No matter the primary type of meat in your breakfast sausage, the best way to cook them is completely. Under-cooked pork, chicken, turkey or game meat can make you very sick.
While many people prefer to cook their sausages on the grill, it’s surprisingly easy to enjoy a delicious sausage straight out of the oven.
Simply spread your sausages out evenly on a tray and cook for around 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Your oven-cooked sausages will be surprisingly juicy and tasty with minimal fuss or clean-up. Of course, you should double-check to make sure that they have been cooked all the way through.
Preparation & Directions
Some recipes call for pricking the sausage casing before cooking to release fat. This is only a good idea when cooking pork sausage with a high fat percentage. Any lean meat sausage will lose water and take on a tough, chewy texture if pricked before frying or baking.
To keep your sausage nice and moist, do not puncture the casings of sausages made from lean meats.
Cooking sausage in the oven is a speedy and convenient way to prepare this delicious source of protein.
- Preheat your oven to at least 400 degrees Fahrenheit /204 degrees Celsius. Verify this temperature with a thermostat to reduce the risk of under-cooking the sausage.
- Take the sausages out of the fridge 10-15 minutes before cooking to remove chill and cook more evenly.
- Lay the sausages flat in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil – if you want an easy clean-up, lay the sausages on baking foil or cooking paper.
- Lay the baking pan in the middle rack of your oven.
- Bake uncovered for fifteen to twenty minutes.
- Turn sausages once or twice during that time to ensure even browning. Be aware that thicker sausages may take longer to cook.
- Before you turn the oven off, cut the largest sausage in half to make absolutely certain the sausages are completely cooked and have no pink meat left inside.
The most important factor to consider when determining how to cook sausage in the oven “done-ness.”
Even smoked meats can harbor bacteria, so getting sausages to the right temperature and keeping them hot enough to kill off microbes is critically important.
Finally, if your sausage smells funny, it’s probably bad as mentioned in our ‘How To Know If Pork Is Bad’ guide.
What Temp To Cook Sausage & How Long?
When cooking meat, you need to ensure that it is heated thoroughly, right through the center, to ensure you aren’t consuming any bacteria that can make you ill.
Sausages should be heated to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit or more for safety. You can use a meat thermometer to check this.
Fatter sausages will take longer to heat through – maybe as long as 40 minutes.
Before consuming your cooked sausages, cut them open to ensure no pinkness remains inside. When pricked with a fork, the juices should run clear.
How Long To Cook Sausage In Oven At 350?
If cooking at 350 degrees F, you need to cook your sausage for an absolute minimum of 25 minutes, turning it over after 10.
Fatter sausages will need longer cooking periods.
How Long To Cook Sausage In Oven At 425?
If cooking at 425 degrees F, set your timer for at least 20 minutes, ensuring you turn the sausages over halfway through the cooking time.
As always, bigger, fatter sausages may need longer times. Use a meat temperature to check internal cooking temperatures (which should be at least 160) and slice open to check for redness inside before eating.
Sausage Basics & Considerations
Sausage is a mixture of base meats, spices, fats, and water. It can either be pressed into patties or encased and sold as links. Depending on the fat content of the base meat, there may be more water in the sausage blend.
Sausage making originated when people realized that meat could be kept edible with the addition of salt and smoke. See our best sausage stuffer guide for more information on making sausages at home.
As sausage became more popular and portable, sausage recipes became more specific to region and butcher. Today, more than two hundred types and varieties of sausage are sold around the world.
Sausage making may be built around scraps including organ meats but it has grown into a science. Different spice blends and smoking times offer diners a wide variety of flavors and textures – including a wide range of vegetarian options.
