How to Cook Chicken Sausage: A Sizzling Guide

October 13, 2022
Written by Kristy J. Norton

There are three methods you can use to cook chicken sausages - frying, grilling, and baking.

I know that chicken sausages don't get a lot of love compared to regular pork sausages. However, considering that chicken sausage has fewer calories, I have worked hard to experiment with all the different ways I can cook chicken sausage. And now I am here to show you the ropes.

Here is everything you need to know about how to cook chicken sausage!

How to cook chicken sausage

What Methods Do You Use to Cook Chicken Sausage?

There are three methods that you can use when cooking chicken sausage. This includes frying, grilling, and baking the sausage in the oven.

I will go into greater detail about how to cook chicken sausages using each method below...

How to Fry Chicken Sausages?

When cooking chicken sausage on the stove, you can keep each chicken sausage whole or cut them diagonally into smaller pieces.

Step 1

Place a large skillet or frying pan on medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil or olive oil. If you want to cut down on calories, cooking spray will do as well.

Swirl the oil around the frying pan until the entire surface is coated.

Step 2

Place each chicken sausage in the pan, leaving space between each one. Cook until one side is browned before flipping over.

Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of each chicken sausage. When it reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit, take the cooked chicken sausage off the heat.

Pre cooked chicken sausage will take less time to cook than regular raw chicken sausage.

Chicken Sausage Skillet

You don't have to fry the sausages alone. Want to turn the dish into a meal? Then go ahead and fry yourself up a skillet.

For this easy recipe, you will need:

  • 1 tbs. of olive oil
  • 1 tbs. of butter
  • 1 tbs. of minced garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp. of salt
  • 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. of black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. of paprika
  • sausages, sliced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 bell peppers, diced
  • 1 zucchini, cut into slices and then quartered

Step 1

Mix all the seasonings in a bowl. Set aside.

Step 2

Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan.

When melted and heated, add the sausages and fry until browned.

Step 3

Add the vegetables, except for the garlic.

Season with the mixed seasonings and combine well.

Cook until the veggies are tender.

Add in the garlic, stir, and cook until the garlic is fragrant.

Step 4

Take off the stove and serve immediately.

How to Fry Chicken Sausages in an Air Fryer?

There is a good chance that you own an air fryer - most households do these days. It is a quick, efficient, and healthy method of preparing your food, including sausages.

Here are the instructions to follow for this method:

Step 1

Preheat the machine to 360 degrees F.

Step 2

Place the sausages in the fryer in a single layer. Make sure to leave some space in between them so that they brown up properly.

If you are cooking many sausages, you may need to break them up into batches so they cook more evenly.

Step 3

Take the sausages out of the fryer when they reach an internal temp of 165 degrees F. This can take about 17 to 20 minutes.

Young Lady Frying Sausages

How to Bake Chicken Sausage?

If you are looking for a healthy alternative to the stovetop, then baking chicken sausage is the way to go. You can drizzle a little bit of olive oil or cooking spray on the chicken sausages but it is unnecessary.

Step 1

Set the oven rack in the middle. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place each chicken sausage an inch or so away from one another. This will ensure that they are cooked evenly.

Step 3

Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until golden brown and the internal temperature of the sausages read 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take out of the oven and allow to cool enough to eat.

How to Grill Chicken Sausage?

This is another way of cooking chicken sausage so that it is healthy as you don't use any vegetable or olive oil. One of the other benefits is that when you cook chicken sausage on the grill, you get that gorgeous smoky flavor and charred sides.

Step 1

Set the grill to medium high heat.

Step 2

Arrange the chicken sausages on the grill grates.

Cook chicken sausages on one side until charred and then flip over.

Cook chicken sausage until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take off the grill and allow to rest.

How Do You Know When Chicken Sausages Are Cooked?

In addition to how to cook chicken sausage, the other most common question I get is:

How long do chicken sausages take to cook?

Now, like most people you may have gotten used to cook chicken sausage according to time or based on the golden brown appearance of the chicken sausages.

Unfortunately, all of these methods aren't very accurate.

As with any other meat food item, the only way to know that you have cooked the chicken sausage to perfection is to check the internal temperature.

The problem with checking the internal temp of a chicken sausage, though, is that whenever you insert the thermometer, you are piercing the casing.

When you do this, you release juices from the chicken sausage, increasing the risk of drying the meat out.

This is why you should wait until you see a bit of charring on either side of the chicken sausage.

