How To Keep Sausages Warm After Cooking

For backyard parties, football games, or thanksgiving gatherings, sausages are a staple in American households. Sometimes, you might cook sausages long before the guests arrive. In that case, you will have no other choice but to serve cold or reheated sausages that do not taste the same as warm ones. Unless you know how to keep sausages warm after cooking. 

Keeping sausages warm for a long time is difficult, but not impossible. Use a slow cooker or a chafing dish to keep sausages warm for hours. However, when you need to keep sausages warm for about 20 to 30 minutes, an oven works well.

In this article, I will explain how I keep sausages warm for house parties and picnics. Before that, let us understand why you should eat warm sausages instead of cold ones. 

Why Keeping Sausages Warm Is Important? 

When planning an event, we want our prepared dishes to be as fresh and moist as possible. Keeping them warm also adds to the taste. 

But the taste is not the only reason why you should keep your sausages warm after cooking. Letting the sausages reach room temperature may cause them to become infected with bacteria. These can cause food poisoning and have your guests leave with an upset stomach. And maybe even worse, hospitalization. 

Reheating is also best avoided. Once the food gets cold, reheating it kind of ruins the texture and also the taste. And it is true even for sausages. 

So, if you are planning an event, trying to keep your sausages warm for as long as you can should always be a priority for you. 

How To Keep Sausages Warm After Cooking

Be careful while following different techniques for warming up. Some sausages are crumbly and a little dry. Others have juicy and soft textures. So, you have to keep the sausages warm without drying them.

Like many people, I used to struggle to keep sausages warm for parties. But I have eventually learned some methods. These methods will also help you enjoy warm and succulent sausages even after hours of cooking. 

Using a Slow Cooker

Slow cookers are excellent warming equipment for almost any kind of food. Slow cookers are best for sausages prepared with sauce. 

If the slow cooker has a warm setting, then that’s excellent. But if it does not, use the lowest setting to prevent overcooking the sausages. 

Here is how I use a slow cooker for sausages: 

• Put the freshly cooked sausages into the slow cooker. 
• Close the lid of the slow cooker. Then, plug in an electrical outlet. 
• Select the warm setting. If there is no warm setting, choose the lowest setting possible. 

When you choose the warm setting, the sausages will not continue cooking. This way, you can keep the sausages warm for 3 to 4 hours. If you choose the lowest setting, the sausages will continue to cook slowly. So, take them out within 2 hours to avoid getting them overcooked. 

Using an Oven

Using an oven is an effective way to keep sausages warm for a short time, like 20 to 30 minutes. Now, if you have a warming drawer or warming setting in the oven, count yourself lucky. I use the warming drawer of my oven to keep the sausages warm and tender for at least two hours. Some warming drawers can even work for 3 hours. 

However, not all ovens have the option. Hence, you must use the lowest heating temperature of the oven to keep sausages warm.  

Here is how you keep sausages warm in an oven:

• First, you have to preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. You can set the temperature 10 to 15 minutes before the sausages are cooked so that you can instantly transfer them hot into the oven. 
• Place aluminum foil on the baking sheet of the oven. Then position the freshly cooked sausages on top of them.
• Leave the sausages in the oven to stay warm for 30 minutes. But after 20 minutes, check the temperature of the sausages with a food thermometer. They should be above 140 degrees F. If the temperature is below, then increase the heat a little. 

Since the oven works at low heat, the sausages will not get overcooked or dried out around this time. When it is time to serve, take the sausages out of the oven. No matter how low the temperature is, you must not keep them for more than 30 minutes in the oven. They will eventually become overcooked and dry. 

Chafing Dish for Parties

If you are having a big party at home, chafing dishes are the best way to keep the sauces warm for hours. So, get a chafing dish with an attached warming system. You can also use chafing dishes without the heating system, but it will keep the sausages warm for only about an hour. 

Let’s see how to keep sausages warm in a chafing dish: 

• Set up your chafing dish. Put all the parts together. It will have a hot water dish. Pour some hot water on it and then place the main dish on it. 
• If you are not using the heating system, wrap the sausages in aluminum foil and put them on the main dish. 
• Then cover the dish with a lid. 
• But if you are using the heating system, there is no need to wrap the sausages in aluminum foil. Put them on the chafing dish. 
• Finally, turn on the heat beneath the dish. 

You can keep your cooked sausages warm using a chafing dish for hours without worrying about them getting overcooked. But make sure to check the temperature of the food. It should not drop below 140 degrees F. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NxyZ_voHQw

Using A Cooler To Transport Warm Sausages

Want to take hot dogs to the picnic? Then use an ice cooler box or cooler bag to carry them to the venue. I often use this method and keep the sausages warm for up to 4 hours.

Here is how I carry warm sausages: 

• If you are using a cooler box, you can preheat it by pouring some hot water inside for a few hours. 
• Grill the sausages well. 
• When it is time to transfer the sausages to the cooler, throw out the hot water. 
• Place a kitchen towel on the cooler. 
• Put your cooked sausages in an airtight container and place the container in the cooler. 
• Make sure to close the cooler lid and lock it.

Depending on the quality of the cooler box or bag, you can keep the sausages warm for 4 to 6 hours. Thus, you can enjoy warm food with your family and friends at a picnic. 

Is It Okay To Reheat Leftover Sausage?

You may have some leftover cooked sausages in the refrigerator. It is perfectly fine to reheat leftover sausages if they have been stored properly. Cooked sausages can stay in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. 

You can reheat cooked sausages on a stove, in a microwave oven, or in an oven. I use my oven to reheat the sausages because it evenly reheats the sausages in about 20 minutes. 

Get the frozen sausages from the freezer and thaw them properly. Then, place the aluminum foil on the baking sheet and put the sausages on it. Sprinkle a little bit of water on them so that they do not get dry while heating. 

Next, bake the sausages at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. For even cooking, you should flip the sausages every 5 to 10 minutes. Also, check the temperature of the sausages with a food thermometer. It should be above 140 degrees F. 

Thus, you will have warm sausages again. The taste and texture will not be the same as freshly cooked sausages, but they will still be delicious.