Recipe: Grilled Italian sausage with bell peppers and onions by David Theiss

I may be enjoying summer’s warm days, but that certainly doesn’t mean I want the heat inside. So while cooking this summer, I suggest having a second thought about turning on that oven or stove and resort to cooking outside.

There are lots of choices nowadays for cooking everything, from main courses to desserts, on your grill. My favorite is fresh grilled veggies in the summer when all that produce is plentiful; but for today’s recipe I will suggest a main course that’s simple to grill, quick to make, and delicious: grilled Italian sausage, bell peppers, and onions served on a French roll with mustard.

You could also create your own variations with your favorite sausage and toppings like Basque chorizo sausage with a crunchy coleslaw on top! The possibilities are endless to create a delicious dinner!

For your sausage ingredients, I suggest obtaining lean sausages with no fillers. At Butler Meats, we make our sausages from lean pork shoulder, expertly trimmed, and seasoned. These sausages are also gluten-free, dairy-free, and free of eggs, soy, and nitrates; good sausages don’t need any of those ingredients.

So, go fetch your favorite mustard (whether it be Dijon, deli, brown, or yellow) a good bread roll, and some sausage to create this quick, simple, and versatile meal.

Pro tip: I usually scoop out the extra bread in the center to make room for the good stuff! Also, using a corn tortilla instead of a bread roll is a tasty gluten-free option!

Italian sausage

Fresh Italian sausage takes a few minutes to cook, so get them grilling at medium heat, turning them three or four times. Don’t poke the sausages, doing so lets the juices out and can cause flare-ups on your grill. Watch for fire flare. They’re finished when internal temperature is 160 degrees, don’t overcook as they become dry and less tasty.

We will be sampling Italian sausage and chorizo, as well as selling the cooked sandwiches at the 3rd and Curry St. Farmers Market Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Come check us out.

Enjoy!

Peppers and Onions

Orange or yellow bell peppers are best, deveined and chopped into large pieces. For the onion, yellow is best, also chopped in large pieces.

In sauté pan add 1 tablespoon olive oil, peppers and onions, and sauté for about 8 to 10 minutes, dash with salt and black pepper.

Use mustard as a condiment. I love a good Dutch crunch roll. Hollow out the middle, place sausage in roll, add mustard, pepper and onion mixture, and serve.

Chorizo sandwich

For the easy creamy slaw:

Ingredients

5 cups shredded coleslaw mix, cabbage carrots, purple cabbage

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons white vinegar

6-ounce can of pineapple juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

Directions

Combine all ingredients to make sauce, then pour over coleslaw mix and fold mixture until completely coated. Cover and store in fridge for half an hour for best results.

For the chorizo:

Grill chorizo sausage like the Italian sausage: medium heat, turning 3-4 times. Don’t poke. Cook until internal temperature is 160 degrees.

Remove extra bread from center of roll, place sausage in roll with slaw mixture on top, and add mustard to taste.

And enjoy your summer cooking outside!

David Theiss is owner and operator of Butler Gourmet Meats in Carson City.