Then, insert the meat thermometer through the puckered side of the chicken sausage so that you don't puncture the casing.

So, how do you tell:

Is chicken sausage fully cooked?

Well, once the inside of the chicken sausage reads 165 degrees F, it is safe for you to eat.

Sausages Frying In A Pan With Oil

How to Make Chicken Sausages?

Now that you know how to cook chicken sausage, it is worth it to learn how to make chicken sausage from scratch.

The reality is that the store bought kind just isn't that good. Not only is it lacking in flavor but it is usually all full of preservatives as well.

If you want the best chicken sausage you have ever tried, then here is what you will need to know and do when making chicken sausages:

What You Will Need

When it comes to making chicken sausage, it isn't just about the ingredients, the equipment matters a great deal as well.

Here is a breakdown of what you will need:

A Meat Grinder

Technically, you can use pre ground chicken for this recipe. However, it just won't taste as good.

Not to mention, for these sausages, the mixture is passed through the grinder after it has been seasoned to ensure that the meat is ground finely enough.

Not only does this improve the taste, but this trick also helps to ensure the sausages cook evenly.

Sausage Stuffer

If you are planning on making chicken sausage or even pork sausage more regularly, I would say that you should definitely invest in a sausage stuffer.

This is because it takes 90 percent of the effort out of stuffing your sausage!

If this is a one-time thing for you, then I have included a method on hand stuffing the sausage. Be warned that this can be a bit time consuming, particularly if you are making a large portion of sausage at once.

Ingredients

  • Natural casings
  • 5 lbs. of deboned chicken meat
  • 1 cup of chicken broth
  • 2 tbs. of kosher salt
  • 2 tsp. of black pepper
  • 2 tsp. of ground sage
  • 1 tsp. of thyme

Method

Step 1

Soak the casings in warm water.

Step 2

Cut the chicken into one inch pieces. Then feed the pieces into the meat grinder until you get ground chicken.

Step 3

Place the ground chicken in a bowl and add the seasonings. Mix until combined well.

Add the broth to this mix and stir until well combined.

Step 4

Pass the mix through the meat grinder again but use the fine plate this time.

Step 5

Take one casing and place it over the tube of the funnel. Then, push the meat mixture through the funnel and into the case.

Once you are done, tie the chicken sausage off.

If you don't want to make this effort, you can use a sausage stuffer for the job instead.

Step 6

Refrigerate the chicken sausage and use within three days. If you want to store the chicken sausages beyond this period, make sure to freeze them so that they don't go bad.

Frying Sausages with Green Asparagus

A Note About Seasonings

As you will have seen, I have kept it pretty simple with the seasonings for my sausages. This is because chicken tends to have a pretty mild flavor and I find that if you go overboard with the herbs and spices, you can lose that natural flavor profile.

That being said, there is no need to stick to the seasonings that I have used here. Feel free to experiment with various options until you find one that you like.

Think of how you usually season your chicken for inspiration. Or, consider you regular store brand flavors - is there one that you like in particular? If so, think about how you can replicate these flavors at home.

I would suggest breaking up the ground chicken into several portions and then adding a few different seasoning combinations to each portion.

This will give you a better idea of what might work well together without having to run several trials.

What Do You Serve Chicken Sausage With?

Did you know that if you are cooking chicken sausage that you made yourself that you can turn it into a pretty nutritious meal? After all, it is just chicken with some seasonings - no preservatives or other ingredients that can push your sausages into the unhealthy category.

To round out the meal, you can consider serving it with green beans and other vegetables, along with bread rolls and maybe a salad.

Your other option is to serve the sausages up as hot dogs. In this case, you can dress them up with ketchup, mustard, mayo, or sauerkraut. Maybe serve them with a side of coleslaw or French fries.

If you want to keep things healthy, then consider making roasted potatoes or homemade potato wedges to round out the meal.

There you go - you know all you need to about cooking chicken sausage! It doesn't matter what your preference is, you will be able to whip up the best batch of sausages each and every time.

If you don't have a preference give each method a try until you figure out your favorite!

By Kristy J. Norton
I'm Kristy – a chef and connoisseur of all things BBQ! You can find me either in my kitchen (or someone else's) or at a big outdoor barbecue surrounded by friends and family. In both my professional and personal life I’ve picked up more than a few tips and tricks for turning out delicious food. I consider it a privilege to share it with others!
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