A pack of sausages often forms the base of a quick midweek meal, a satisfying breakfast sandwich, or a hearty pairing with creamy mashed potato and onion gravy. A well-cooked sausage should be deeply golden on the outside while remaining succulent and moist in the centre. Although many people automatically reach for the frying pan, this method does not always produce juicy results. Pan-frying can leave sausages unevenly cooked and often results in oil splatters across the hob.
A simpler approach from the butchers
Fortunately, there is a far simpler approach that delivers better results with considerably less mess. The butchers at True Bites recommend cooking sausages in the oven, a method that The Express writer Angela Patrone also endorses. Baking sausages in the oven is arguably the most straightforward way to guarantee even cooking, a beautifully browned exterior, and a perfectly juicy interior — all without standing over a frying pan.
Roasting sausages in the oven provides consistent, uniform heat, removing the need for constant turning while minimising mess and effort. Although it is not the quickest method, this technique proves especially useful when preparing a larger batch of sausages. Angela, working with larger sausages, found they required approximately 35 minutes in the oven, with a turn midway through to ensure uniform browning on each side.
How to cook sausages in the oven
To begin, preheat the oven to 180°C fan while preparing the baking tray. Angela prefers to line the tray with foil before arranging the sausages on top. If the sausages are particularly lean, a small drizzle of oil can be added. On this occasion, the sausages Angela was preparing contained enough fat, so additional oil was not necessary.
Some people choose to pierce sausages with a fork, but this only allows the juices and fat to leak out, potentially resulting in drier sausages. Then, place the tray in the oven and cook the sausages for 25 to 35 minutes. At roughly the 15-minute mark, flip the sausages over to enable browning on the opposite side.
After a total of 35 minutes, the sausages should be golden brown on the outside and thoroughly heated throughout. Because Angela used foil to line the tray, the washing up was effortless — no scrubbing was required, and the sausages did not stick to the surface.
