Food Review: Sabatino's Smoked Chicken Sausage
08/23/2023
In my continued pursuit to eat healthier, gluten-free, and also reducing my consumption of red meat, I picked up some chicken sausages during my latest shopping trip at Costco.
I'm a sucker for just about any kind of sausage, ground, links, patties, pork, beef, and lately given the diet change, chicken. Grabbing a package of Sabatino's Paleo Organic Basil & Cracked Black Pepper link sausages, I was looking forward to trying these, enticed by the mention of "Smoked" Chicken Sausage on the packaging.
These are fully cooked sausages, so all you have to do is heat them through and put some color on them if you're into presentation (no, the microwave option won't do that).
I prepared them in a variety of ways in sampling, in the frying pan, and on the grill. Some were nuked in the microwave and I even included some as part of a Paella dish. I enjoyed them best grilled. I really didn't get much of a smoky flavor though except for those prepared on the grill. That was a disappointment, I was hoping for that smoky element in the finish regardless of the preparation method, but these links don't deliver on that if not prepared on the grill.
The snap on the bite was unremarkable with the exception of the grilled preparation. Overall the links lacked a juicy 'pop' of flavor. It's a quality sausage, but not a flavor profile I'm into. I prefer basil as a complimentary flavor, not the predominant one. These are a bit herbal and basil-forward to my liking. I'm a fan of black pepper and you definitely get that note in each bite, along with the pleasant flavors of onion, and garlic, common ingredients in just about any sausage. What's missing is a bit of a spice kick.
Costing about $15 for a 12-link package at Costco, I'm giving Sabatino's Paleo Organic Basil & Cracked Black Pepper Smoked Sausage 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap Stars. They're reasonably priced, each link weighs in at about 3 ounces so that breaks down to $1.25 each for an organic sausage. However the flavor profile is a bit boring, and the casing lacks the pop factor except in a grilled preparation. I'll pass on buying these again and will look for another chicken sausage to try on my next shopping trip.
$pend Wisely My Friends...
~ Mike