How to cook Sausages in air fryer
You will have no trouble air frying any variety of freshly prepared sausages, which can be air fried like you would under the grill or in the oven, but a little quicker.
Sausages which weigh approximately 57g each and are cooked from fresh, will air fry at a low to medium temperature of 340°F/170°C, within a 22 minute timeframe. Its vital all sausages are evenly spaced on parchment paper, to prevent the casing adhering to foil or a naked air fryer basket.
Air frying sausages I have found to take just as long to cook when compared to grilling/broiling, and cooking in the oven.
How to cook sausages quicker, would be in the frying pan, which is best when cooking them alongside black pudding to fried eggs and bacon, for example.
Big benefit of cooking sausages in the air fryer however, is its kind of place it in the air frying, and let them go.
Of course, turning the sausages frequently to brown on all sides helps, but you'll find its easier to frequently open an air frying drawer versus a big oven door several times.
Air fry traditional fresh sausage links - which must all be cut into individual sausages - to cook at low of 340°F/170°C, setting the time for approximately 22 minutes. Depending on the sausage brand, it is possible other varieties will air fry quicker or slower.
When you are about halfway through air frying any sausage variety, do keep an eye on them until they are taken on a dark brown coating.
In regards to any sausage casing, it does have a tendency of adhering to foil and occasional a naked air fryer basket... whether its oiled or not. You can reheat these same sausages in an air fryer for 12 minutes, wrapped in parchment paper.
I suggest you always line your air fryer basket in parchment paper, which will make it impossible for the sausages to stick. You will need a pair of silicone-tipped tongs to sporadically turn the sausages - of which a fork would risk piercing the casing.
Never prick the sausages before air frying, as it will cause the flood of sausage fat to spill, which will lead to dry sausages.
On this occasion, I air fried eight TESCO Pork Sausages, weighing 454g in total. I used the oven cooking temperature exactly for air frying - where the timing for oven cooking was suggested for 20-25 minutes - with exactly 22 minutes needed for air frying.
Preparation
With any kind of 6-8 pack classic size fresh sausages, they must be taken out of the fridge so they can stand at room temperature for a while.
- STEP 1: Sit at room temperature - Fresh sausages will need to be left out of the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, prior to air frying
- STEP 2: Preheat air fryer: 5 Minutes - Air fryer will need to be preheated if you want the timeframe to match my settings
- STEP 3: Line with NONE-STICK Parchment Paper - Its imperative you line your air fryer in parchment paper, which will prevent the sausage casing from sticking
- STEP 4: Evenly space Sausages in basket - To brown all sides of the sausage, and to make them easy to turn frequently, allow plenty of space in between
NOTE: Air fried sausages don't need to be browned all over to be done; air fry in a reasonable time, with the sausages fully cooked despite a light/pale casing.
Air fryer directions
You can air fry up to eight sausages weighing 57g each for 22 minutes, for a brown and punchy bite of the casing. Settings were similar to oven cooking, of which the time for air frying fell between the 20-25 minutes for the oven cooking.
- STEP 1: Set temp to 340°F / 170°C; time to 22 Minutes - Copy the oven cooking instructions for your sausages, reducing the time if required
- STEP 2: Cook for 10 minutes; turn occasionally thereafter - Allow sausages to air fry fully for ten minutes, while frequently and sporadically turning until time
- STEP 3: Poke Sausage with knife to check internal temp - After 22 minutes are up, poke sausage with knife to check if steel knife tip is piping hot
- STEP 4: Decanter Sausage one-at-a-time - If you remove individual sausages, one at a time, you can be sure access fat it properly drained
NOTE: If you have an internal food thermometer, you will be looking at an internal temp of 160°F/70°C - where I reached approximately 200°F/95°C - although touching the sausage centre with your tongue or finger will be fine.
How long to cook 'fresh' sausages in air fryer
Air frying time is usually far less than the oven, because the air fryer cooks quicker due to food cooking in a small chamber. Packaging for these sausages suggested 20-25 minutes for oven - where the air frying time was somewhere in the middle.
Air fry your regular size and weight sausages which will air fry at a temperature of 340°F/170°C, with a longer than normal cooking time of 22 minutes.
Bear in mind, air frying cooking instructions apply to fresh sausages and not cook from frozen sausages, which will require a different time and temperature.
When air frying sausages for making a toad in the whole recipe, pre-cook these sausages for ten minutes or so; to not only brown the sausage casing, but you can avoid overdoing the Yorkshire pudding batter whilst the sausages cook for far longer.
Similarly, air fry these types of sausage varieties along with chips and bacon if you like, where you would probably have to give the sausages a head start.
Summarise
You can air fry as many sausages as you like, providing they all fit in a single layer, and you can allow space in between each link so there's room to frequently turn them over.
Sausages will air fry at a medium temperature of 340°F/170°C, with an extended time of 22 minutes. It will seem too long, when in fact its just right to stop sausages of all thicknesses, from burning too quickly and therefore, drying out.
Its imperative you air fry sausages by cutting them into individual links, whilst positioned on parchment paper to stop them adhering.
Never pierce the casing which will be a contributing factor for rapidly drying out the sausages.
Air fry your freshly prepared sausages as instructed to for oven cooking. You can replicate the suggested oven temperature - where the oven cooking time can also be copied. keep an eye on them in case your variety of sausages cook faster than expected, as they often do.
Handle your air fried sausages with a silicone-tipped pair of tongs, as metal cutlery like a fork risks piercing the sausage, as well as cutting through the parchment paper lining.
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