quite difficult--but still enjoyable--to keep moving the sausages at weird angles in order to get the middle & ends of the sides that were arced.

Any techniques to make browning whole "arced" sausages easier?

[guajolote]

If you have something else in the pan (onions, peppers) you can "lean" the sausages up against it. You could also cut them into smaller pieces.

[Dave the Cook]

I find that covering the pan helps. You never get them evenly browned, but keeping the hot air close to the sausage helps. It won't work in conjunction with guajolote's suggestion (a technique which I've nevertheless found useful), because of the moisture released by the vegetables.

[tommy]

strangely, i just browned some arched sausages the other night, and thought "hmm, this is more difficult than i remember". worse yet, they got really really brown really quickly, even though the heat wasn't high.

i don't recall having this many problems browning sausage!

[Jon Tseng]

To get brown all over have you tried roasting on a rack?

Healthier too!

J

[fresco]

He's fairly insistent that one brown whole sausages by starting the sausages in a cold pan with a bit of oil & then browning them over medium-low to low heat.

I'm trying to figure out why it is so important to brown sausages to an exacting standard if they are going to wind up, as I assume they are, either in chunks or out of their casings in a soupy dish with many other ingredients. Does Swartz say why?

[Anna N]

Man - this is SCARY. I just made a sausage stew this morning and had the same trouble - those sausages just seemed to be bending their backs to avoid the heat! I don't remember similar problems before but I ascribe that to my lackadaisical attitude in the past - Mario changed all that when he lectured that the big difference in taste between home-cooked and restaurant meals was the attention paid in the browning stage!

Anna N

[MatthewB]

He's fairly insistent that one brown whole sausages by starting the sausages in a cold pan with a bit of oil & then browning them over medium-low to low heat.

I'm trying to figure out why it is so important to brown sausages to an exacting standard if they are going to wind up, as I assume they are, either in chunks or out of their casings in a soupy dish with many other ingredients. Does Swartz say why?

Swartz wants crunchy skins & juicy sausage.

So the idea is to brown the whole sausages, set aside, slice into 1/4 inch pieces & add to the soup just before serving. The sausage slices don't simmer in the soup.

[Jinmyo]

To get brown all over have you tried roasting on a rack?

Healthier too!

J

This is what I often do. At 450 F.

[fifi]

To get brown all over have you tried roasting on a rack?

Healthier too!

J

This is what I often do. At 450 F.

I have always just accepted that sausages are only browned on two sides. I can see why you would be more picky about it in the Swartz recipe.

*Smacks forehead with heal of hand*

But then, I never thought of a rack in the oven. DUH!

[MatthewB]

*Smacks forehead with heal of hand*

But then, I never thought of a rack in the oven. DUH!

Same here.

I will try the roasting rack method.

I think I'll use a cooling rack on a jellyroll pan.

[sherribabee]

To get brown all over have you tried roasting on a rack?

Healthier too!

J

I've certainly never thought of that. And to think of all the browning fights I've lost with my arched sausages.