Do I Need to Cook Sausage Before Putting It on Pizza?

Pizza night is a weekly tradition in many households. There’s just something so satisfying about a hot, fresh pizza loaded up with your favorite toppings. One topping that is a must for many pizza lovers is sausage. The savory, seasoned meat adds great flavor and heartiness to pizza. However, there is some debate around whether or not sausage needs to be precooked before putting it on pizza. In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of cooking sausage first so you can decide for yourself if it’s an essential step for your next pizza night.

Why You Should Precook Sausage for Pizza

There are a few good reasons why it’s recommended to precook sausage before topping your pizza:

Ensures the Sausage is Fully Cooked

Raw sausage can contain harmful bacteria that is eliminated through proper cooking. Pizza ovens and home ovens cook very hot and very fast. While this works great for getting pizza crust crispy, it may not allow enough time for raw sausage to fully cook through. Precooking the sausage before adding it to your pizza ensures any bacteria is killed and the sausage reaches a safe internal temperature.

Prevents a Greasy Pizza

Raw sausage releases a lot of fat and grease as it cooks. Putting raw sausage straight onto an unbaked pizza means all that grease gets released while the pizza bakes This can result in a very oily, greasy pizza. Not very appetizing! Precooking draws out the fat ahead of time so your baked pizza won’t be dripping in grease.

Allows Better Control of Browning

It’s easy to burn sausage when baking it directly on pizza. The high heat of the oven can overcook the outside before the inside is done Precooking lets you better control the level of browning so your sausage doesn’t end up charred and blackened on the pizza.

Gives More Even Cooking

The ingredients on top of a pizza cook at different rates. Precooking the sausage means you don’t have to worry about it still being raw when the crust and cheese are perfectly done. Taking the extra step helps everything finish cooking at the same time.

Prevents a Saggy Pizza

Raw sausage releases a lot of moisture as it cooks, All that liquid on top of the pizza can make the crust soggy and cause it to collapse, Precooking removes most of the moisture so the crust stays nice and crisp

Allows Adjusting Seasoning

If your sausage tastes a little bland straight out of the package, precooking lets you season it first. You can tweak the flavoring to your tastes by adding more salt, pepper, herbs or other spices. It’s harder to adjust once the sausage is baked onto the pizza.

Reasons You May Not Need to Precook Sausage

While precooking sausage has some benefits, there are also reasons you may be fine just topping your pizza raw:

• Using Pre-Cooked Sausage – If you are using a pre-fully cooked sausage, like a cured pepperoni, then precooking is not necessary for food safety.

• High Temperature Oven – If baking your pizza at a very high temp (500°F+) the sausage can fully cook in the short pizza baking time.

• Thin Sausage – Precooking is most important for thick sausages. Thin breakfast sausage may cook through fine uncooked.

• Crisp Crust Not Required – If you prefer a softer, chewier crust you can bake at a lower temp which gives the sausage time to cook.

• Likes Grease – Some folks enjoy the greasy drippings from uncooked sausage on pizza. If you like your pie a little oily, you can skip precooking.

• Using a Pizza Stone – A hot pizza stone can crisp the crust fast before grease from sausage leaks out.

• Bake Sausage Separately – You can bake the sausage pieces on a tray until browned before topping the pizza.

• Partially Precook – For a compromise, you can partially precook sausage to render some fat before putting on pizza.

• Add Near End of Bake – Top with raw sausage in the last 2-3 minutes so it browns without overcooking.

Precooking Tips for Sausage

If you do decide to precook sausage for your pizza, here are some tips:

• Line a pan with foil or parchment paper to minimize sticks and splatters.

• Don’t overcrowd the pan, sausage needs room to brown evenly.

• Use a splatter screen to contain pop and sizzle.

• Cook on stovetop or bake at 400°F, turning occasionally until browned.

• Drain on paper towels to remove excess grease before topping pizza.

• Partially freeze – for easier slicing thinner or dicing sausage.

• Add some sauce while cooking to enhance flavor.

• Crumble and spread out to prevent clumping on pizza.

• Sprinkle cheese first to create a barrier between sausage and crust.

Making Pizza with Sausage

Here are some tasty ways to use precooked sausage on your homemade pizza:

• Sausage and Mushroom – With sliced mushrooms, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

• Breakfast Pizza – Eggs, cheese, and crumbled precooked breakfast sausage.

• Sausage and Pepper – With sliced bell peppers, onion, oregano, and shredded Italian cheese blend.

• Supreme Pizza – Pepperoni, Italian sausage, veggies, and mozzarella cheese.

• White Pizza – Olive oil base with garlic, spinach, sausage, ricotta, and Italian seasonings.

• BBQ Chicken and Sausage – Grilled chicken, smoked sausage, red onion, cheddar, and BBQ drizzle.

The Verdict

While it may seem like an unnecessary extra step, precooking sausage before topping your homemade pizza has some convincing advantages. You can better control the doneness, flavor, and texture of the sausage while also preventing a soggy, greasy crust. However, if you prefer a soft crust, don’t mind a little grease, or use cured sausage, you can likely get away with putting raw sausage directly on your pizza. Get creative and try both methods to decide which gives you the best results!