It’s a weekend morning, and you’re standing at the stove, cooking up delicious breakfast sausage. You notice the meat is brown, and it smells great, but is it done?.
It’s not always easy to tell when sausage is done, but you should make sure it is before you serve it to your family. Here are some tricks and tips you can use to tell if your sausage is cooked completely.
Pork sausage is a staple at breakfast tables and backyard barbecues across America. From hearty breakfast patties to plump bratwurst on the grill properly cooked sausage is juicy, flavorful and safe to eat. But what temperature should pork sausage be to ensure it’s cooked through without drying out?
The USDA recommends cooking raw pork sausages to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C). This kills any harmful bacteria that may be present. While 160°F is the recommended safe minimum temperature, cooking sausage between 155-165°F will give you the best results. Here’s why:
Why 160°F For Sausage?
The USDA guidelines state whole cuts of pork like chops and roasts are safe to eat at 145°F. So why the higher 160°F for ground sausage? It comes down to the grinding process.
When whole cuts of meat are ground up, bacteria from the surface gets mixed throughout the ground meat. Sausage needs to reach 160°F in the center to kill any bacteria that may have gotten mixed in during grinding.
This guideline applies to all types of sausage including:
- Fresh pork sausage
- Pre-cooked smoked sausage
- Raw bratwurst, Italian sausage, chorizo
- Breakfast patties and links
- Loose ground sausage or crumbles
No matter the style, raw pork sausage should reach 160°F minimum for food safety.
Why 155-165°F Is Best For Perfectly Cooked Sausage
While 160°F kills bacteria, cooking sausage between 155-165°F gives you the best texture:
155°F – Sausage begins to firm up but still has a moist, juicy texture.
160°F – Center is fully cooked but can be slightly firm or chalky.
165°F – Sausage firms up but remains moist if not overcooked.
Cooking to around 160-165°F helps render fat for flavor. It also gives the collagen in sausage time to break down into gelatin, keeping it tender and juicy.
So for the best texture and moisture, 155-165°F is ideal. Use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness. Thermometers give you precision and take the guesswork out of determining when sausage is ready.
How To Cook Sausage To 155-165°F
Cooking sausage between 155-165°F not only ensures food safety but gives you juicy, flavorful results. Here are some easy methods:
1. Poach or Simmer Then Brown
Poaching or simmering sausages in liquid before searing browns the outside and cooks the inside evenly.
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Add sausages to a skillet and cover with water, stock, beer or wine. The liquid should come 1/2 to 3/4 up the sides of the sausage.
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Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Let cook for 15-20 minutes until sausages reach 160°F internally.
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Drain then increase heat to high. Add a bit of oil or butter to the pan and brown the sausages for 1-2 minutes per side.
This gives you sausages with a nicely seared exterior and a moist, fully cooked interior.
2. Grill After Parboiling
Parboiling sausages before grilling cooks them through so they don’t burst on the grill.
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Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add sausages and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until they reach 150°F internally.
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Drain sausages then grill over direct high heat for 2-3 minutes per side to brown.
Grilling gives great char while the parboil ensures the interior hits a safe temp.
3. Braise in the Oven
For hands-off cooking, braise sausages in the oven:
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Brown sausages in a skillet first to develop flavor.
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Place browned sausages in a baking dish and add your favorite braising liquid like beer, tomato sauce or chicken stock.
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Cover and bake at 350°F for 15-30 minutes until sausages reach 160°F internally.
The moist heat of braising keeps sausages tender as they cook through.
4. Cook Completely on the Stovetop
You can cook sausages start to finish right in a skillet. Here’s how:
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Add sausages to a cold skillet along with 1-2 Tbsp oil or butter.
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Cook over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until sausages reach 155-165°F internally, 15-25 minutes.
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If pan seems dry during cooking, add a splash of water or broth. This helps steam the sausages.
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Once cooked, increase heat to high for 1-2 minutes to brown sausages deeply.
This stovetop method gives you delicious sausage without ever turning on the oven.
