On top of all that, sausages are inexpensive theyre made with cheap cuts, like shoulder and trimmings are available in convenient serving sized packages and, even at the crummiest of supermarkets, come in at least a half dozen flavors. They really are one of the ideal foods for the backyard grill. Ideal, that is, provided you do two simple things start with great sausages, and dont mess em up. Thats easier said than done. With 1. 8 pounds of sausages in hand and a few bags of coal, I fired up the grill last weekend for a marathon of prodding, poking, flipping, burning, slow cooking, steaming, smoking, and otherwise manhandling the tube steak until I arrived at what I believe is the best method to take them from raw to cooked on the grill. Heres what went down. The Sausage Torture Chamber. Before we get to the right way to cook sausage, lets talk about some of the wrong ways The Chest Burster. A burnt and busted open casing, sooty flavor, juices lost to the grill gods. What happened This is what happens when you throw a sausage over the highest possible heat. Just like other meats, sausages contract as they cook, and in proportion to how high a temperature theyre cooked to. Cook a sausage over high heat, and the casing and outer layers will quickly get very hot, causing them to contract a great deal. Best Way To Grill Vegetables IndoorsSausages really are one of the ideal foods for the backyard grill. That is, provided you do two simple things start with great sausages, and dont mess em up. That. Looking for the best indoor grills Indoor Grill Source is the leading authority on indoor grills and grilling. We rate and review the best indoor grills. Learn some tips and tricks about how to grill the best T bone steak from CharBroil. Best Way To Grill Vegetables On Stove TopMeanwhile, the raw sausage meat in the center wont have contracted at all. What happens next is sort of like what happens to the Incredible Hulk, but instead of the Hulk growing faster than his clothes, imagine his clothes shrinking in proportion to his body. The casing and outer layers crack and burst open. Liquefied fat and expelled meat juices from the center pour out onto your fire, causing it to flare up and leaving a sooty deposit all over your sausage. The result is an acrid tasting sausage, with a dry, juiceless center. The Two fer. An inedible, raw center and a burnt, cracked exterior. Simultaneously overcooked and undercooked. No good. What happened Another product of high heat cooking. This time, you wise up and add the sausages to a moderately hot grill. No good You still end up with a sausage that cooks too fast, so the exterior is overcooked before the center has a chance to come up to temperature. The Unloved Grandmother. Okay, so this time, you take it to the opposite extreme, cooking the sausage the entire way through on the cooler side of the grill. You get a tiny bit of browning, no bursting at all, and when you pull it off the heat, it looks plump and juicy as can be. But within moments, it deflates like a sad balloon a wrinkled, dry shell of its former self. What happened Without enough heat, by the time you get any significant browning on the exterior, the interior layers will have already overcooked. Steam and expanded muscle tissue will give the sausage a plump appearance while its still hot, but as soon as it comes off the grill and cools slightly, it shrivels up again. The Science of Sausage. Essentially, a well made sausage is a matrix of interconnected meat proteins. As this web of proteins cooks, it firms up, trapping fat, meat juices, and flavorings in its matrix. Both the fat and the salt give the sausages an advantage over whole cuts of meat when it comes to retaining moisture and flavor during cooking. Fat plays a vital role, as its the primary component that gives our mouths the sense of juiciness. When you bite into a juicy steak, its mainly the intramuscular fat, known as marbling, thats making it juicy, not the actual meat juices, which are largely water based. Sausages are a bit like steaks, with the optimal amount of marbling built right into them. A properly made sausage should have discrete bits of fine fat blended in with the meat, in a proportion of anywhere from 2. Most hover around the 3. Japan. Salt is also responsible for a sausages good texture. Aside from seasoning the meat, it dissolves the protein myosin, one of the major components of muscle fibers. By dissolving it, salt allows the meat to retain more moisture, as well as shrink less during cooking the two phenomena are related. This means that, because you are cooking your meat to a set temperature, a well made, properly salted sausage will retain more moisture than a pork chop or steak cooked to the same temperature. That said, the rules of cooking meat still apply to sausages You do not want to overcook them. Heres whats going on inside your sausage as it cooks Under 1. F 4. 8. 9C The meat is still considered raw. Eat your sausage now and itll taste more wet and mushy than juicy and bouncy. You also might get sick. At 1. 20F The casing begins to shrink, putting pressure on the meat inside. Simultaneously, the protein myosin begins to coagulate, forcing some liquid out of the muscle cells. In a well salted sausage, this effect is minimal, as salt will have already largely dissolved this protein. At 1. 