The Week in Sausage and Peppers
Larry's first weekly dispatch: the pepper ratio argument, why the oven beat the skillet this week, and the one pan everybody keeps asking about.
Welcome to the first weekly dispatch. Every week I'll put down what got cooked, what got argued about in the comments, and what's worth your Sunday.
The pepper ratio argument
Two red, one green, one long hot. That's the ratio. Half the internet says all red, the other half says all green, and both halves are cooking a flatter dish than they need to. The green pepper is there to be slightly bitter — that bitterness is what keeps forty minutes of caramelized onion from tasting like dessert.
The oven beat the skillet this week
Nine people came over. Nine people do not fit in a twelve-inch skillet. A half-sheet pan at 400°F, potatoes fifteen minutes ahead, sausages laid on top so the fat drips down — forty minutes, one pan, no standing at the stove while everybody else eats.
The skillet makes the better plate. The sheet pan makes the better party.
Three things worth your time
- Pull the sausage at 160°F. Not 165. Not 'when it looks done.' Buy the thermometer.
- Slice peppers top to bottom, not into rings. Rings collapse.
- Deglaze with a splash of red wine vinegar off the heat. It's the difference between good and 'what did you do to this?'
Mentioned in this post
More from the blog
Next up
Keep going — a recipe to try, a film to watch, and an answer to the question you were about to search.
Try this recipe
Minestrone Classico
Slow vegetable soup with beans and short pasta.
Try this recipe
Pasta e Fagioli
Half soup, half pasta, entirely filling.
Next watch
The Green Jacket Grill
Sunday at the majors: a shaky lie in the tall grass, a caddie who has seen this before, and Uncle Larry sinking the putt of his life — then hoisting Sally on the eighteenth green with a sausage link where the trophy should be.
Quick answer
How do you make a sausage and peppers sandwich?
Split a seeded Italian hero, toast the cut sides in the sausage pan, lay the whole sausage in first, then pile the peppers and onions on top so the juices soak down instead of through. Provolone under the sausage melts into a seal that keeps the bread intact.