Creating A Hand Crafted Grilled Summer Sausage Recipe

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

You all know I love hanging out outside and making a grill recipe, but sometimes it’s just too hot to be out there fussing over the bbq!  The other day it was a whopping 88 degrees, which I know isn’t hot for some of you, but the humidity was killer, and I just couldn’t bring myself to go outside.  I decided to create an indoor bbq and let me tell you right now, it was AMAZING!  I started off with these #AmericanCraft sausages that I found at Safeway (coupon here!).  I loved that they are hand crafted, made with 100% pork and have real ingredients. Plus there are NO nitrates, NO nitrites, and NO MSG added to.  So yeah, it was a no brainer to make them the stars of my show!    Normally we top our sausages with the usual, ketchup, mustard and onions.  This time I wanted to up the stakes so I created an apple, bacon and sauerkraut topping and some smokey baked beans.  They were the perfect accompaniment to these sausages and I had everyone asking for seconds!

Apple, Bacon and Sauerkraut Topping

• 4 strips of bacon, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 of an onion, chopped
• 1 small apple, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 package of sauerkraut (1 lb), rinsed and patted dry
• 1/4 cup water
• garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

To start with you’ll need to cook up your bacon until it is crispy, then remove it from your pan with a slotted spoon and let it drain on a paper towel or rag.  Lower the heat on your pan to a low setting and add your onions to all that bacon fat.  Let them cook slowly, stirring occasionally until they are soft (approximately 15 minutes).

Once your onions are ready, add in your apples, sauerkraut and water. Raise heat to high for about 5 minutes and then lower to a medium/low setting and cover.  Let cook for about 15 minutes before adding in your bacon and seasonings.  I skipped the salt and just added garlic and pepper, but do whatever tastes best to you!  Give it a couple final stirs and then go ahead and put it in a serving dish.  It doesn’t have to be hot when you serve it, so don’t stress about that!

Next turn up the heat and add those sausages to the same hot pan that you cooked your topping in.  I like to add a tablespoon of water and a lid to keep them super juicy while they cook.  Turn them every couple of minutes so you get some good browning on the outside and then pop them into your buns.  You are going to want a heavy duty bun to handle the meatiness of the sausages and the weight of the topping so don’t skimp here! I served ours with a spicy coarse ground horseradish mustard to really cement those flavors!

Now all that’s left to do is call everyone to the dinner table and plate up!  The kids loved eating family style (normally we eat plated dinners) and they all loved the sausages!  In fact I probably should have bought two packs, because everyone wanted seconds!  So what are you waiting for?  Go #StartYourGrill!