Sous Vide Sausage

With lovely flavor and a set-it-and-forget it cooking method, sous vide sausage is a tasty meal that’s ready when you are! Hungry? Read on and I’ll show you all my chef tips and tricks to make sous vide brats or sous vide sausage of any kind, perfect every time!

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Cooking sous vide used to be reserve for frou frou chefs who would turn ingredients into amazing dishes. Today, however, with such a variety of sous vide appliances available, home cooks are turning to this fail-proof cooking technique.

The concept of sous vide cooking is simple: ingredients, largely proteins, are cooked low and slow in a most water bath at a controlled temperature. The food can never overcook as long as you set the sous vide motor appropriately.

Imagine chicken that’s always moist and tender, or steaks that are never overdone. That’s the magic of sous vide cooking.

And today, I’m going to show you how to make sous vide sausage.

Why Sous Vide Sausage?

Frying and grilling are the two most common ways of preparing sausage. Both hit the sausage with extremely high temperatures, often resulting in split skins that shed all the moisture and delicious fat, and overcooked, dry meat inside.

Cooked sausage sous vide, however, remains moist, delicious, fatty, and most importantly, not overcooked. They have lots of sausage flavor, and in particular, pork sausage retain all that nice fatty goodness but still have a smooth texture.

What You Need To Make Sausage Sous Vide

• Sous vide motor – I like Anova. I like this brand because it is dependable, accurate, and hasn’t let me down!
• Sous vide cooking container – you can use a big pot or giant bowl but you’ll have to rig something to hold the motor in place. The container is large enough for most sous viding, and it has a form-fitted lid to keep all the heat inside
• Vacuum sealer and appropriate bags or a zipper-top bag
• Sausage – I use fully cooked sausage for convenience; raw sausage works if you adjust the sous vide time.
• Beer or apple juice – Beer adds depth and helps keep the sausage moist. Apple juice works for a sweeter, milder flavor. Use what you prefer.
• Salt – I cook with kosher salt; adjust to taste depending on the sausage.
• Oil – Neutral oils like canola or vegetable work; olive oil adds a bit more flavor.

How To Sous Vide Sausage

Scroll down for the full recipe card with exact measurements and printable instructions.

Place the sausages in a vacuum-seal bag with ½ cup beer and ½ teaspoon salt. Seal with a vacuum sealer or use the water displacement method to remove the air. Clip the bag to the side of the container to keep it submerged and prevent water from entering.

Preheat the sous vide water bath using an immersion circulator to your desired temperature:
140°F for extra juicy, very soft sausage that may appear pink in the center.
150°F for a firmer texture that is still juicy and slightly pink.
160°F for a texture closest to traditionally cooked sausage, fully firm and juicy.

Submerge the bag and cook for 1 hour. The sausage is fully cooked when it reaches the set water temperature throughout.

Remove the sausages from the bag and pat them very dry. Heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Sear the sausages for 1 to 2 minutes per side, just until browned and lightly crisp on the outside.

Let rest for 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

Chef Jenn’s Tips

• Use good-quality sausage and let those amazing flavors shine through!
• Sous vide sausages are not particularly attractive, often coming out anemic looking and pale. Put some color on them with a reverse sear (see step 5 above).
• You can temp the sausage to see if it is done but resist the urge to poke them a bunch of times or all that good juice will come out!
• Beer braising sous vide brats – beer adds lovely flavor but it will leech some of the flavor out of the sausage. To prevent this, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the bag. Your sausage won’t be too salty, don’t worry!
• Use apple juice instead of beer, or even ginger ale!

What to Serve With Sous Vide Sausage

Cooking low and slow like this gives you plenty of time to come up with some amazing side dishes! I love sous vide bratwurst on a bun with sauerkraut, or jazz up your favorite sausage with tasty sides like: Corn Fritters, Pasta with Ricotta and Tomatoes, or Au Gratin Potato Stacks. Sous vide sausage with beer are just fine all on their own, too!

How to Store Sous Vide Sausage

Sausage cooked sous vide will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the sausage. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then foil, or an air-tight container and freeze for up to a month or two.

Warm them in a low oven or microwave them on half power. Don’t blast them with heat or you’ll undo all that amazing sous vide flavor and texture!