The Best 3 Ways To Make Sure Your Sausage Is Never Undercooked

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Have you ever asked yourself, “Did I just give myself food poisoning by eating undercooked sausage”? There is no way to pinpoint the food poisoning came from undercooked sausage unless that’s the only thing you ate in days.

As most cases of food poisoning, there is a delay from when you ate the tainted food to your body reacting. Just because you ate undercooked sausage, does not mean you’ll experience food poisoning symptoms within the first hour. It can take days to manifest.

Sausage is one of those tricky meats that need to be watched carefully when preparing. There is a high tendency, the sausage you prepare will be undercooked. Although undercooked sausage doesn’t mean you’re going to get food poisoning, it can make your chances higher.

Many years ago, before I knew how to properly cook sausage, I gave my husband at the time an ultra-wicked case of food poisoning from the sausage dish I made. Let’s just say, it was a very messy situation. How was I supposed to know the sausage I made was undercooked? It looked done from the outside.

That’s the thing about sausage. It may look done from the outside, but unless you truly test its internal temperature you’ll never know if it’s fully cooked or under-cooked.

What exactly is sausage comprised of?

Most times sausage is made from a combination of pork, poultry, lamb, beef, and spices. Most sausage is not made from the best parts of the pig, sheep, chicken, turkey, or cow. They usually use the gross parts, also known as “by-products”, that would typically end up in dog food. You know, the ones no one wants to eat such as blood, guts, organs, lips, beaks, snouts, and butts.

After all the meat (if you can call it that), dust from the floor and whatever other additives they add to its ground up, then stuffed into a synthetic casing – which can contain plastic or animal intestines.

I know, gross, right? How can something so delicious be so gross?

Can you get sick from eating undercooked sausage?

Yes, you can get severely sick by eating undercooked sausage, but then again it depends on what type of sausage you’re eating.

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If you’re eating ready-to-eat sausages such as kielbasa, hot dogs, salami, bologna, those awesome pickled sausages you buy from Costco, or any other smoked sausage, you shouldn’t have to worry about it. Now if the ready-to-eat sausage is out of date, then you may get sick from it.

Even though the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service or your State Health and Agriculture Department inspect all sausages that are processed in the United States. They’re not magicians or psychics and they can’t see if the sausage contains a harmful bacteria such as Trichinosis.

Can you see them looking through every little piece of sausage for a worm? Sorry, but it’s not gonna happen, unfortunately.

To play it safe if you open up a pack of Johnsonville sausage or any other brand of sausage (Johnsonville is my favorite), don’t start eating them straight from the package. Aside from the fact, that’s really gross, it can make you really, really, sick.

Here’s a science tip for you.

The contaminated meat is infected with the larvae of a parasitic worm called Trichinella spiralis.

During the digestion process we breakdown the hard outer shell of the larvae, which sets the worms free to have a house party in your body. They usually attach themselves to your muscles. So basically, those party crashers are having a free-for-all in your body.

How long does it take to get sick from eating undercooked sausage?

Everyone’s body is different, and everyone’s immune system is not the same. But the majority of people who are infected with Trichinosis, the symptoms appear within the same day to 28 days. So the thing is, if it hits you 15 days later, you’re never going to know if it was the undercooked sausage or not.

You may have just thought it was the meatloaf you left sitting out on the counter for 4 hours to cool.

What are some of the symptoms of eating undercooked sausage?

• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Severe abdominal pain
• Fever & Chills
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Muscle soreness
• Eye Swelling

What happens if I accidentally serve my family undercooked sausage?

Just because your sausage is undercooked, it does not mean you will get food poisoning. You do stand a higher risk of it, but unless the pork wasn’t contaminated at the slaughterhouse or during the grinding process, there’s a chance you’re not gonna get sick from it. But like everything in life, there are no guarantees.

Here’s the thing though. How do you know if there was cross-contamination at the packaging plant? How do you know if the meat fell on the floor before it was ground up?

You just don’t know.

When your healths involved, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, but if you’re the risk-taking type of gal, then go for it! Just don’t come back to me crying, cause all I’m gonna is, “I told you so”!