40F 6. 0C The casing and ground muscle and fat inside it are cooked through and opaque. At this stage, some shrinkage will have occurred, but expelled juices are still largely contained by the protein made up from the ground meat. In a well made sausage, the casing should at this point be adding texture, but will not be essential for retaining juices. Above 1. 55F 6. C Proteins continue to contract, eventually squeezing out so much juice and fat that it can no longer be retained within the protein matrix. As when you wring out a sponge, fat and juice will be squeezed free of the meat and end up collecting under the surface of the skin. Congratulations. What youve got is a lump of dry meat sitting in a grease pool inside a sausage casing. We can do better than this. Possible Solutions. The simplest possible solution is to cook the sausage over moderate heat on a grill. I find that by building a two zone fire with all the coals piled under one side of the cooking grate, I can move my sausages back and forth from the cool to the hot side, carefully monitoring their internal temperatures with a probe thermometer and finagling it so that the insides come up to 1. F 6. 6C just as the exteriors reach a perfect burnished, crisp, deep brown. Using this method, you can get an evenly cooked sausage with plenty of smoky, grilled flavor. It works, but its not easy. The second solution is much more foolproof, and the one thats recommended by many grilling experts Poach them first. By covering the sausages in cold water on the stovetop and slowly bringing them up to 1. F in their water bath, you can get them cooked perfectly evenly from edge to edge. All thats required is a quick trip to the hot side of the grill, and youre done. The problem Its mainly one of flavor, convenience, and opportunity lost. You dont get much smoke flavor because the sausage doesnt spend much time on the actual grill. And if Im grilling outside, I dont want to futz around indoors with a pan of simmering water. Similarly, if Im going to take the time to poach a sausage, why wouldnt I use a liquid that will not only add flavor to the sausage, but benefit from having a sausage simmering in it as wellWhat I wanted was a method that offered the full smoky flavor of a grilled sausage and the perfectly even, foolproof cooking of the poaching method, and made good use of the marriage of flavors between a sausage and its accompaniments. The Best Low Carb Vegetables for Keto. Vegetables are an essential part of a healthy low carb diet, but sometimes were stuck with decisions we might regret later. Some vegetables are high in sugar and dont cut it nutritionally so we need to weed them out. Make sure to be careful when eating vegetables as their carb counts do add up quickly. Below youll find a quick visual guide on the best and worst low carb vegetables for keto. Keep scrolling down to see a complete list of the most commonly consumed vegetables. At the bottom of this page, youll find a list of the top 1. Note Remember that on the ketogenic diet, you should aim to limit your carbohydrates to be below 3. If you prefer to follow along and have meal ideas made for you, try our Keto Academy Program The best type of vegetables for a ketogenic diet are both high in nutrients and low in carbohydrates. As most of you can guess, these are dark and leafy. Anything that resembles spinach or kale will fall into this category and will be the best vegetable to include into dishesmeals. If youre looking for low carb vegetables that arent leafy greens, think about the ones that grow above ground mostly from the cruciferous family. These include broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, lettuce, cucumbers, and more. You can use the visual guide to help decide which vegetables are best. Many people choose to eat salads as a way to get their greens in for the day. Salads are super quick to make, and you can put almost anything in them. Next time youre not sure of what to make, get some inspiration from these You can also simply toss leftovers in salads as long as the combinations make sense. Time and time again we make cheeseburger salad with our leftover cooked ground beef. Its such an easy way to make lunch Another way to eat vegetables is with your dinner. Many side dishes also complement the ketogenic diet because theyre often very fatty. Leftover Cod Recipes. Next time you need to pair a meal with a side dish, consider one of these options Or you can simply roastsaute some vegetables in coconut oil and spices before serving. Below youll find a visual guide to higher carb vegetables and vegetables with some color. Generally, the brighter and more colorful the vegetable, the less low carb they are. There are a few exceptions like bell peppers and jalapenos, which can be used for added texture and flavor in meals. Always do your best to avoid sweet or starchy vegetables as they are high in carbohydrates. These include but are not limited to peas, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, yucca, parsnips, beans, quinoa, legumes, and other high starch vegetables. As