How To Use Up Italian Sausage In A Simple, Savory Sandwich

Leftover Italian sausages are perfect for bulking up a pasta dish, baking into a lasagna, or loading into peppers. However, there's nothing as scrumptious as stuffing them into a simple sammie. We spoke to Hunter Shoults, the plant manager at Bear Creek Smokehouse, who's in charge of production of all meats, to get some ideas on the best way to use up Italian sausage in a savory sandwich.

"We think the best way to use an Italian sausage in a sandwich is to make an Italian Sausage Hoagie" explains Shoults, who is the son of Robbie Shoults, Celebrity Chef, third-generation Owner of Bear Creek Smokehouse and Owner of Marshall Mercantile and High Horse 1898. He adds, "who can turn away the hearty combination of sauteed green and red bell peppers, onion, and garlic butter?"

The simplest way to prepare this classic sammie is to saute your veggies in garlic butter so they cook down in the heat. This allows the natural sweetness of the onions and peppers to come to the fore and complement the savoriness of the protein, which typically features the gentle anise flavor of fennel seeds, a kiss of heat from dried chili flakes, and the inviting aroma of garlic. Then all you need to do is pile your veggies into your hoagie, place your cooked Italian sausages on top and dig in. If you prefer a crispier sausage, slice them down the middle and pan fry them first to counterbalance the soft texture of the veggies.

If you're sausages aren't cooked, consider slitting open their casing and crumbling the meat directly into your skillet to create little nuggets of craggy, textured protein. The sausage meat (usually made of pork butt or shoulder due to their high fat content) will release its natural fat into the pan, which means you won't need to add any oil to your skillet before tossing in the veggies. As the bits of ground sausage meat hit the pan, they'll also release some of the aroma and the mild licorice-like flavor of the very fennel seeds that sets Italian snags apart from other varieties of sausage. Then you can slather the inside of your hoagie (toast it first for extra crunch) with a generous dollop of garlic butter, which will melt when it comes into contact with your hot sausage mixture. The result? A hefty sandwich evenly loaded with sweet peppers, sausage, and aromatic butter.

The slightly sweet undertone of fennel also makes Italian sausage meat perfect for forming into meatballs and braising in a tart marinara. Then all you need is a serving of noodles and a handful of fresh Parmesan to turn your sausages into another classic dish.