The Best Sausage for Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh Italian sausage links, natural hog casing, 70/30 pork
• 3 bell peppers, thick-sliced
• 2 large onions, thick-sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt, pepper and a splash of red wine vinegar

Instructions

1. 01

   Buy fresh, not pre-cooked. Skip smoked or fully cooked links. Fresh pork sausage renders fat into the pan, and that rendered fat is what cooks the peppers.

2. 02

   Look for 70/30 pork. Aim for about 30 percent fat, usually pork butt. Leaner poultry sausage dries out during the long pepper braise and never builds a pan sauce.

3. 03

   Choose natural casing. Natural hog casing snaps when you bite it and holds up to searing. Collagen casing goes rubbery in a wet pan of peppers and onions.

4. 04

   Sweet, hot or both. Sweet fennel links are the classic. Do half hot if the table likes heat — the rendered chili fat seasons every pepper in the pan.

5. 05

   Sear whole, slice later. Brown links whole over medium heat, remove, cook peppers and onions in the drippings, then return the sausage to finish to 160°F and slice on the bias.

6. 06

   Finish sharp. A splash of red wine vinegar at the end cuts the fat and makes the peppers taste like a street fair instead of a stew.

Larry’s rule: If the butcher's case has coiled sausage, buy the coil. Fewer cut ends means less fat escaping and a juicier link every time.