Serious Eats, again completely changing how things are done:
Basically, you put your sausages in water and a disposable pan, and boil them until they are the correct temperature. Then you grill them to get the char.
I may have to try this soon…though I plan on using a gas grill (easier than my charcoal grill). With some wood chips in an aluminum cachet, if I want the smoky flavor.
Isn’t there something to be said about charring meat and promotion of free radicals ?
Ya, same people that claim cooking all meat will give you cancer and kill you, I put that into the IGNORE pile!
Ah, a solution to the problem of getting the inside cooked just right, while still getting a crisp outside.
A representative of America’s Test Kitchen once said in an interview that the best way is to roast slowly, and then to put the heat up for the last half-hour of roasting. (Naturally, the time factor would be much shorter in the case of meat on the grill.) But, he said, the problem is remembering to get back to the oven at the right time to put the heat up, hence the recommendation to pre-heat to a higher temperature, and to put the heat back down at the time of putting the meat in the oven.
This author seems to have come upon a novel way of achieving the same goal. The only thing I don’t like is the added waste of the disposable pan.
@lfod14 Yeah, I personally don’t worry too much about it, as I rarely have meat that’s charred.
@PaulL you might be able to reuse the disposable pan, or use a nicer pan and just relegate it to grill duty. I use a stainless grill rack that I use only on the (charcoal) grill, as even with cleaning in the dishwasher, it gets pretty filthy. I assume an aluminum pan, say bought at a local resale store, could work.
Yeah they’re drowned to be boiled. That’s why they’re in skins. Read that somewhere years ago.
I’ve tried this, also sometimes I pan sear at end (vs the grill). I think the sausages come out very moist this way.
In my experience (boiling vs grilling) it totally depends on the kind of meat you’re dealing with.
One wouldn’t dare boil a thick steak, right? You grill at high temp it to sear the outsides, then lower the heat on the grill and slowly bring up the internal temp to taste.
On the other hand, boiling a hot dog or other skinned sausage to get the inside temp up to spec is a great idea before briefly grilling to give it that outer char/crusty flavor and texture and seal in those juices.
It you are going to boil meat (or anything else for that matter), it couldn’t matter at all to the meat whether the boiling water it’s immersed in is boiling due to a kitchen stove or to a grill (wood, charcoal or gas)… it’s submerged in boiling water, right?
True, but no complaints here. Having cut out the carbs I’ve been running low on things to worry about. 
Some do yes, and they look anaemic too (really pale). Some even explode during cooking 
Of course this was way before keto as it’s apparently the best way to get fat out of them so now I just cook them in the halogen oven.
True….they do lose some fat. But I also thought the casing somehow keeps it pulled in, unless it explodes….but I think you’re right maybe it loses more fat than I thought.
The water always ends up with loads of fat floating around in it as the casings aren’t properly sealed at the ends so even when not exploding, the fat seeps out.
I liken this technique to using the sous vide. Can you cook a perfect medium rare or rare steak without sous vide? Yes. Is it way, way, way, way easier to achieve with a sous vide? Yes.
I use a similar technique with breakfast sausages in casings: boil them in water for a bit, drive off the water in the pan, sear them a bit. Turn out great.
As one who eats not that much sausage because I like leaner meats, this technique could help me cook them correctly on the grill. I think this year so far, I’ve grilled hot dogs and sausage maybe twice, and it’s so easy to overcook them, especially on a gas grill you use a handful (or two) of times per year. With this technique, there’s a lot more leeway.
It’s like when I make pulled pork (or brisket) by using the sous vide to cook the meat, then plunge into ice water, put in the fridge, and then smoke over charcoal for not that long. It comes out perfect and is way easier than trying to cook for 12, 18, 24 hours or whatever it is you’re supposed to cook it for.
It’s probably overkill if you use your grill every weekend all year long, but for me, I’m looking forward to trying it.
That’s a very good and valid point!
I bumped into our lead finance manager on site today, I haven’t seen her in ages as she had been working from home since Covid hit. (I lost over 30 kilos btw, on keto during Covid period).
She couldn’t take in the complete physical change in me, which put a smile on my face.
Even complimented me on my complexion!
I told her that flattery will get her anywhere she wants!
So yeah, let’s not worry about a bit of charring when we’ve ditched the carbs and fructose!
This method is very like a locally prepped (with herbs and seasoning) whole chicken here, which comes in its own dipsoable tray (pre seasoned, gutted etc.).
The instructions are to add a little oil and fill the tray with chicken stock, then roast in the oven, having first covered with tin foil.
This ensures that all the chicken meat, including the breasts, remain juicy and succulent without drying out.
The final phase, you remove the tin foil covering, spoon some of the stock/oil/fat over the chicken, add extra seasoning if you so desire, then up the heat about 10-15 degrees C, to crisp up the skin and seasoning for a further half hour.
I hate dry chicken breast- but roasting this way can give a very succulent bird inside with a crispy outside.
If you read the article it definitely does not say boil them We have a saying in the barbecue community that if you boil the ribs the terrorists win. Simmering at 1:50 whether it’s inside or on the grill is analogous to cooking them sous vide and then just sharing the exterior I disagree that you need to do this on the grill to get a smoke flavor as most of the sausages I’ve got have some smoky flavor and frankly I have no problem cooking them with the first meth that he describes. The only reason that wasn’t the preferred method it was apparently more difficult I don’t think it’s difficult I do it all the time
I have developed a deep respect for the author of this piece, J. Kenji López-Alt, and am willing to try almost anything he suggests. He delves into the physics and chemistry of cooking to rethink techniques. I’ve run into many other fans, frequently other retired men. I think he especially appeals to people who get serious about cooking later in life without having absorbed thousands of habits and rules of thumb since childhood. We don’t know how to do stuff and start searching the internet for even rather simple information.
