Grill Tips: 7 Steps to Sausage Grilling Mastery

19 August, 11

Most back yard grillers can be classified into two groups. The “Hurry and Let’s Eat” griller and the “Slow--It Will be Ready When it’s Ready” aficionado. Both strategies have merit. For the time starved and hungry, the home grill can be fast and easy. For the passionate-chef inspired, the grill is an opportunity to create. What if you can have the best of both; speed, incredibly delicious food and inspired family gathering experiences?

Great sausage grilling begins with simple basics and time honored techniques. This is not complicated yet it does require some planning and perhaps a slight shift in your thinking. The shift I am talking about is your attitude towards grilling and the bounty you will produce from your grill. What if rather than just cooking on a grill you make the grill the centerpiece of the gathering. Create the right conditions over and over so when guests come to your home, they know and anticipate the meal because you are known for your grill mastery. Grill mastery can be as simple as this;

7 Steps to Sausage Grilling Mastery

1. The sausages you select matter. Quality varies greatly. Reputation matters. Queen City Sausage is the leader in Cincinnati. Best ingredients. Small batch production. Real hickory wood smoke. Hand mixed spices. Craft sausage makers specializing in mettwurst and bratwurst.

2. Serious grillers use natural casing sausages. The natural casings hold in the flavor and juiciness of each sausage.

3. Make the grill the center of attention. Let your guest know upon arrival what is on the menu and what sausages they can look forward to.

4. Toppings: Toppings simply make grilling more exciting. Onions, peppers, sauerkraut, and coarse ground mustard are my favorites. These key toppings naturally compliment the grilled sausages flavor.

5. Build anticipation. My secret? I start cooking the onions and pepper topping first. I don’t just heat them up, I use a small pan and sauté them with my favorite Italian dressing and Worcestershire sauce. This sends an aroma throughout the party and out into the neighborhood. This smoky, onion infused aroma is a signal that a wonderful meal will soon be served.

6. Get the Queen City sausages ready. The trick? Parboil with your favorite full bodied beer. Simmer the links for about 5 minutes. The links will swell and heat evenly from the beer.

7. Don’t spoil the party! Slow down. Now add the sausages to the medium heated grill. Use tongs. Forks pierce the sausages and cause flare-ups which result in dry-burnt sausages. Turn often. Natural casing sausages burst open when at their grilled perfection. Remove from the grill, platter up and serve.

These are my grill tips. I have an advantage. I work for the Queen City Sausage Company. I know and see great sausages being made daily. I see the knowledge, passion, recipes and best ingredients that go into every sausage.

One more tip; The Cincinnati region is well known for brats or bratwurst. No, Cincinnati brats are not the raw sausages you find outside the area. Instead Cincinnati brats are slow cooked (steamed) pork and are whitish in color and fully cooked. Simply grill and serve. The taste? Wow! Want some? Visit www.queencitysausage.com and click on BUY. Here you will find our best selling sausages. Additionally Queen City Sausages are available in the Greater Cincinnati area at Kroger, Meijer, Remke/biggs, Findley Market , independents and the Cincinnati Reds.

Mark Balasa