Everyone loves a pizza night, but if your family’s getting tired of having plain old cheese pizza each week, it may be time to switch things up. Incorporating more exciting toppings like sausage is the perfect way to spice up pizza night and keep your family coming back for slice after slice. Sprinkling some sausage on top of your pizza will also up its protein content — a nice bonus!
Before you sit down and enjoy a sweet and spicy bite of sausage pizza, there’s some work to do. Let’s look at some strategies and options to make your next pizza night unforgettable.
Table of Contents
- How to Prepare Sausage for Pizza
- How to Successfully Cook Sausage Links
- Types of Sausage You Can Use For Pizza Toppings
- Pizza Recipes With Sausages
- Purchase Premio Sausage for Your Pizza Toppings
How to Prepare Sausage for Pizza
Slices
It doesn’t get much more straightforward than using sausage slices as a pizza topping — simply cook the sausage link, then slice it! Cutting your links into slices is one of the best ways to enjoy sausage on a pizza. Similar to the shape of pepperoni, slices will evenly distribute your sausage across the pizza to ensure you get a piece in every bite. Once the sausage is done cooking, wait a few minutes before slicing it into your desired sizes.
The key to getting the most flavorful slices is to avoid piercing the skin. Your sausage will retain more juices when it cooks with the casing, creating a mouthful of bursting flavors you won’t want to miss out on. Make sure you cook your links slowly to avoid disintegrating, ripping or burning your casing.
Crumbles
Sausage crumbles are like snowflakes — each one is different and tastes great on your tongue! Before crumbling your sausage, you’ll want to slice the casing from top to bottom and remove the meat. You’ll then place it in a pan over medium-high heat to fry it up nicely. Use a spatula to break the meat up into crumbles as it browns. Keep the sausage over the heat until it is fully cooked, then use a slotted spoon to transfer it from the skillet to your pizza.
Ground
Ground sausage is the way to go if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to enjoy a mouthwatering topping. While this method is similar to sausage crumbles, using ground sausage will drastically accelerate your pizza’s time to table. All you have to do is throw your raw ground meat into a heated skillet before using a spatula to break it apart into bite-sized chunks. Once the meat is firm and done releasing liquid, remove it from the skillet and sprinkle it over your pizza.
How to Successfully Cook Sausage Links
While many people believe cooking sausage is a challenge, we think it’s quite the opposite. There are three popular ways to prepare your Premio sausage links, including on the stovetop, in the oven and on the grill. Whichever method you choose, cook your pork sausage to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit and your chicken sausage to 165 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure they’re safe to eat. Stick to the following steps to cook your Premio sausage properly:
Stovetop
- Heat a pan filled with 6 tablespoons of water on medium heat.
- Place sausage links in the skillet.
- Cover the pan and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Rotate links often.
- Remove the top and continue cooking for another five to seven minutes.
- Enjoy!
Broiling
- Place links on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Put the sheet into a cold oven 7 to 9 inches below the heating element and turn the heat to the broil setting.
- Broil for 13 to 15 minutes on each side.
- Serve and enjoy.
Grilling
- Preheat your grill with medium flames.
- Place links on racks and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Turn sausage routinely for even browning.
- Serve as desired.
Types of Sausage You Can Use For Pizza Toppings
Sausage comes in all shapes and sizes, complete with countless flavorings and spice levels to construct the perfect pizza for your preferences. Here are the most popular types of sausage for pizza toppings — try some for your next homemade pizza night:
- Hot: If you like sprinkling red pepper flakes on your pizza, you’ll love using slices or crumbles of hot Italian sausage to top off your pie.
- Sweet: On the other hand, if you enjoy balancing out your salty ingredients with a touch of sweetness, adding sweet Italian sausage to your pizza will make your taste buds sing.
- Mild: For those who don’t like their meat too spicy or overly sweet, mild Italian sausage is the perfect pizza topping compromise.
- Patties: Hot or sweet Italian sausage patties can be broken apart in a skillet like sausage crumbles or kept in larger pieces to act like mouth-watering meatballs atop your pie.
- Links: Breakfast pizza, anyone? Breakfast sausage links and a runny egg are the perfect toppings for a savory brunch delight.
- Ground meat: Ground sausage is great for when you’re in a pinch and need a quick-cooking solution. Save yourself some time by skipping the slicing or de-casing and just dumping some sweet or hot Italian ground sausage into a skillet.
- Chicken sausage: Not a fan of red meat? You can still pack your pizza with protein and flavor by making chicken sausage your go-to topping.
Pizza Recipes With Sausages
You just can’t beat a tasty, homemade pizza — especially if you make it a fun activity for friends and family to participate in! Whether you’re throwing a party or wanting to liven up your midweek dinners, consider trying one of these sausage pizza recipes as the blueprint for your Italian masterpiece:
- Pizza with hot Italian sausage, peppers and onions: How could a hot Italian sausage pizza not include peppers and onions? This classic recipe perfectly showcases the timeless ingredient combination by dousing it in a tasty red sauce on top of a homemade crust.
- Chicago deep-dish pizza: If you love an ooey-gooey deep-dish pizza, you have to try this cheesy Chicago-style recipe. The homemade pan pizza dough topped with sweet Italian sausage, San Marzano tomatoes and three types of cheeses is so delicious, you might just consider packing up and moving to Chi-Town!
- Sweet sausage and onion white pizza: Fans of white pizza will adore the way this sweet sausage and onion white pizza recipe perfectly complements a light, fluffy ricotta base with the delicate flavors of sweet Italian sausage and caramelized onions. The addition of ground nutmeg and a parsley garnish expertly brightens up this pie with a pop of freshness.
- Grilled pizza with sausage, peppers and onions: If you’ve never experienced grilled pizza before, this recipe is a must-try for your family’s next pizza night. Tossing the pizza dough on the grill gives it an irresistible char flavor. Plus, placing the sausage, peppers and onions on the grill at the same time makes this recipe as easy as it is tasty.
- Cajun sausage and shrimp pizza: Whether it’s Mardi Gras or not, this Cajun-inspired pizza tastes like a party in your mouth! With sausage, shrimp and a bold red sauce, this pizza has the pizzazz to turn any meal into a celebration.
Purchase Premio Sausage for Your Pizza Toppings
If you want your sausage-topped pizza to really be a hit, use Premio sausage. Premio Foods offers sausage made with fresh ingredients and without fillers — the way sausage should be! Check out our wide variety of Italian, pork and chicken sausages that will add some zest to your next pizza night.
Take your homemade pizza to the next level by locating the nearest store with Premio sausage today.
