Chef Graziella
Asparagi e Uova alla Veneta
The Venetian celebration of spring, where prized white asparagus meets butter-fried eggs and the yolk becomes the only sauce you need. This is restraint as philosophy.
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Salsiccia alla Griglia
Created by
Grilled Italian sausage with charred casing and juicy interior, requiring nothing but quality pork and the patience to cook it slowly enough that the fat renders before the skin burns.
Breakfast & Brunch
Italian
Weeknight
BBQ
5 min
Active Time
20 min cook•25 min total
Yield4 servings
This is not a recipe. It is an instruction in restraint.
Americans want to complicate sausage. They split it open, smother it in peppers and onions, drown it in marinara. They miss the point entirely. A good Italian sausage needs nothing but heat applied correctly. The casing should crackle when you bite through it. The fat should have rendered into the meat, basting it from within. The exterior should show the marks of the grill without the char of impatience.
The sausage itself must be worth eating. This means pork with proper fat content, seasoned simply with salt, black pepper, and perhaps fennel seed or a whisper of peperoncino. If your sausage contains fillers, extenders, or ingredients you cannot pronounce, no amount of technique will save it. Find a butcher who makes sausage the way Italian grandmothers expected it to be made, or learn to make it yourself.
What you keep out matters. No sauce. No condiments. Perhaps a piece of good bread to catch the juices. That is all.
Italian sausage-making traditions stretch back to Roman times, when preservation of pork through salting and casing became essential for feeding families through winter. Each region developed its own style: the mild, coiled luganega of Lombardy, the fennel-scented links of Tuscany, the spicy salsiccia piccante of Calabria. What unites them is the understanding that the sausage must stand alone.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Italian pork sausage links
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds (about 6 links)
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
for brushing
crusty Italian bread (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Italian pork sausage links | 1 1/2 pounds (about 6 links) |
| extra virgin olive oil | for brushing |
| crusty Italian bread (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Outdoor grill or cast iron grill pan
- •Long-handled tongs
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Temper the sausage
Remove the sausages from refrigeration 30 minutes before cooking. Cold sausage placed on a hot grill will cook unevenly: the outside chars while the center remains raw. Room temperature meat cooks more gently and evenly. This is not optional.
Examine your sausages. They should be plump, with natural casings that have some give when pressed. Avoid sausages that feel mushy or have casings that look plastic and uniform. - 2
Prepare the grill
Heat your grill to medium. Not high. This is where most people fail. High heat chars the casing before the fat inside has time to render. You want steady, moderate heat that will cook the sausage through in 15 to 20 minutes. If using a grill pan indoors, preheat it over medium heat for five minutes.
- 3
Oil and place
Brush the sausages lightly with olive oil. This prevents sticking and helps the casing crisp evenly. Place the sausages on the grill, leaving space between each one. Do not crowd them. Crowding creates steam instead of char.
- 4
Cook with patience
Cook the sausages for 15 to 20 minutes total, turning them every four to five minutes to brown evenly on all sides. Resist the urge to poke or pierce them. Every hole you make lets precious fat escape. The casing exists to contain the juices. Respect it.
If flare-ups occur from dripping fat, move the sausages to a cooler part of the grill. Flames blacken the casing and create bitter flavors. - 5
Test for doneness
The sausages are done when the casing is deeply browned with grill marks, the links feel firm when pressed, and the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Cut into one if you must, but a properly cooked sausage announces itself through appearance and touch. The casing should be taut and glossy with rendered fat.
- 6
Rest briefly and serve
Transfer the sausages to a cutting board and let them rest for two minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute. Slice on the bias if you wish, or serve whole. The only accompaniment needed is good bread to soak up the juices. Serve immediately.
Chef Tips
- •Seek out sausages from an Italian butcher or make your own. The supermarket links wrapped in plastic are a different product entirely. You want coarsely ground pork with visible fat, seasoned simply, in natural casings.
- •Never boil sausages before grilling. This is an American habit that removes flavor and creates rubbery texture. The sausage needs only the grill.
- •If your sausages are very thick, you may butterfly them partway through cooking to ensure the center cooks through. Slice lengthwise without cutting all the way through, then open flat on the grill for the final few minutes.
- •Leftover grilled sausage keeps three days refrigerated. Slice and add to frittata, toss with sautéed peppers, or eat cold with bread and mustard.
Advance Preparation
- •Sausages can be grilled up to two days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently in a pan over medium-low heat to preserve the casing's texture.
- •For a crowd, grill the sausages in advance and keep warm in a low oven (200°F) for up to 30 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 135g)
Calories
465 calories
Total Fat
38 g
Saturated Fat
13 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
23 g
Cholesterol
105 mg
Sodium
1100 mg
Total Carbohydrates
4 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
27 g
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