a general rule of thumb, the sweeter the vegetable is the more sugar it has in it. You have to be very careful with the amount you consume from things such as carrots, onions, and squash. You can easily see the difference in carb counts between the above and below ground vegetables above. Of course, you can eat these in moderation, but you need to watch your intake. Many people choose to use a mixture of the higher carb vegetables with lower carb ingredients. Its a great flavor enhancer, but you dont want over saturate your diet with carby vegetables. Next time youre in the mood for something a bit more on the sweet side, consider making one of the following We also see a lot more dessert recipes with the higher carb vegetables because of their natural sweetness. Ginger and pumpkin especially come to mind. If youre in the mood for an autumn inspired treat, consider adding vegetables to your desserts. Some examples are Remember always to limit the amount of sweet treats that you eat, especially on a ketogenic diet. Ive read a lot on the whole craze of going organic. If you only care about the nutrition, then you do not have to purchase organic vegetables. Though they are proven to be safer for the body less residue of pesticides and toxins, they contain about the same nutrients as their non organic counterpart. Dont be afraid to stock up on vegetables both frozen and fresh are great to eat On a side note, frozen vegetables are usually cheaper than fresh vegetables. If you buy greens in bulk but throw them out often, consider buying frozen. Surprisingly, frozen vegetables are sometimes more nutritious to their fresh counterpart farms typically freeze greens at peak ripeness, ensuring nutrient density. You may have to cook excess water out occasionally, but it normally isnt a problem in the final dish. Most Common Low Carb Vegetables. Below youll find a list of vegetables based on how low carb they are, so if you need help finding a certain one use the Find function Ctrl F. These are based on 12 cup 4 oz. Note If the vegetable youre looking for is not listed, its most likely too high carb and shouldnt be consumed on a ketogenic diet. Double check by comparing the vegetable with a credited nutritional database to see if it fits in with your daily macros Vegetable Name. Serving Size. Total Carbs gFiber gNet Carbs gBroccoli Raab. Watercress. 10. 0g. Nopales. 10. 0g. 3. Bok Choi. 10. 0g. Celery. 10. 0g. 2. Spinach. 10. 0g. 3. Mustard Greens. 10. Asparagus. 10. 0g. Radish. 10. 0g. 3. Avocado. 10. 0g. 8. Arugula. 10. 0g. 3. Zucchini. 10. 0g. Swiss Chard. 10. 0g. Mushrooms. 10. 0g. Kohlrabi. 10. 0g. Tomato. 10. 0g. 3. Olives. 10. 0g. 63. Eggplant. 10. 0g. Bell Pepper. 10. 0g. Cauliflower. 10. 0g. Cabbage Green1. Bamboo Shoots. Cabbage White1. Cucumber. Jalapeno Pepper. 10. Artichoke Hearts. Broccoli. 10. 0g. Bean Sprouts. 10. Fennel. 10. 0g. 7. Okra. 10. 0g. 7. 4. Green Beans. 10. 0g. Turnips. 10. 0g. 6. Snow Peas. 10. 0g. Brussels Sprouts. Kale. 10. 0g. 8. 7. Cabbage Red1. 00g. Pumpkin. 10. 0g. 71. Rutabaga. 10. 0g. Carrots. 10. 0g. 9. Celeriac. 10. 0g. Onion. 10. 0g. 9. Leek. 10. 0g. 14. Ginger. 10. 0g. 17. Below is a list of what we consider the best of the best when it comes to vegetables. Theyre both low in carbs and very high in micronutrients. Make sure that you frequently include the listed vegetables below in your daily meals. If youre not sure where to start or how to get more vegetables into your diet, feel free to check our ever growing library of keto recipes Broccoli. A very common vegetable to see in a keto kitchen, and for excellent reason. Broccoli is packed full of vitamins C and K and only has 4g net carbs per one cup. Some studies show that broccoli can help decrease insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics and may also contribute to protecting against a few types of cancer. Its a staple vegetable to have on hand If youre not sure what to make with broccoli and you dislike it, consider something unique like these broccoli fritters Asparagus. At only 4g net carbs per cup, asparagus should be in everyones weekly rotation of low carb side dishes. You can wrap it in bacon and serve with aioli, simply grill it, or chop it up and add it to stir fries. Asparagus is a great source of vitamins A, C, and K and has been shown in animal studies to help reduce anxiety and protect brain health. Mushrooms. Fungi is a great way to add some flavor into otherwise boring dishes. For example, in our mushroom cauliflower risotto, the baby bellas add a great texture and flavor. Theyre extremely low carb too, at only 1g net carb white mushrooms per cup. Mushrooms have shown incredible anti inflammatory properties, and over a 1. Zucchini. The most commonly used summer squash on keto, we often see it in dishes like Zoodles as a noodle replacement. Be careful with the types of squash you consume as most have much higher carb counts. Zucchini is very low in carbs at only 3g net carbs per cup it also serves as a fantastic source of vitamin C. Spinach. Its no surprise that spinach is one of the most eaten leafy green vegetables on a ketogenic diet. Spinach has only 3g net carbs per cooked cup of spinach, and almost no digestible carbs raw.