Defrosting Sausages

There’s so many high quality frozen sausage products that you can buy straight from the supermarket and use to prepare delicious meals, reducing your food waste and household bills significantly.

Our tips are for using sausages that are commercially frozen – these are uncooked sausages that have been frozen by the manufacturer, ensuring they are of the highest quality and can be cooked safely from frozen.

Sausages should never be defrosted at room temperature as this is when bacteria can multiply rapidly. Once you have defrosted your sausages, do not refreeze them until they have been thoroughly cooked.

Defrosting Sausage

Option one – in the fridge

  1. Do not remove packaging where possible
  2. Place on a plate in the bottom of the fridge
  3. Leave until fully defrosted.

Option two – microwave

  1. Always refer to microwave instructions
  2. Place on a microwave-proof plate
  3. Microwave on defrost until sausages become pliable enough to separate
  4. Return to the microwave, checking frequently
  5. Cook immediately.

Never defrost sausages at room temperature. Defrosted food should not be re-frozen until thoroughly cooked.

Defrosting sausages in the fridge

  • The temperature of the refrigerator should be kept at 5°C or below, as anything above this may allow the multiplication of bacteria.
  • Keep the sausages in their packaging
  • Place on a plate to catch any drips, at the bottom of the fridge, keeping away from ready-to-eat foods
  • Leave in the fridge until fully defrosted
  • Then cook immediately

Defrosting sausages in the microwave

  • This is the quickest method of defrosting
  • Make sure to follow the microwave instructions, as all microwaves tend to work slightly differently
  • Place the sausages on a microwave-safe plate
  • Microwave on the defrost setting until the sausages become pliable enough to separate
  • Microwave in two minute intervals, checking regularly until fully defrosted
  • Cook immediately.

Want to read more? We’ve created guides on how to defrost chicken, fishsausages, turkey and mince.