Cooked chicken sausage tastes wonderful and is a nutritional, quick breakfast for your busy morning. You can even prepare it at ease.
This post will cover everything about cooked chicken sausage, such as testing methods and cooking. Let’s dig into the details!
How To Tell if Chicken Sausage Is Cooked?
A meat thermometer can help you check the doneness of your sausages easily. Simply insert its needle inside the meat to record the temperature.
If the internal temperature of your food is 165°F and remains for 30 seconds, you have well-cooked sausage.
Higher temperatures will cause the meat fat to melt, resulting in dry sausages.
Meanwhile, lower temperatures make the meat unsafe for consumption and increase your chances of acquiring a bacterial infection or even food poisoning.
Besides, you can use the following methods to test your cooked chicken sausage.
1. Cut the meat
You can cut the meat and check its interior.
If it’s pink and fluffy, you can’t consume it. Otherwise, you can serve it now if you see a brown color and firm texture in the meat.
2. Experiment
You may fail in cooking chicken sausage for the first few times. Yet, if you keep track of the temperature and time, you will be successful next time.
3. Touch the meat
Use your thumb to touch the sausage. It should be firm and dry after cooking correctly.
4. Pick it up
Try picking up the meat using tongs. If your food is floppy and keeps moving, it must be raw. You can only eat it when it’s firm and bouncy.
5. Check the time
Often, you can cook chicken sausage on medium to high heat. The whole process may take 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the size and cooking method.
How To Cook Chicken Sausage?
Testing the doneness of sausages is a simple task, and here is the more challenging one, cooking them.
Don’t worry! It won’t be as tricky as it sounds. The following guide will show you how to cook your chicken sausage for the best outcome.
Prepare
Start by cutting the chicken into small pieces and grinding the meat using a meat grinder. Then, season the meat with spices and stir the mixture thoroughly.
Then, fill the meat into casings. A meat grinder’s funnel can help you perform this task quickly.
Cook the sausage
Your sausages are ready for cooking. There are two methods to choose from:
In the oven
Cooking chicken sausages in the oven is the more popular choice because it gives your food a nice taste and takes little time. The instructions are as follows:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, putting the rack at the center.
- Lay the baking sheet on the baking tray and cover the parchment paper.
- Add some olive oil or cooking spray to the parchment paper.
- Place your sausages on the tray. Try to space them out so that they can cook well.
- Insert the tray into the preheated oven and let it cook.
- Bake your sausages for 30 minutes. You need to flip them half the time to ensure that all sides cook well.
- Once the color turns golden brown, your food is ready to serve.
On the stovetop
Using the stove to cook chicken sausage is also straightforward. Follow these steps, and you can serve your food in a few minutes.
- Place a pan on the stove and set it on medium heat.
- Drizzle olive oil and place the chicken sausages on the pan.
- Fry the sausages for six to seven minutes. Remember to flip and move them frequently to cook all sides evenly.
- When your sausages turn golden brown, switch off the stove and enjoy.
Can Chicken Sausage Be Pink in the Middle?
You may notice a tint of a pink hue in your sausage. As aforementioned, it can be a sign of undercooking.
However, the internal temperature is more important than appearance when checking the food’s doneness.
So, if the sausage is pink, but it still reaches the temperature of 165°F, your food can be safe to eat.
If you don’t have a meat thermometer, do not risk eating it. Often, pink and bloody meat means you must cook your food for longer.
Unless you can check the internal temperature of the meat, re-cooking it will be a better idea.
What If You Eat Undercooked Chicken Sausage?
Why do we have to emphasize testing the sausage’s doneness? Because undercooked one will cause many health problems, such as:
Trichinosis
This foodborne illness often results from consuming undercooked or raw contaminated with the trichinella spiralis worm.
Trichinosis causes numerous unpleasant symptoms, such as stomach ache, diarrhea, sweating, a fever, chills, sore muscles, thirst, etc.
If your case is more severe, you won’t be able to control your movements.
There will also be breathing problems and heart muscle inflammation. The signs of trichinosis might show up to 45 days after ingesting the contaminated meat.
So how can you prevent this disease? The solution is simple: cook the meat until it hits a safe internal temperature.
This video shows you how dangerous it is to eat raw chicken:
Salmonella
Other bacteria like salmonella may come with raw meat. The bacteria lead to symptoms like cramps, nausea, diarrhea, fever, etc.
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) states that the symptoms often develop six to six days after eating the infected sausage.
Most patients heal without the use of medication. Antibiotics are necessary, though, in extreme situations to assist in the healing process.
Wrapping Up
Cooking chicken sausage can be easy if you follow our instructions. However, your task doesn’t end there because you need to check if your food is safe to eat.
You can apply the testing methods we explained in this post; you’re good to go.
If you have any problems following our guide, please comment below. Health’s Kitchen will get back to you soon. Thank you for reading!
