Johnsonville Heat and Eat Breakfast Sausage Links on the BBQ Grill

Johnsonville Sausage Links - Heat/Brown and Eat

We use Johnsonville brats around here when we tailgate or want a hearty, yummy dinner on the grill, so I thought Johnsonville sausages sounded like a good bet when they offered me a couple of sample packages to try out the new lines.

The Johnsonville sausage links are like the ones you get at restaurants or at the grocery store and generally brown in the frying pan for breakfast. The links would be great for a camp breakfast right on the grill as I did them or on a flat top or grill wok over the coals or gas flames.

Here I went for Johnsonville sausage link appetizers. I shook the sausages up in a zip lock bag with Dizzy Pig barbecue rub. You could use any favorite barbecue rub. I do love Dizzy Pig. Then, I put the sausages on the grill to brown them and set the rub.  This took literally a couple of minutes. My Weber grill fire was hot and ready.

The smoky flavor from the charcoal and the Dizzy Pig rub gave the Johnsonville links a really nice flavor. My son (who prefers mild flavors) loved these as appetizers with lightly spicy mustard. I enjoyed them too but kept wishing I had some scrambled eggs. I guess I'm old and set in some of my flavor ways. I'll make my eggs too next time.

Whether you want good tasting sausage links (and I've had some that were not so tasty) or want to flavor these up with rub and serve them with mustard, the Johnsonville sausage links grill up beatifically and the actual sausage flavor is very nice. I'd like a spicy option, but I can always spice things up.

Johnsonville also has sausage patties out along with the links. I'll have to give those a try too. We love breakfast around here and especially biscuits and sausage gravy.

Johnsonville Sausage Links Grilled with Barbecue Rub

You may also want to try our Johnsonville beer brats recipe. That is one of the family all-time favorite grilling recipes. 

Cub Scouts Enjoy Learning How to Grill Sausages

Grilling with Cub Scout Pack 320

My friend from work, Lori, invited me to visit with Cub Scout Pack 320 last week. The boys were working on the communication loop, and I thought they'd be interested in new technology like my blog. Since it's a grilling blog, it seemed like a good idea to break out the grill for some hands on fun.

Cub meetings only last an hour, so I needed something quick and easy. My grilled sausage appetizers take only a few minutes on the grill, so I knew that would work for a short meeting. I also knew that there were steps where the boys could help out which is more fun than just sitting there listening.

I was going to pick up everything, but Lori insisted on getting the supplies (thanks - that was really nice). Our local IGA grocery store has the best (and also inexpensive) bulk smoked sausages. They are pre-cooked, so that's what makes this a quick grilling project. Kielbasa or any pre-cooked sausage works.

It's Great to Have an Involved Audience

I sliced the sausages, since I didn't want to chance any Cubs getting cut, but the rub shaking part was perfect for this age group. The sausages go in zip lock bags with barbecue rub or seasoning, and then they just need to be shaken around until the sausages have a nice coating. I used one of my favorite rubs - Dizzy Pig. It's mild with a wonderful flavor, and my boys (actually young men now) love Dizzy Pig.

As you can see, I had no shortage of volunteers. That's one really fun part of working with Cub Scouts. They are excited about helping out. You never have to ask twice for volunteers.

Shaking the Sausages with Barbecue Rub

My son who is an Eagle Scout and headed off to graduate school at the end of the summer helped the boys get the sausages in the bag with the rub, and then they took turns shaking and tossing the bags. I had a few bags going at once so several boys could help out at the same time.

 

Stirring the Grilled Sausages

I used my grill wok (which is super handy), because I can do a lot of sausages at once and they can be stirred rather than turned. One of the Cubs sprayed down the wok with non-stick spray, and then others helped out on the stirring. This gave them a chance to work with grill tongs without having to worry about sausages rolling off the grill (which can be a challenge for adults too).

Yum! Grilled Sausages

Since the sausages are pre-cooked, they just need to be heated and for the rub to crisp up. This doesn't take long (just minutes), and then another batch can go on the grill. We were able to do the program, prep the sausages, and grill two batches in an hour.

 

 Cubs Love Grilled Food

The Cub Scouts were excited to dig in and eat the sausages. Food is always a hit with Scouts. I've been working with Cub and Boy Scouts for years now, I don't think you can ever have too much food.

 

Cub Scout Enjoying Sausages

As you can see, this little guy (armed with toothpicks) is thinking about a few more sausages. He and all his Pack buddies were gentlemen and made sure everyone had food before getting extras.

Cub Scout Pack 320 - Woodleaf, North Carolina

Visiting and working with the Cubs was great fun. I'd like to thank Pack 320 for the warm reception and a wonderful evening. I'd also like to thank Lori for inviting me and all the leaders and parents who helped out and are doing such a super job with these little guys.

I encourage everyone to spend some time with youth groups in your area. It's very rewarding to help (even in a small way), because these kids are our future. They are full of energy and excited about learning, and they need more of us to step up.