How To Tell When Sausage Is Done
An instant read thermometer is the most reliable way to determine when sausage is fully cooked and safe to eat. To check temperature:
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Insert the probe into the thickest part of a sausage, making sure the probe isn’t touching bone, fat or the pan.
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Wait 10-15 seconds for the thermometer reading to stabilize before reading.
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Check several sausages to confirm they have all reached the 155-165°F range.
Even if a sausage looks fully cooked, use a thermometer to verify doneness. Some smoked or pre-cooked sausages may appear browned through when raw inside.
Once sausage hits 160°F, it’s safe to eat immediately. For food safety, sausage should not sit in the “danger zone” between 40-140°F for more than 2 hours. Keep sausage chilled right up until cooking, and refrigerate or freeze any leftovers within 2 hours.
Don’t Overcook Your Sausage!
It can be tempting to cook sausage to well-done to “make sure it’s done.” But overcooking turns sausage dry, tough and flavorless. For moist, juicy sausage texture:
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Cook raw sausage to 155-165°F, not beyond. This prevents overdrying.
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Avoid charring or burning. Blackened spots mean the sausage is overcooked.
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If grilling, move sausages to indirect heat once browned to prevent scorching.
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For fully cooked sausages, reheat to 165°F. Higher temps make them rubbery.
With the right temperature, you can enjoy succulent sausage perfection. For more tips on cooking sausage and other meats safely, check out thermomeat.com. Happy grilling!
Can Color Tell You If Sausage Is Cooked?
Color can help you figure out if the sausage is done, but it’s not a good enough sign by itself. There is a large percentage of fat in sausage. The fat cooks faster than the meat, turning the whole link brown before the meat is fully cooked. As a result, the sausage can look cooked even though it is not.
This is important to note because sausage meat can contain bacteria that your stove heat kills. Some bacteria can stay in the sausage if it is taken off the heat too soon, which could make someone sick after eating it. However, there are two ways to ensure your sausage is safe to eat.
Ways to Tell Your Sausage Is Cooked
If you’re wondering how to tell if the sausage is cooked, take a look at these two pointers.
Need to check if your sausage is done cooking while it’s on the stove? Look at the core of the link to see if the meat is done. Using a basic meat thermometer model or an electronic one, probe your sausage in the center. The tool will give you an accurate reading of the internal temperature of your meat.
When you stick your sausage with a meat thermometer, it should read between 160 and 170 degrees Fahrenheit. When your thermometer reads this number, it means that the heat has killed any harmful bacteria. Just make sure the temperature remains between that range for at least 20 seconds. This amount of time ensures the meat is thoroughly cooked and ready to be served.
Pork Cooking Temperature & Meat Thermometer Basics
FAQ
Is pork sausage safe to eat at 145 degrees?
What temperature is pork sausage cooked to?
How do you know when pork sausage is fully cooked?
Why must pork sausage be cooked to 155?
How do you take the temperature of sausage?
Here’s how to properly take the sausages’ temperature: First, make sure your thermometer is properly calibrated. To do that, fill a glass with ice and then fill it with water. Wait 5 minutes and then take the temperature with your thermometer. If it reads 32°F/0°C, then you know your thermometer is properly calibrated.
Is sausage casing healthier option to eat?
Cellulose casings and some natural casings are perfectly fine to eat. Sausage casings are used to hold and shape filling inside so that it can be cooked. There are natural sausage casings and synthetic varieties, and most of them are edible. The healthiest way to cook them is by boiling or baking. Sausages provide high levels of vitamin B12 and iron, both of which are essential for healthy red blood cells and hemoglobin production.
What temperature should pork sausage be cooked at?
To ensure that the pork sausage is safe to eat and delicious, it is best to cook it to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) . The easiest way to cook pork sausage is to poach or simmer them in a liquid
What temperature should breakfast sausage be cooked at?
Breakfast sausage is notoriously tricky to cook, as one must avoid drying it out without undercooking it. For optimal safety and taste, breakfast sausages should be cooked until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Using a reliable food thermometer when gauging this temperature is essential – they feel the test won’t always work!