How Do You Know When Breakfast Sausage is Cooked?

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.

Breakfast sausage is a delicious way to start the day. The savory meat seasoned with sage, pepper, and other spices pairs perfectly with eggs, pancakes, biscuits, and more. But undercooked sausage can harbor harmful bacteria, so it’s important to fully cook it before eating. When making breakfast sausage at home, how can you tell when it’s done?

There are a few easy ways to determine if your breakfast sausage is thoroughly cooked and safe to eat

Use a Meat Thermometer

The most reliable way to check doneness is by taking the internal temperature of the sausage with an instant-read meat thermometer Insert the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the sausage, making sure to reach the center

For ground pork or beef sausage, the internal temperature should reach 160°F. Chicken or turkey sausage should reach 165°F. At these temperatures, any potentially harmful bacteria are killed. If your thermometer doesn’t reach these markers, continue cooking the sausage longer.

Check Internal Color

Slice into a sausage to visually inspect the internal color. Properly cooked pork or beef sausage will be brownish-pink with no traces of red or pink. Poultry sausage should have no traces of pink and be white or light brown throughout.

If the interior seems underdone, opaque, or glistening, it needs more time to cook. Be sure to wash hands and cooking tools after handling raw sausage.

Look for Juices

Poke a sausage with a fork or knife tip. If clear juices run out, it is undercooked. When sausage is fully cooked, any juices that escape will be mostly brownish rather than pink or red. Well-done sausage may have very little moisture released.

Boil Before Cooking

For an extra layer of protection, you can pre-cook breakfast sausage by simmering in water, broth, or wine for 7-10 minutes before searing in a skillet or on the grill. This parboiling ensures harmful bacteria are eliminated while keeping the interior moist.

Cook Thoroughly on Grill

If grilling sausage directly without parboiling, be sure to cook over high heat, turning frequently, until the exterior is nicely browned. Cut into a piece to verify the inside is no longer pink. Grilling over too low heat can char the outside before the inside fully cooks.

Scramble in a Skillet

For loose breakfast sausage, remove it from the casing and crumble into a hot skillet. Breaking it up into small pieces allows you to see the color change as it cooks. Scramble and stir the crumbles until completely browned throughout with no traces of pink.

Check for Texture

When poked and pressed properly cooked sausages will be firm throughout. Undercooked sausages may still feel soft or squishy in the center when pressed. As sausage cooks the proteins coagulate, so a firm texture indicates doneness.

Cook Thoroughly if Reheating

Be extra diligent if reheating pre-cooked breakfast sausage to serve later. Reheat fully to 165°F or higher before eating to eliminate any bacteria that may have multiplied during storage.

Don’t Rely on Color Alone

While browned exterior color can indicate thorough cooking, it doesn’t guarantee safety on its own. Sausage can brown before the inside reaches a safe temperature. Use a thermometer or cut into sausages to verify interior doneness.

Cook Times as a Guide

Though cooking times can vary, sausage generally takes 8-12 minutes in a skillet, 10-15 minutes in the oven at 400°F, or 6-8 minutes on a hot grill. These cook times serve as a baseline, but always verify doneness through other methods as well.

Signs of Overcooked Sausage

It is possible to overcook breakfast sausage. Signs of overdone sausage include a color that is more grey-brown than light pink, very firm and dry texture, and a shrunken appearance. For the juiciest texture, remove sausage from heat once it reaches the recommended safe internal temperature.

Serving Safely

Always cook raw sausage to a safe internal temperature before eating. Don’t partially cook it ahead of time or use in a dish without thoroughly finishing the cooking process. After handling raw sausage, be sure to wash any utensils, platters, and hands that may have touched it before serving.

Tasty Ways to Enjoy Breakfast Sausage

Once you’ve perfected cooking breakfast sausage to a safe doneness, here are some delicious ways to serve it:

Breakfast sandwiches with egg and cheese on an English muffin
Baked into a quiche or breakfast casserole
Scrambled into a hash with potatoes and veggies
Crumbled over biscuits and gravy
Mixed into pancake or waffle batter
Stuffed into omelets or breakfast burritos
On a breakfast pizza with egg and veggies
Crumbled into a frittata or eggs benedict
In a breakfast bowl with grains, veggies and egg
Added to a breakfast taco with scrambled egg
Rolled up in a breakfast egg wrap
On top of avocado toast for a protein boost

With so many tempting choices, breakfast sausage can easily become a morning staple. Just be diligent about properly cooking it and verifying doneness before serving so you can safely enjoy those savory flavors. Starting the day with properly cooked breakfast sausage will give you energy to take on anything!

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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.

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.

Big Mistakes Everyone Makes When Cooking Breakfast Sausage

FAQ

How do you know when breakfast sausage is fully cooked?

To make sure that the sausages are done cooking, cut one of them in half on a plate. The inside should not have any pink in the middle and instead should be brown.

Is it OK for breakfast sausage to be a little pink?

This can be due to the preservatives used, such as sodium nitrite, which can cause the meat to retain a pink color. The key indicator of doneness should always be the internal temperature, not the color. As long as the sausage has reached the appropriate safe temperature, it should be safe to eat.

How long do you cook breakfast sausages?

Heat a nonstick skillet to medium-low. Add sausage. Cook for 12-16 minutes until sausage is browned and the internal temperature is 160°F, turning links often.

What does undercooked breakfast sausage look like?

A good rule of thumb is this: if the sausages are soft and squishy, and the juices are pink, they’re not done. If they’re firm and have clear running juices, they are likely finished and can come off of the stove.