Do you pre-cook Italian sausage when baking a pizza from scratch?

Question

I am baking pizza tonight. Although pizza is baked at a high temperature, it is not cooked for very long. Do I need to pre-cook Italian sausage before putting the pizza in the oven? Or is it okay to put on raw chunks on sausage knowing the oven will cook the sausage all the way through?

Answer 1

Yes. If you don't a host of nasty things will happen. Your meat will probably not cook through completely before your crust burns to charcoal. Also, the grease that you would pour off from precooked meat will be on your pizza adding fat but not flavor and ruining the texture and mouth-feel of your food.

Answer 2

SAUSAGE
Use Mild Italian Sausage. Do not use "Breakfast Sausage" as it is seasoned with a lot of sage which is incompatible with the other flavors common to pizza. Avoid "Hot" Italian Sausage, it is seasoned with too much red pepper. One-third pound of sausage is enough for a pizza. Slit the skin and remove the ground meat. Lay it in a frying-pan, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of sweet fennel seeds and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh-ground black pepper. Turn on the heat and mash up the meat with a spatula while it cooks, breaking it into little chunks. When all the pink is gone,it is done. Cover it and set aside until you are ready for it.

Answer 3

PIZZA UNOS DEEP PAN CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA
Source: The Pizza Book: Everything There Is To Know About the World's Greatest Pie by Evelyne Slomon
Servings: 6

FOR THE CRUST:
1 cup warm tap water (110-115 degrees f)
1 pkg active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups flour, divided use
1/2 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
FOR THE FILLING:
1 lb sausage, removed from the casing and crumbled
1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, drained and coarsely crushed
3 tsp dried oregano (or 5 fresh basil leaves, shredded
4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan

TO PREPARE THE CRUST:
Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl and dissolve the yeast with a fork. Add 1 cup of flour, all of the cornmeal, salt, and, and vegetable oil. Mix well with a spoon. Continue stirring in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Flour your hands and the work surface and knead the ball of dough until it is no longer sticky.

Let the dough rise in an oiled bowl, sealed with plastic wrap, for 45 to 60 minutes in a warm place, until it is doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down and knead it briefly. Press it into an oiled 15-inch deep dish pizza pan, until it comes 2 inches up the sides and is even on the bottom of the pan. Let the dough rise 15-20 minutes before filling.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

TO PREPARE THE FILLING:
While the dough is rising, prepare the filling ingredients. Cook the crumbled sausage until it is no longer pink, drain it of its excess fat; set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
When the dough has finished its second rising, lay the mozzarella cheese over the dough shell. Then distribute the sausage and garlic over the cheese. Top with the tomatoes. Sprinkle on the seasonings and parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes at 500 degrees.

Then lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 25 to 35 minutes longer. Lift up a section of the crust from time to time with a spatula to check on its color. The crust will be golden brown when done. Serve immediately.

Answer 4

I precook it, even though the trichinosis risk has been substantially reduced these days by new meat packing regulations. I'm from the old school that says always handle raw pork with caution and do whatever it takes to make sure that it's safe to eat.

If you do want to use it raw in the future, then I suggest freezing the meat for several weeks. From what I've read, that will kill off almost all parasites and potentially harmful bacteria. Just follow the rules for thawing and using frozen meat, that's all.

Answer 5

I don't know what kind of sausage you have but to be on the safe side, pre cook would be good.

Answer 6

Depends on how you like your pizza. I, personally, like the "clumps" of sausage as compared to crumbled sausage, and the clumps are put on raw. If you think about it, you brown sausage in about the same time it takes to bake a pizza(12-18min). Use a leaner sausage and don't make your clumps to large(about 1/2 ", always <1"). I always put a couple of extra clumps to test doneness.

Answer 7

I found that if you cook the sausage before you put it on the pizza, it cuts down on the grease and your risk of a food borne illness is eliminated.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Take it out of its casing and pre-cook it to make sure all the bacteria is killed. Then enjoy!

Answer 10

I usually pre-cook it, it gets some of the grease out.