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Snags don't have to look like this!
Patrick of Sydney recently wrote to me seeking help with a very embarrassing problem. He reckoned that he was the only person in this wide, brown land who could not cook an edible snag.
I said that the only thing unique about him was that he was prepared to admit his failure. Most dinkum Aussies are convinced they share a national gift for barbequing snags and steadfastly refuse to accept any criticism of their burnt offerings.
My counselling session with Patrick was based on a simple premise – that it is actually quite difficult to turn out the perfect snag and not many people can do it consistently. The problem is that most barbeques generate too much heat to cook them properly – and the proper way to cook sausages (the thick ones especially) is slowly over a gentle heat.
I told a still disbelieving Patrick to go take a snag out of the fridge and take a close look at it. It’s not much like a rissole or a steak. There is no largish, flattish area to absorb the heat. So unless you bake sausages (which I often do), all that is in direct contact with the heat source is a narrow strip running the length of the snag.
Unless you have a barby with good low temperature control, I wouldn’t try to cook thick sausages right through on the barby as the outside will usually blacken before the inside is fully cooked. Thin ones are okay but you really need to keep turning them.
A rule that many follow for achieving evenly cooked snags is to place them on the barby before turning on the heat. That way you can extend the low temperature cooking period. But you have to make sure they are cooked through to kill any lurking bugs.
When I barbecue sausages, I poach them first in barely simmering water for about 30 minutes (never allow the water to boil). You can take the snags straight out of the liquid and put them on the barby to get a nice, crispy skin. Remember you are not trying to cook them (that has already been done) you are simply making them look more appealing.
If you want to be a bit exotic and impress your mates, poach the snags in beer or red wine.
And sausages should never be pricked (always use tongs to turn them). The skin’s job is to keep the meat juicy and a burst skin is either a sign of a bad sausage or a good sausage ruined by poor cooking.
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