Excellent Sausage - Sunset Farm Foods out of Georgia

Southern Smoked Link Sausages from Sunset Farm Foods of Georgia

I'm a sausage fan as most of my readers know, and it's hard to find good sausages in the South. I buy a local bulk sausage (Frank Corriher) which I grill on a griddle or salt block, but it's hard to find anything other than very generic link sausages. I season and smoke them up, and they're really yummy. But, the meat really isn't center stage.

When Joy with Sunset Farm Foods out of Georgia offered to send samples of link sausage out of Georgia I wondered how those would taste. I said I'd give them a try. I didn't know if they would be much different from what I can get here, but I was hoping.

This semester I taught a freshman seminar class on barbecue. Since the class is only an hour and a half, I can't do actual barbecue in that time. So, I decided to surprise the class and do grilled sausages. That would be a good test for these Georgia sausages, becauce there are fifteen kids in the class.

  

Catawba College First Year Seminar Barbecue Class

I got up early and packed my tailgate O grill, grill wok, and sausages. I had a large bulk pack of IGA grocery sausages with a group this size and saved the Sunset Farm Foods sausages for last. The two flavors were cracked pepper and jalapeno. I did warn the students that the last batches would be spicy, and everyone in the class likes zippy foods so that was good.

Getting Sausages Ready to Grill

I told my students how to grill sausages. Basically, you just slice them up, put them in a zip lock bag with some seasoning (Dizzy Pig rub in this case), and then load them in the grill wok until they are hot and some crispy, since many people like the crispy outside.

Grilled Sausages from Sunset Farm Foods in a Grill Wok

My students took turns checking and turning the sausages. They caught on fast. This is a really easy grilled appetizer that tastes great. I told them that sausages are great for tailgating. They're done quick and are hard to mess up.

Yes. Those Sausages Rock.

The students devoured the sausages and really enjoyed them. It was universal that the Sunset Farm Foods sausages were better than the bulk grocery sausages (although the low priced sausages were tasty too).

Sunset Farm Foods has all natural sausages. Some readers may not care one way or the other on that. But, the taste is better too. I was glad I had these side by side, because it made for a good comparison. There was an extra pop to the sausages out of Georgia. Part of that was the pepper and jalapeno - but not all of it. The meat was just better. The texture on the Sunset Farm sausages was firmer too while the less expensive have kind of the bologna texture.

Grilled Sausages from Sunset Farm Foods

I had one package left of Sunset Farm Foods sausages after the school grill out, and I wanted all my family to get to try them. This was the mild package, and I used Tatonka Dust on them.

The guys ate the whole package, so you can be sure that they went over great at home too.

If you're looking for some really wonderful sausage, then Sunset Farm Foods has a very impressive product. The meat is wonderful. If you like spicy foods, then you'll find that the cracked pepper and jalapeno are excellent as well. Some of the meats with stuff added are not very good. In this case, the additions were balanced and went with the meat. If I had to pick, I'd say the cracked pepper were my favorite, but I'd take a plate of Sunset Farm sausages any day in any flavor.

Brat Haus Beer Mustard with Grilled Sausage Appetizers - Easy and Delicious

Fischer & Wieser Brat Haus Beer Mustard

I have been enjoying the Fischer & Wieser Brat Haus beer mustard that Toni sent out, and I've been meaning to tell everyone about this great gourmet mustard.

It sounded like one I'd enjoy from the start, and I was not disappointed. This is a bold but smooth flavored mustard with beer notes. It's perfect with grilled brats as noted by the company, and it gives hot dogs a more adult feel.

I tried this mustard out first on rice with vegetables and shrimp. What was I thinking? Well, I was thinking I'd walk on the wild side, but I can tell you that mustard on white rice is not a recipe that I will be sharing with you. You want something bolder tasting to work with Beer Haus Mustard.

After the first fail (my fault totally), I did the classic brats with mustard. My brats are fabulous, and that's not just my ego there. The folks at work went wild for them. If you want really terrific brats, then check out my grilled brats recipe and then top them off with a great mustard like Fisher & Wieser's.

When I review products, I do like to give readers new ideas on the grill as well, so I kept thinking of ideas. I was looking in the freezer, and we had some sausages left over from a low country boil. Hum . . . my brain starts clicking.

I got the sausages out and cut them in rings (as you can see) and then put barbecue rub on them. The rub you see on these is Dizzy Pig Barbecue Seasoning. Dizzy Dust has a great flavor with some pop, but it's not over the top on anything. A little spice. A little sweet. The orginal is a wonderful all purpose seasoning.

I put the sausages in a grill wok and heated them just a few minutes. They are pre-cooked, so they just needed to be heated and to catch a little smoke flavor. I waited for the sausages to lightly brown and sweat a bit.

The grilled sausages tasted wonderful, and they were super simple to make. The Brat Haus Mustard - just wow. Great on these quick appetizers. The guys were all blown away, and I will definately put these on my barbecue grilling party idea rotation. In just minutes I can have a ton of these on the table and looking festive with the rub coloring and with the mustard to the side for contrast.

Grilled Appetizer Sausages with Gourmet Mustard from Fischer & Wieser