Sausages bursting on BBQ

[Q]

Hi Everyone

Despite joining a while back this is my first posting on the forum (which is excellent, by the way - thanks sooooo much for the advice/recipes and the like), so please forgive any 'forum faux pas' from me!

I made some super pork, apple and caerphilly cheese sausages a couple of weeks back and thought I'd throw the last 6 on the BBQ (charcoal not gas) on Saturday.

After a couple of minutes they burst like nobody's business!

I'm sure there's a simple answer on prevention, but being a relative newbie to sausage making, I'm afraid it isn't immediately obvious to me. They've been fine in the oven or in a frying pan so I'm assuming it is not over-filling, is there a special technique for the BBQ?

Many thanks to anyone that replies.

[welsh wizard]

Hi Q

Did you us dried apple? If so unless it is VERY well soaked it can expand and burst the skins - the other reason for BBQ splits is they are too close to the heat so move them away and cook them longer. Each time I used a gas BBQ the skins split but my solid fuel one cooked them perfectly.

Cheers WW

[sausagemaker]

Have to agree with WW here it seems the sausage's was too near the heat source, try cooking sauasges on the edge of the BBQ for best results

Regards
Sausagemaker

[welsh wizard]

Interestingly I am about to embark on a 3 day show and I decided to cook sausages and duly made 20kg of pork apple and cider, but when i tried them on the gas bbq - BANG! they split (these are now destined for oven cooking and re freezing) so I did the next lot in sheep casings, took a length and coiled them up like a Cumberland and pushed a stick through them to hold them together. The result on the gas bbq was just like cooking on the solid fuel one, I suppose because they were compact and when they split there was no where for them to go as it were. So these performed really well........

Cheers WW

[Q]

I used fresh apples (skins removed) and added some cider to ensure the sausages were moist. Also left them to dry for a good few hours so the excess cider seemed to drain from them.

The heat seems the most probable problem (!), will leave them until the coals have died down (or cook them at the side) in future.

Thanks so much for the help and advice.

[trotters independant]

Hi

Just as a suggestion, next time you want to bbq some sausages pre heat your oven to around 180 degrees, cook for 8 / 10 minutes, turn, again for 8 / 10 minutes, remove, allow to cool, fridge, then when you want to use them on the bbq say a few days later, hey presto, no bursting skins!!! works with mine anyway, though I don't have apple in them so don't know if this is affecting them, try and see that is the best way.

Trotters

[Q]

Great idea Trotters! I'll certainly give that a go.

Also think I heard somewhere that poaching gently, then allowing to cool might be a solution, but I could have been dreaming at that point!

[jpj]

poaching 'sous vide' is a good way of cooking a lot of meats

[Ianinfrance]

Hi,

poaching 'sous vide' is a good way of cooking a lot of meats

Indeed, and of course the original use of a skin is reflected in the word "pudding", which derives from boudin, which was something poached gently in a sausage skin. So in effect the skin was the 13th century sous vide precursor. When there were only two ways of cooking, - boiling in a cauldron, or roasting in front of the fire, sous vide poaching was very important.

But I'm sure you knew all that.

[Q]

So, an early version of 'boil in the bag' then?!

Thanks for the information (and history!) I find it all absolutely fascinating.

Whilst I'm here - I'd be grateful if there were any ideas how long I should poach 'sous vide' for, if I'm going to refregierate then BBQ at a later time?

And - apologies for being such a pain - how long (I'm guessing max 24 hrs) can they safely be stored in the refrigerator, before they would need to be BBQ'd or discarded?

Again, many, many thanks - last annoying questions, I promise.

[jpj]

how big are they going to be?
how accurately can you control/monitor the cooking temperature?
what meats will you be using?

[vinner]

For poaching, the goal is to get them to 160 F degrees. Bring your water (with the sausages in it) to 180 degrees slowly. I use a steamer basket under the sausage, which are fully submerged, to keep the sausages off the bottom of the pot. Drain them in a colander, then wait about 10 minutes. Go ahead at that point and rinse them, them chill and store them. If you rinse too soon, you risk bursting them.

At this point, since I make about 20 pounds at a time, I vacuum pack them. You can reheat them any way you want. You can even split them down the middle without worrying that they will fall apart (as they are cooked and formed) and grill them in a pan.

Y'all are making me hungry!!

[Q]

Thanks JPJ and Vinner for coming back to me.

I'm not really sure what size/weight each sausage would be, never really checked! Will do that next time. I'm still in the early "playing" stages, will get to the exact science along the way!

I have a meat thermometer, so can easily check the 160f temperature.

Super explanation Vinner - will give it a crack at the weekend!

[trotters independant]

So, an early version of 'boil in the bag' then?!

Thanks for the information (and history!) I find it all absolutely fascinating.

Whilst I'm here - I'd be grateful if there were any ideas how long I should poach 'sous vide' for, if I'm going to refregierate then BBQ at a later time?

And - apologies for being such a pain - how long (I'm guessing max 24 hrs) can they safely be stored in the refrigerator, before they would need to be BBQ'd or discarded?

Again, many, many thanks - last annoying questions, I promise.

If you precook them in the oven as per my previous post and refrigerate well, I would say up to 5/6 days before you BBQ them, we have and have suffered no ill effects at all (he says scratchin both heads:-))

[Epicurohn]

I posted about this problem over a year ago and someone implied that if they don't burst then they're not bangers.

Another kind soul gave the right answer: There must be a perfect balance of moisture, fat and starch (rusk, potato flour, rice flour, soy protein, etc.), and these must be mixed accordingly so as to drive the condiments into the meat, develop a good mix and avoid streaking the fat.

Your objectives:

Tender Sausages
Juicy Sausages
Perfect Bite
No bursting


David