Storage & Handling
- Most sausages come vacuum packed after being frozen.
- All pork sausages are considered "fresh" and must be cooked thoroughly.
- Never boil sausages to cook them! Simmer or lovingly poach them slowly to ensure the best taste.
you may not have a thermometer, but if you do, keep the water 70-80c when poaching. you are looking for an internal temperature of 72c or higher to ensure it has been safely cooked.
Then transfer to a skillet with a little oil to brown the natural casings. You can also brown the casings in the oven. (they can be a bit chewy if they are not fried or baked a little.) - Normally you should be able to separate the sausages after soaking the frozen sausages in the sealed bag in a bowl of tap water.
- Defrost in a bowl of water if your in a hurry or leave in the fridge overnight the day before you plan to use them.
- After defrosting keep refrigerated and use within 3 days.
- Keep frozen for up to 2 months sealed and you should not notice much of a change in the flavor.
- Sausages, hams and other pieces of meat are considered a raw product unless heated to an internal temperature of about 154º F (68º C) it is of no importance whether it is done by boiling, steaming, grilling or baking.
- A sausage might be smoked at 100º F for 6 hrs, will have a great smoky taste, flavor and color but it will still be a raw sausage like a fresh sausage that was only ground, mixed with spices and stuffed into casings.
- Both of them must be cooked to safe temperature before consumption.
- Fats start to melt at 95-104° F (35-40° C) and going over 170° F (76° C) internal meat temperature will decrease the quality of the sausage
. - Staying within 154-160° F (68-72° C) will produce the highest quality product.