Even though everyone loves pizza night, if your family is sick of having the same old cheese pizza every week, it might be time to try something new. It’s easy to make pizza night more fun by adding new toppings like sausage. Your family will keep coming back for more slices. Sprinkling some sausage on top of your pizza will also up its protein content — a nice bonus!.
You need to do some work before you can enjoy a sweet and spicy sausage pizza bite. Let’s look at some strategies and options to make your next pizza night unforgettable.
Placing irresistible, hearty sausage atop a hot, cheesy pizza creates a mouthwatering meal. But should you cook those sausage crumbles or slices first before topping your pizza? Or can you safely add raw sausage straight to the unbaked pizza? This great sausage pizza debate has home cooks and pizza joints divided.
On one side, many argue pre-cooking sausage thoroughly before adding it to pizza guarantees it will be safe to eat and prevents a burnt pizza crust. The other camp swears that raw sausage delivers unbeatable flavor, moisture and texture that pre-cooked sausage just can’t match.
So who’s right in this great sausage pizza dispute? As with most divisive food debates, there are reasonable points on both sides. In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of cooking sausage for pizza and offer tips to make crowd-pleasing sausage pizza perfect every time.
Why Pre-Cooking Sausage has its Benefits
Here are some of the best reasons for fully cooking Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, chorizo, or any raw sausage variety before topping your pizza:
Food Safety from Raw Meats
Foodborne illnesses from raw meats like E coli and salmonella are no joke Cooking sausages thoroughly to the safe internal temperature of 160°F kills any potential bacteria. Pre-cooking provides peace of mind that your sausage pizza won’t make guests sick.
Prevent Burnt Pizza Crust
Most pizza crusts bake at blistering temps of 450°F to 500°F. Cooking raw sausage from start to finish directly on pizza in these high heat ovens risks burning the outer crust before the interior sausage fully cooks. Pre-cooking sausage prevents this problem.
Accommodate Quick Home Oven Times
Unlike commercial conveyor ovens, home ovens typically bake pizzas for just 10-15 minutes. That brief time may not fully cook thick sausage pieces layered on top. Pre-cooking gives sausages a head start.
Control Moisture for Crisp Crust
Raw sausage releases lots of fat and moisture when cooked, which can create a soggy pizza crust. Pre-cooking allows excess fat to drain off for a crisper crust.
Avoid Grease-Soaked Toppings
All that sausage drippings can also soak into other toppings, especially vegetables, herbs, and greens. Pre-cooking helps prevent this greasy pit fall.
Overall, pre-cooking sausage before topping your pizza offers safety, prevents burning, and gives more control over moisture in producing the perfect pizza. For many home cooks and pizzerias, those benefits outweigh any loss in flavor.
Why Using Raw Sausage has its Advantages
However, supporters of raw sausage toppings cite some convincing benefits as well:
Maximum Flavor
Browning raw sausage atop pizza enhances flavors that develop during cooking. Pre-cooked sausage often ends up bland and one-note.
Improved Texture
The high oven heat crisps and chars raw sausage morsels placed right on the pizza for awesome texture. Pre-cooked sausage can end up mushy.
More Even Cooking
Raw sausage finishes cooking along with the rest of the pizza, so the crust, cheese, sauce, and toppings all complete together. With pre-cooked sausage, the crust may overbake while waiting for toppings to warm through.
Natural Sausage Juices Enhance Flavor
Rather than causing sogginess, juices released from the raw sausage provide tons of flavor to the entire pizza. Pre-cooking drains away all those tasty drippings.
Easier Process
Skipping pre-cooking saves you time and dirty pans in sausage prep. Just slice, dice or crumble the sausage and add it straight to the unbaked pizza.
As you can see, perfectly cooked sausage with unbelievable texture and flavor provides strong motivation to use raw sausage. For purists pursuing pizza perfection, raw sausage is the clear choice.
Tips for Pre-Cooking Sausage
If you favor pre-cooking sausage for pizza, here are some tips for keeping it as tasty as possible:
-
Lightly brown – Cook just until browned and 160°F. Avoid overcooking into tough, dried out sausage.
-
Pan fry or roast – Quick pan frying or roasting in the oven yields the best texture and flavor. Don’t boil or microwave.
-
Drain then blot – Draining on paper towels absorbs excess grease but keeps some flavorful drippings.
-
Cool before topping – Let sausage cool slightly before adding to pizza so it doesn’t overcook.
-
Season – Sprinkle extra seasoning like Italian herbs, fennel, or red pepper flakes after cooking for flavor.
Recommendations for Raw Sausage
Want to go the raw sausage route for the juiciest, most flavorful sausage pizza possible? Follow these expert tips:
-
Quality sausage – Splurge on good quality fresh sausage from a butcher for best results. Pre-packaged can dry out.
