# Sausage Peppers & Onions



## sandra61 (Jun 2, 2014)

I have a grad party that I am making sausage, peppers & onions as one of the entrees. Normally I would brown everything the day before and finish the next day in the oven or roaster. I have so many things to make that I would like to do the browning onTuesday night , refrigerate it and finish cooking on Friday morning. (20 lbs of Italian sausage alone) Is this safe or am I taking a chance with the sausage? Please any help/suggestions would be appreciated


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Perfectly safe , After browning spread out on sheet pan to cool then refried. Peppers and onions can also be blanched, that is ct  then dipped in boiling water for a minute or so  shocked in ice water then refrigerated . Makes it quicker next day to brown


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

It might be safe but it won't be optimal. I would cook the sausages from start to finish the day of...precooked sausages always immediately shrivel up as they cool down as they lose all that beautiful fat that keeps them so plump and juicy. They will hold quite well for more than a few hours in a warm oven with the precooked peppers and onions....you can precook the peppers and onions a few days in advance and refrigerate. Add some wine. Nuke the peppers and onions day of, AND DO NOT drain the liquid from them....add the whole heated shebang to your just cooked sausages,cover with foil and hold in a warm oven. If you don't have the oven space, then hold in a pan in a heated chafing dish or in a roaster. If your stovetop has a griddle, you can use it as a warming plate as well. If you have access to a grill and someone you trust enough to run it, grilling the sausages, finishing just before the guests arrive would be most good. Just curious,what size sausages are you serving? How many guests? Depending on the other foods that you are serving you could go with a bigger sausage(a 1/4 lb'er for ex..) and cut them in half on the diagonal just before serving.... It would halve the amount of cooking..... I usually find that with all the other food choices on a buffet, people always eat less sausage than you think.....well, unless of course it's Tony Soprano! 

joey


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## sandra61 (Jun 2, 2014)

Thanks so much for the quick response.


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## sandra61 (Jun 2, 2014)

My problem is space plus  I am transporting this a few blocks away. I am making 3 full pans of pasta and sauce. 208 meatballs and sauce. 6 homemade foccacia (11 x 17) and 4 pans of sausage, peppers & onions. I have already made the meatballs and  froze them. I am baking them and making the sauce (for everything)on Thursday. Making Foccacia dough Thursday night to bake on Friday morning, Friday afternoon the pasta.- food needs to be there by 5:30ish

wish me luck. I am used to cooking for dinner party's and even up to 60 or so people but this is a big undertaking to do in a non commercial kitchen.

Any tips are certainly appreciated.  I have a large capacity cambro which I am hoping will save me. Two refrigerators and a large upright freezer that is my best friend. I Just need my Italian to kick in full force(my Mother's side)


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## chef torrie (Mar 1, 2011)

I used to do a ton of the stuff for parties, stags, graduations etc when I was doing a lot of catering side work. Would love to still be able to as the money is killer I just don't have the time. 

With 20lbs of sausage I used to be able to fit the whole deal with peppers and onions into 2 full hotel pans. 10lb per full tray. They end up being real full, but not piling over the top. I always like showing up with the pans as full as I can without spillage or sloppiness. I think it looks better than halfway filled pans. 

I used to cook off the sausage on full sheets then transfer to the hotel pans afterwards. I understand you may not have the space however. 

Also, if you don't mind me asking how many people (about) are you expecting?


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## sandra61 (Jun 2, 2014)

Thank you for all the great tips. Unfortunately, the hostess only as a guess of how many people. She has just told me somewhere between 110 to 144...she thinks.

I am now doing 120 pc of sausage. I was going to do 3.7 oz per pc. I have a mini roll going with it, if they want to make a sandwich for the  S, P & O's or the meatballs.  It is a grad party and there is another down the street from her on the same day. She feels they will have some of the same guests. So I sure there will be a lot of grazing. She is also buying fried chicken from some where and doing her own veggie & dessert trays.  So I was doing my my to estimate quantities with her. This is happening this Friday so I am planning on cutting the peppers, onions & sausage and browning it late tonight...finish cooking on Friday morning


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

You have the world on a string if you have a large capacity cambro at your disposal. Large enough for all your hotel pans? If not, fit in what you can. Wil there be chafing dishes at the party? Ask for them to be lit ahead of time. When you get to the party house you can pop one pan each of meatballs and sausage in a chafer. The pasta in sauce is better off being kept in the cambro until just before serving so it doesn't dry out. I would also cover the pasta with saran wrap before the foil.....it just helps to keep it. It seems to me sandra that this is not your first rodeo and not only have you thought the whole thing through from start to finish, but have planned well and are well organized. One can never be too well prepared imo......
joey

- Don't forget your business cards!...make sure they are displayed next to your food, 
not what someone else or the hostess is supplying.
- If heating the meatballs in the oven(marinara, right?), i suggest covering them with 
parchment paper first before the foil, as the tomato sauce will 'eat' through the 
foil.
- Hope it all goes swell.....i'm sure it will. The fact that there is another party down 
the street and you will share some of the same guests works in your favor.
- Just watch out for a guy named Murphy!


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## sandra61 (Jun 2, 2014)

Thanks for all the tips Joey. I am accustom to cooking, just not for this many at once(all by myself). I just got the Cambro. This will be my first time using it.

It fits 6 pans so I won't be able to get everything in but I'm not going far so I can get the chafing pans set up for the items I can fit. I have a big roaster I can use for the S, P & O's,

I come from a Italian family of cooks which is how I came to love food. This small food business found me a little later in life but it's great to do something you really love.

Im so happy I this site and some real chefs to run things by. Some of the other sites I tried were not much help.  Thanks again


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

One final thought on the cambro....heat/boil water, put it in a half pan and set it in the bottom of the cambro..it's kinda like a preheat..let it sit 45 minutes or so and repeat with more heated water...3 or 4 times should do it...it just helps to get the cambro walls all warmed up for your hot food, and i find it pays off big time.
don't lose sleep over this...you will be more than fine. 

joey


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

Not sure if i misread your post or if one of my posts was misleading, but i would not recommend cutting the Italian sausages before you cook them....cut them afterward...it really doesn't take very long and they will maintain their juiciness better imo.

joey


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## sandra61 (Jun 2, 2014)

Just thought I'd let you know that my grad party was a great success. I got some additional business out of it.

Thanks again everyone for all your help.


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## chef torrie (Mar 1, 2011)

Sandra61 said:


> Just thought I'd let you know that my grad party was a great success. I got some additional business out of it.
> Thanks again everyone for all your help.


Congrats! Great to hear! Always even better when you find new customers. Keep up the great work


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