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My helpful tip to always ensure your sausage will be cooked.

Boil your sausage first on medium heat. You’ll know for sure your sausage is cooked.

Basic cooking tips for sausage

• Poke holes in the casing with a fork.
• Put it in a pot and boil on medium heat for a good 15 minutes before putting it in the oven or barbeque to turn it that lovely golden brown.
• To double-check, use your meat thermometer and make sure it’s internal temperature is at a minimum of 160°F.
• If you’re cooking chicken or turkey sausage you’ll want to get that internal temperature to a minimum of 165°F.

Not sure what type of thermometer you need, head on over to my earlier post How To Select The Best Food Thermometer.

Other ways to cook your sausage

How to cook sausage on the stove

1. Boil on medium heat for 15 minutes.
2. Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Cut or poke holes in the sausage casing.
4. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, about 5 minutes, turning the links every minute.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low.
6. Carefully add ½ cup water to skillet. Pour it in too fast, and it will scorch your face.
7. Cover and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the sausage’s internal temperature reaches 160°F for beef/pork-based sausage and 165°F for poultry-based sausage.

How to cook sausage in the oven

1. Boil on medium heat for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Cut or poke holes in the sausage casing.
4. Cook on parchment paper or aluminum foil for 10 minutes, then flip over and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
5. Check the sausage’s internal temperature reaches 160°F for beef/pork-based sausage and 165°F for poultry-based sausage.

How to cook sausage on the grill

1. Boil on medium heat for 15 minutes.
2. Cut or poke holes in the sausage casing.
3. Place on grill and cook on high heat for 10 minutes. This will make them golden brown.
4. Reduce the heat to low and place them away from the direct heat for 3 to 5 minutes. If your barbeque has a top shelf, you can put them on there for the last 3 to 5 minutes.

Bonus Sausage Storage Tips

Although this isn’t going to help you if you ate undercooked sausage, it’s always good to know how to properly store your sausage. Like I mentioned earlier, eating undercooked sausage is not a guarantee you’ll get food poisoning, but your chances may be higher if the sausage wasn’t stored properly.

If the sausage has a “use-by” date, follow that date. It’s the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. The date’s been determined by the manufacturer of the product. To learn more about use-by dates, you’ll want to read, “How to Understand Food Best Used-By, Sell-By, and Use-By Dates”.

If you’re unable to use the sausage within the recommended times for refrigerator storage, once you freeze it, it doesn’t matter if the date expires because the foods kept frozen continuously are safe indefinitely. Pretty cool, right?

Just make sure you thoroughly cook it and check it’s internal temperature before serving.

TYPE OF SAUSAGE	REFRIGERATOR-UNOPENED	REFRIGERATOR- AFTER OPENING	IN FREEZER
Fresh Sausage, uncooked	1 to 2 days unopened or opened	1 to 2 days unopened or opened	1 to 2 months
Fresh Sausage, after cooking	N/A	3 to 4 days	2 to 3 months
Hard/Dry Sausage	Whole, 6 weeks in pantry; indefinitely in refrigerator	3 weeks	Sliced 1 to 2 months
Hot Dogs & other Cooked Sausage	2 weeks	7 days	1 to 2 months
Bologna & Salami	2 weeks	3 to 5 days	1 to 2 months
Summer Sausage (semi-dry)	3 months	3 weeks	1 to 2 months

In conclusion

Don’t chance making yourself or your family sick. I didn’t mean to give my ex-husband food poisoning, but it happened.

I understand, sometimes you’re in a rush between getting the kids to and from afterschool activities, helping with homework, while preparing to get dinner ready. Sometimes, you’re not paying attention to the exact time you started cooking something.

That’s mom-life for you. It’s the constant struggle of doing it all; yet, sometimes in our rush things fall through the cracks, like checking the internal temperature of your sausage to ensure it’s thoroughly cooked. Just poking it alone isn’t going to let you know it’s fully cooked.

Your turn

I really would love to know how you ensure your sausage is cooked before serving it to your family? Please share in a comment below.

Until we meet again,

Stacey

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Recommended Reading: 6 Facts You Need To Know About Eating Undercooked Chicken