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Can You Freeze Sausages?

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By Ross Young

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From a summer’s BBQ to a warming winter bowl of sausage and mash, there’s no denying that sausages are versatile. But what do you do if you’ve bought a few too many or have some leftover? Is there a way to store them for the longer term?

Can You Freeze Sausages?

Yes, you can freeze sausages for up to 3 months. You can freeze both cooked and uncooked sausages. You can even freeze sausage meat to make sausage rolls in future.

Do Sausages Freeze Well? Yes

Can You Refreeze Sausages? No

How To Freeze Sausages

With sausages being so versatile, there are actually a number of ways in which to freeze them. Below, we have outlined the best approach to take if you want to freeze whole sausages either raw or cooked: 

How to Freeze Uncooked Sausages

This is the method you should take if you want to freeze uncooked, raw, sausages. If you have cooked sausages or just have sausage meat then scroll a little further down the page for details on how to go about freezing these.

  1. Portion Out: First, you need to decide on the portion sizes you want to use. Consider how many sausages you would normally cook for a meal and settle on this as the portion size. If the sausages you’re looking to freeze are in that portion size then you can actually place the unopened packet into the freezer.
  2. Bag Up: If you need to portion out your sausages, remove them from the packet and place them into thick freezer bags.
  3. Seal and Freeze: Seal the bags up, squeezing out as much of the air as possible. Place the bags into the freezer.

How to Freeze Cooked Sausages

Using your freezer efficiently is all about getting ahead and prepared so your midweek meals are no longer stressful. That’s why being able to freeze cooked sausages would be a lifesaver, right?

Well, the good news is that you can freeze cooked sausages.

Obviously, before you get to freezing your cooked sausages, you’ll need to cook them – so do that first. Once they are cooked, you will need to allow them to cool right down to room temperature.

  1. Wrap: Once you’ve got your cooked and cooled sausages, you need to wrap them in clingfilm. You don’t need to wrap them individually but do need to wrap them in portions.
  2. Bag Up: Place the wrapped sausages into a thick freezer bag. Make sure you label the bag with the contents (including the type of sausage) and the date. Seal the bag up, squeezing out as much of the air as possible.
  3. Freeze
    Finally, place the bag of cooked sausages into the freezer for up to 3 months.

Try to avoid using weak plastic bags as they will often allow air to seep in quite quickly which can cause freezer burn to occur rapidly.

How to Freeze Sausage Meat

Having sausages is one thing but sausage meat is an altogether more useful ingredient to have in the kitchen. It’s perfect for pasta sauces, delicious when stir-fried with noodles and essential for sausage rolls.

The good news is that yes, you can freeze sausage meat. But how should you go about doing so:

Before you get to freezing your sausage meat, you’ll be handling raw meat so make sure you get a few things out and ready. You’ll want a roll of foil, scissors and thick freezer bags. Ready? Then follow these instructions:

  1. Remove From Packaging: Remove the sausage meat you have bought from the packaging. It will usually come in large portions which won’t be suitable to freeze in one block.
  2. Portion Out: Cut your sausage meat up into suitable portions based on your usual usage. You could use a knife here if you prefer.
  3. Wrap in Foil and Bag Up: Wrap each portion of sausage meat in foil, tightly. Place each portion of wrapped sausage meat into a thick freezer bag to further protect it from other odours and air.
  4. Freeze: You can finally put your bag of portioned sausage meat into the freezer.

3 Tips for Freezing Sausages

Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing sausages to have the best results:

Label Sausage Type
If you plan on freezing multiple types of sausage then it is a good idea to also label the bag with the variety. If you’ve frozen gluten-free, lamb, pork and leek, lamb merguez, beef sausages or hot dogs then you will struggle to tell the difference.

Wrap Multiple Time
Keeping the air out from your sausages is vital so don’t be shy about wrapping the sausages in multiple layers of cling film or foil to protect them. 

Freeze in Cooked Dishes
You can also freeze sausages in cooked dishes such as sausage rolls, casserole or stew. Once cooked, cool the dish then portion it out into Tupperware containers. Seal tightly and then freeze for around 3 months.

Freeze Sausage Types

How Long Can You Freeze Sausages?

Whether they’re cooked, uncooked or out of the skin, sausages and sausage meat can all be stored in the freezer for around 3 months. This is a vague figure as it all depends on how well you’re able to keep air away from them.

If, for example, you’re fortunate enough to have access to a vacuum sealing machine then your sausages will last beyond this point – usually 6 months or so.

Or, if you use thin sandwich bags, you’ll probably find your sausages discolouring within a matter of weeks.

How Long Do Sausages Last in the Fridge?

Uncooked sausages can last for around 1 week in the fridge or until the use-by date, whichever comes first. Cooked sausages will last for 3 days.

How Do You Defrost Sausages?

There is really only one approach you should take when it comes to defrosting your sausages and that’s the slow, steady and overnight approach.

Remove the sausages you want to defrost and place them in the fridge on a plate overnight.

If your sausages are uncooked then make sure you keep them away from other products in the fridge and use a bowl to catch any liquid as you don’t want this running down your fridge.

Can You Refreeze Sausages?

Sausages can be refrozen. We would advise only freezing them once in their raw state and once in their cooked state. This means you can freeze raw sausages, thaw them, cook them and then refreeze them.

As always, you’ll need to ensure you have cooked your sausages through until they are piping hot in the centre to be on the safe side.

Do Sausages Freeze Well?

Provided that you do all you can to keep the air away, sausages will freeze well.

If air gets to them, then the texture can be ruined and discolouration will occur. But this is the case with the majority of foods in the freezer if they are not stored correctly.

If you follow our guidelines above then you’ll find yourself freezing sausages effectively and will actually struggle to tell the difference between frozen and non-frozen sausages.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing sausages or sausages in general, then these may help:

Can You Freeze Lamb Sausages?

Lamb, beef, pork or even vegetarian sausages can all be frozen using the exact process we have outlined in this article. As with all meat products, you must ensure you have cooked the sausages through so that they are piping hot before serving.

Can you Freeze Sausage Casserole?

Sausage casserole is one of the easier things to freeze. All you need to do is allow it to cool down to room temperature before decanting into an airtight container. Seal the container up, wrap in foil if you’re worried it’s not airtight and then place it in the freezer.

If you want details on how to freeze specific types of sausages then we’ve covered these in individual articles on FreezeIt. Simply click through to the type of sausage you wish to freeze: Hot dogs, nduja, cabanossi, bratwurst, sausage rolls.

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