# Fresh Italian Sausage But No Thermometer - Need Help! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843 "2017-07-21T22:49:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/1 "2017-07-21T22:49:17Z")
I bought some uncooked sweet Italian link sausages from Trader Joe’s so I could add a couple to a soup I was making. Now I have a few left over and I’d like to boil or broil them up and eat them on a bun. The problem is my cheap meat thermometer has been acting wonky. It _appears_ to sense heat and display a temperature but when I’ve used it with Italian sausages in the past it never got up to 160 degrees. It seemed to stall at around 140 - 145 degrees. So I just kept boiling and boiling them. Finally after 30 minutes or more at a rolling boil I thought, “Damn, these things have GOT to be over 160 by now!” So I ate them and didn’t die. How long does one normally need to boil raw pork sausages? At what point can I be reasonable sure they’ve cooked to a high enough temperature? I don’t mind if they’re a little overcooked, I just want to be safe. **NOTE 1** : I am only looking for ballpark advice. Obviously no one can say precisely how long I need to cook _my_ sausages on _my_ stove in _my_ pan to insure they are safe to eat. You are all absolved of any responsibility for my health. **NOTE 2** : Yes, I need to get a good meat thermometer and I know exactly which one I want. The [Thermapen](http://www.thermoworks.com/Thermapen-Mk4) from ThermoWorks. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/2 "2017-07-21T23:01:07Z")
Boil? I always grill mine. Don’t need no meat thermometer that way, just grill them until their nicely browned and the juice is starting to squirt out. Besides, today’s pork is pretty harmless. Not like it was 50 years ago when the rules got beaten into everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/3 "2017-07-21T23:05:03Z")
Thread relocated from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/4 "2017-07-21T23:12:01Z")
I wouldn’t boil sausages, pan fry or grill. Either way, I cook until I figure they’re nearly done, then split them longways. For some reason I like them split like that. It’s also handy for checking if they’re still pink. But more because I can get more brown on them and the browning is the best part. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/5 "2017-07-21T23:13:30Z")
Oh, and depending on the heat, 10-15 minutes usually. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/6 "2017-07-21T23:14:13Z")
Yeah, grilling or frying is all I’ve ever done, and I usually wait until most, but not all, of the clear juices have escaped. I’ve never had an issue. I’ve never even heard of boiling them, although I have started the frying process in a half inch or so of water to prevent sticking. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/7 "2017-07-21T23:19:28Z")
I sous vide mine but never to more than 160 deg. F. I like mine at 140 deg. F, but I make the overdone ones for my wife. Heck, I take pork tenderloin to only 132 deg. F in the sous vide bath. Your chances of getting trichinosis from commercial pork is just about zero point nothing. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/8 "2017-07-21T23:20:15Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > … > So I just kept boiling and boiling them. Finally after 30 minutes or more at a rolling boil I thought, “Damn, these things have GOT to be over 160 by now!” So I ate them and didn’t die. > > … I haven’t thought of meat thermometers and sausages together. You’d have to pierce them to measure the temperature, right? I think you have a fine experiment going. You have established that a half hour boil is long enough. Maybe creep that time down as you go forward, and see how that goes. Once a batch makes you get a little sick, or you have to run to the bathroom, you have the lower limit set. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/9 "2017-07-21T23:46:09Z")
Do check the calibration on your meat thermometer. Boil some water, and stick the thermometer in, it should rise to – shockingly – approximately 210 F (since I doubt it has markings to read 212.) If it truly gets stuck at a lower temperature, its just no good. If the calibration is off, that is, it reads a diff temperature consistently, you can possibly re-calibrate. When to should read 210, you use a pliers to twist a nut just under the dial until it reads correctly. That’s how everyone I’ve owned works anyway. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/10 "2017-07-21T23:50:23Z")
Part of the reason I want to boil instead of grill is because I thought I could maybe be more reasonable assured that they would be cooked enough. I would prefer grilled but I didn’t think that just because they look done on the outside that I could assume they were safe. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/11 "2017-07-22T00:00:43Z")
You can even microwave em for 45 seconds or so. ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/12 "2017-07-22T00:12:45Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Part of the reason I want to boil instead of grill is because I thought I could maybe be more reasonable assured that they would be cooked enough. > > I would prefer grilled but I didn’t think that just because they look done on the outside that I could assume they were safe. Parboil for five minutes then transfer to a grill until the skin starts getting crispy and is starting to develop little blackened bits. They’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/13 "2017-07-22T00:16:32Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Part of the reason I want to boil instead of grill is because I thought I could maybe be more reasonable assured that they would be cooked enough. > > I would prefer grilled but I didn’t think that just because they look done on the outside that I could assume they were safe. As mentioned above, today’s pork is very safe. So grill away. If you are feeling paranoid, halfway through the cooking process split the sausage lengthwise and get some grillage on the inside as well. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-italian-sausage-but-no-thermometer-need-help/791843/14 "2017-07-22T00:21:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > As mentioned above, today’s pork is very safe. So grill away. If you are feeling paranoid, halfway through the cooking process split the sausage lengthwise and get some grillage on the inside as well. > > Yum! Okay. That sounds good. Thanks for the help everybody!