-
Portion small – Cut or crumble sausage in small 1/2″ pieces so it cooks quickly.
-
Partially bake crust – Bake the dough 2-3 minutes before adding toppings to prevent burning bottom.
-
Sprinkle cheese first – Cheese as barrier between wet sausage and crust keeps crust crisp.
-
Turn on broiler – Broil the last 1-2 minutes to brown sausage nicely without overbaking.
The Verdict on the Great Sausage Pizza Debate
So in this battle of pre-cooked versus raw sausage on pizza, is there a clear winner? The answer is…it depends! Each approach has legitimate advantages the other side can’t match. Here are some factors to help you decide:
-
If concerned about food safety or needing to accommodate quick baking times, pre-cooking sausage is the smart route.
-
For the best possible sausage texture with maximum flavor infusion into the entire pizza, raw sausage is king.
-
In restaurants with specialty high-heat ovens, raw sausage can fully cook and excel. Home bakers face more limitations.
-
Thin crust pizzas and those with lengthy bake times can handle raw sausage best. Pre-cook for thick crust, short bakes.
-
Compromise by partially pre-cooking sausage before topping pizza to start the cooking but still allow for extra oven time.
The verdict is that the preferred sausage preparation boils down to your specific comfort level, baking environment, and just how much pizza perfection you demand!
Whichever path you take in the great sausage pizza debate, always practice food safety and use a digital thermometer to verify your sausage and pizza reach safe internal temperatures throughout. With the right preparation, your sausage pizza will have family and friends begging for more, no matter which sausage camp you fall into!
k
How to Successfully Cook Sausage Links
While many people believe cooking sausage is a challenge, we think it’s quite the opposite. Some of the most common ways to cook Premio sausage links are on the stove, in the oven, or on the grill. No matter what method you use, make sure the pork sausage and chicken sausage are both cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and 165 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, so they are safe to eat. Stick to the following steps to cook your Premio sausage properly:
- Put a pan with 6 tablespoons of water on medium heat.
- Place sausage links in the skillet.
- Cover the pan and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Rotate links often.
- Take off the lid and cook for another five to seven minutes.
- Enjoy!
- Place links on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Place the sheet 7 to 9 inches below the heating element in a cold oven and set the temperature to broil.
- Broil for 13 to 15 minutes on each side.
- Serve and enjoy.
- Preheat your grill with medium flames.
- Set the links on the racks and cook them for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Turn sausage routinely for even browning.
- Serve as desired.
Types of Sausage You Can Use For Pizza Toppings
There are a lot of different kinds of sausage in a lot of different sizes and flavors, so you can make the perfect pizza for your tastes. These kinds of sausage are often used as pizza toppings. Try some of them on your next pizza night at home:
- Hot: If you like red pepper flakes on your pizza, you’ll love putting hot Italian sausage slices or crumbles on top of your pie.
- If you like your salty foods to have a little sweetness to them, on the other hand, adding sweet Italian sausage to your pizza will make your taste buds sing.
- Mild: Mild Italian sausage is the perfect pizza topping for people who don’t like their meat too spicy or too sweet.
- Patties: Italian sausage patties can be hot or sweet. They can be broken up in a skillet to make sausage crumbles, or they can be kept whole to make meatballs that look amazing on top of your pie.
- Links: How about some breakfast pizza? Breakfast sausage links and a runny egg make for a delicious brunch treat.
- Ground meat: Ground sausage is great for easy, quick cooking when you’re in a hurry. You can save time by not cutting or decasing the Italian ground sausage. Instead, just put it in a skillet and cook it.
- If you don’t like red meat, you can still add protein and flavor to your pizza by topping it with chicken sausage.
Recipe: Easy Sausage Pizza
FAQ
Do you have to cook sausage before putting it on a pizza?
Do you have to cook sausage before putting it in the pizza oven?
Can you put raw sausage on wood fired pizza?
Should you put cooked or raw meat on pizza?
Should you cook Sausage before making a pizza?
By precooking the sausage, you ensure that the meat is safe to eat. Texture and flavor: Cooking the sausage beforehand allows for a better texture and enhanced flavor on the pizza. The seared outer layer of the sausage can give the pizza an extra layer of taste and texture.
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.
Can you eat uncooked sausage on pizza?
Food poisoning as a result of uncooked sausage on pizza could cause symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, headaches, and in severe cases, hospitalization and death. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the risks of using raw sausage on pizza and consider cooking the sausage before putting it on your pizza.
How to cook raw sausage on pizza?
The temperature of the pizza plays a crucial role in cooking raw sausage on pizza. Since the sausage is not pre-cooked, it can take a longer time to cook properly on the pizza. To ensure that the sausage is fully cooked, the pizza needs to be cooked at a higher temperature, usually around 425-450°F, for a longer period.