Kaiser's Super Italian Sausage

Now this is a pretty simple recipe,and I imagine many of you already know how to make this.
However we had company over to watch the Bears game last week and served this and several of our guests said they never had Italian Sausage cooked this way,so here goes...

Quantity does not matter for this recipe,so its great when cooking for large groups.
Ingredients are simple:
Italian Sausage links (I prefer mild,especially for this recipe)
Tomato Sauce (use regular tomato sauce not a Prego,Ragu,etc.)
Bay Leaves
Optional: Onions and/or Peppers (I ocassionally use onions,however the flavor is robust enough without)

Take your Italian Sausage and simply brown them in a pan.
Then put your sausages in a pot.Pour in enough tomato sauce to fully cover all your sausage.
Then put in some Bay Leaves,I use one leave for every 3 or 4 sausages.You can crush or chop them or use them whole,I will crush half and use the other half whole. (The Bay Leaves are key for flavor)

Then slowly cook,I generally turn the heat up to medium to start with,until the sauce gets warm,then turn it to low or medium low.Stir ocassionally.(I stir every 15mins give or take)
It will take between 2 & 3 hours,you can turn the heat up the last few minutes to be sure they are done.Its nearly impossible to overcook these.
You'll know they are done in different ways,when you grab one of them with a fork or tongs they will be very tender and nearly falling apart.
When the sauce begins to bubble at the top they are about done.(you can let em go another few mins.)
You will see the grease from the sausage start rising to the top giving a different color than the sauce.

Serve on a hearty type bun.Take some of the sauce and paste the inside of the bun too.

If you like hearty type foods and meat dishes you will really enjoy this the sausage is so tender and the flavor is cooked in so deep,its really good.Hope everyone enjoys.

P.S.
You can cook them in a crock pot however it will take nearly twice as long,and for me has never turned out quite as good as when I cook them in a pot on the stove.

Sounds yummy. Having little patience myself, I prefer crock pot methods. Yes, they're slower but I don't have to stand and watch them.

Those little cocktail weiners in a barbeque sauce in the crockpot are a crowd pleaser too. Haven't tried them on buns but I guess I can try your recipe on a bun. Do you just use the 8 ounce size of tomato sauce or the 16 ounce size? TIA.

reply to post by whitewave


Yeah them cocktail weinees are tastey.

The amount of sauce depends on how many sausages your cooking,you'll need just enough to cover all the sausages.If your cooking say five I think probably two 16oz. cans should do it,but you gotta cover all of the links.

I suggest I good bun,like something you would use for Italian beef,gives it more pop than just a hot dog bun.
Let me know what ya think if you make em.Oh and if you do it in a crock pot still cook on low,and they will still need to be stirred ocasionally.

I don't know what TIA means,I'm behind the times technologically.

That does sound quite good, I'll have ti try it soon.

Do you ever add garlic or oregano or other "Spices"???

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


I just use bay leaves,but I don't think it would hurt if you tinkered with the sauce,might be pretty good with a little garlic.I might try a little garlic next time,but it is really good with just the bay leaves,they really give it a lot of flavor.If you make em let me know what ya think.

reply to post by KaiserSouszay




I love looking at new recipes....and I love to tinker with them.
Just cannot seem to leave any recipe intact....always wondering what it would be like to add this...or that.....so, I'm gonna try bay leaves and garlic in the next week or two

Finally got around to trying this recipe last night. It was a big hit with the family. Simple to make, too. Thanks!