An air fryer can cook anything, can't it? Well, just because it can doesn't
mean it should. It's much better to prepare sausage in other ways, for all these reasons.
An air fryer isn't actually a fryer,
technically. It's basically a type of convection oven. A built-in fan
circulates heat while keeping the temperature consistent and contained in a small space.
Sausage generally needs to reach a high temperature to fully cook,
as do other fatty meats. But the small space in an air fryer can cause the sausage to release excess
grease. Everyday Family Cooking notes that the release of grease could also leave your air fryer
smoking if the liquid comes into contact with the heating element. The publication advises,
"The more grease, the more fumes."
This can especially be a problem if you poke holes in your sausages with
a fork before cooking them. While doing so helps keep the casing from splitting,
it also generates even more grease. So if you cook sausages in your air fryer,
you could end up with a smoky kitchen and a greasy mess in the fryer itself.
"Why do I smell smoke? Oh my God!"
Air fryers are great for cooking lots of different foods, but when it comes to sausage,
the old ways just work better. Pan frying remains your best bet if you're looking to retain the
umami flavor, according to premium meat supplier Traymoor. That's because the meat turns a crispy,
golden brown as it comes in contact with the heated pan and is repeatedly turned.
The concentrated heat of an air fryer could cause the outside of the sausage to cook too
quickly and leave the inner part undercooked or raw. Traymoor recommends sausages be allowed to
"cook gently." You have far more control over the amount of heat on a stove top.
Pan frying is especially preferable when you're starting off with frozen sausage.
For either cooking method, it's going to take a little extra time to thaw the sausage in the
refrigerator or microwave before cooking. But previously frozen sausage needs a little more
attention and rotation, which is much easier to do in a pan than a closed air fryer.
If you've got guests over or a sizable family to feed and are thinking about
tossing a big batch of sausages in the air fryer, that may not be the best approach.
Air fryers vary in size, but even the biggest ones have relatively small baskets,
by design. Stacking a lot of sausages in such a small space will cause them
to hold moisture captive, block the flow of air and hinder their ability to cook.
Sausages cook better when they are spread out so they can develop a crisp outer layer,
according to My Budget Recipes. Putting a lot of sausage in an air fryer to cook at once will
probably make the cook time longer, and you'll likely end up with unevenly cooked sausage anyway.
Plus, you're not just going to have sausage for breakfast, right?
"What are you having?" "Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, sausage, fried egg."
If you want to add eggs or veggies to the meal, you're probably going to have to break out a
frying pan or griddle. While people have figured out ways to make fried eggs in an air fryer,
it's not ideal. Plus, you'd have to cook everything separately.
Air fryer cook times and temperatures differ for sausage, eggs, and veggies.
Ever wonder why the British call sausages bangers? Well, sausages used to be made with more water
and less meat, so they'd often split their casings while cooking and explode in the pan,
earning them the nickname. The USDA warns that cheaper sausage still
tends to come with quite a bit of water inside, making them prone to breakage.
Home Kitchen Talk notes that water is actually a necessity for any sausage. It binds the meat and
seasonings together. But it also creates tension inside the links. Italian Barrel explains that
the highly concentrated heat of an air fryer can cause a sausage link to temporarily expand,
increasing the likelihood that the casing will split. That likelihood can be reduced by,
as mentioned earlier, poking holes in your sausage with a fork. But Traymoor
explains that it also makes juices seep out, and along with them, flavor.
A damaged casing means the loss of that signature sausage snap when you bite into
a link, but it also makes the fats separate, a problem that can also be caused another way...
Fat is what gives sausages, and any other meats,
their juiciness and flavor. But, as Quiet Waters Farm notes,
"Too high a temperature will also liquify the fat content that has been so carefully
mixed into your sausage to keep it moist and juicy. If this liquifies
and leaks out [...] you will have a dry and crumbly result without all that flavor."
Sausage needs to be cooked over high heat, but that does not mean it's meant to take
on all of that heat at once, like in an air fryer. Along with losing the fat,
the sausages can actually shrink and shrivel up if the outside cooks first.
Air fryers are super easy to use, right? You just set a time and temperature,
and let it do its thing. That's indeed true for a lot of foods, but for something like sausage,
it's not quite that simple. Depending on the fat content of your sausage, the required heat
setting will vary. And if you're not careful, you could end up with an inedible result.
"Never mind. It's burnt."
Everyday Family Cooking reminds us that an air fryer's job is not to smoke meat. This is why
it is possible to cook higher-in-fat meats in an air fryer, but by no means recommended. Starting
at a lower temperature and increasing the heat gradually can be one way to go,
though other cooking methods like pan frying and baking can simplify things considerably.
The big benefit of an air fryer is convenience. But that's not always the case. According to
Simply Air Fryer, it takes up to 13 minutes to air fry Italian sausage. Chicken sausage
takes up to 13 minutes to cook through in an air fryer, Craving Tasty advises.
Thicker sausages will likely require a couple more minutes on top of that.
Pan frying takes about the same amount of time,
Traymoor notes. But you can cook more sausage at one time and won't have to wait another 15
minutes for another batch. Plus, there are all the other added benefits of pan frying.
So if you're aiming for quality, you're better off using the trusty pan. You'll
end up with better sausage and won't have spent any more time making it.