The Best Way To Reheat Leftover Sausage Patties

Sausage pairs well with so many meals — whether breakfast-style served alongside pancakes or on meal-prepped breakfast sandwiches, or as the anchor of a sausage and pepper burger. If you're turning ground sausage into sausage patties and find that you have leftovers, according to an expert, you can easily reheat them while maintaining their quality by following a few simple tips.

"I add a small amount of oil to a pan over medium heat and re-sear the sausage for a few minutes per side," chef Billy Parisi exclusively told Chowhound. But he takes one extra step to ensure the reheated sausage doesn't end up too dry. "Once I initiate that first flip, I add in a few tablespoons of water to help rehydrate any moisture that was lost from the initial cooking and cooling process," he said. "This will help your sausage to be juicy, tender, and flavorful." The pan-seared method will also help redevelop a slight crust on the sausage patties that might have softened in the refrigerator. In a pinch, you can microwave the sausage patties, but know that they'll have a less-appealing texture.

The ideal sausage reheating method might also depend on how you plan to use the patties. If you want them on sandwiches, then the pan method is best. But if you plan to dice them up and incorporate them into something else, then you might not need to reheat them at all. 

"Leftover sausage can be used in a myriad of ways, from adding it to a frittata, omelet, or as a simple stuffing in things like pork or chicken," chef Billy Parisi said. In this case, it will be reheated as part of the cooking method you use for the frittata or omelet (likely the oven and a pan, respectively). Parisi continued, "It can be used in a sausage gravy for things like biscuits and gravy, or breakfast burritos. Lastly, it is excellent in soups, especially in a zuppa Toscana." If you plan to add diced leftover sausage patties to a soup, the hot broth will reheat the meat and also ensure it doesn't taste too dry.