Grilling: Sausage Stuffed Peppers
About every other year, just out of nowhere, I get a sudden urge to make stuffed peppers. This desire took hold over the weekend, and instead of cooking up the usual ground meat and rice mixture, I opted to grill a sausage and zucchini variety.
While a standard stuffed pepper recipe would call for the meat to be cooked before stuffing, this particular one had me make a mixture of sweet Italian sausage, zucchini, red onion, breadcrumbs, egg, and rosemary to fill the red peppers. The combo of raw meat and zucchini ended up being a fatal flaw, as the innards became a watery mess that tasted mostly like boiled sausage--not good eats. Beyond that, the sausage-to-zucchini-to-breadcrumb ratio was not in harmony, allowing the sausage to dominate all the other flavors, resulting in a very heavy meal that did not sit easy in the stomach.
Needless to say, this did not end up fulfilling my stuffed pepper craving, so it probably won't be long until I'm out grilling more, but in a more traditional manner next time.
About the author: Joshua Bousel blogs about grilling on his blog, The Meatwave, and appears weekly here on Serious Eats during grilling season.
Grilled Sausage Stuffed Peppers
- serves 6 -
Adapted from Bon Appétit
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (about 1 large)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
6 small to medium-size red bell peppers, tops removed and seeded
Procedure
1. Mix first 9 ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Fill pepper with sausage mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Sit each pepper on a piece of aluminum foil and push the sides in around the pepper, forming a base to keep the pepper upright and steady on the grill.
2. Light a chimney 3/4 full of charcoal. When charcoal is fully lit and covered in gray ash, pour coals out and arrange them on one side of the charcoal grate, keeping the other side empty. Place the peppers on the cool side of the grill and cover. Cook until tops are browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the filling registers 165°F, about 1/2 an hour. Transfer peppers to platter. allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then serve.
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8 Comments:
So let me get this straight - this recipe sucked, and you're still posting it online? Would you recommend any fixes?
shoneyjoe at 8:34PM on 03/13/09
@shoneyjoe: Maybe I was a bit harsh in my criticism here, even though it had flaws, I still did eat it, and maybe someone can see a good way to fix what sounds like a recipe that should be good.
If I were to try this again, I would up the breadcrumbs to about 1/2 a cup, cut the sausage in 1/2, and then squeeze out some moisture from the zucchini, that may help is along.
Joshua Bousel at 9:01PM on 03/13/09
I really like the idea of stuffed peppers. However, the one time I've had them, my friend's mom was feeding me. It tasted good, but the pepper was really soggy. So I've never made them myself. Were they just overcooked? Or is it simply a matter of pre-cooking the filling??
engmcmuffin at 9:57PM on 03/13/09
@engmcmuffin: It may have been a matter of pre-cooking the filling. I've made stuffed peppers a bunch of times, always pre-cooking the filling and mixing it with rice, and haven't had problems with soggy innards or peppers. If you pre-cook the meat and have something that can absorb the excess moisture (like rice or bread crumbs), sogginess shouldn't be much of an issue.
Joshua Bousel at 10:16PM on 03/13/09
i think it's a great idea to post a recipe that didn't turn out well, especially with a glorious picture like the one posted with this one. i've messed up stuffed peppers a million time myself.
z911empire at 2:11PM on 03/14/09
I love stuffed peppers enough that I came up with a simpler alternative: I cook up the sausage and rice and seasonings as usual and then saute some peppers and add them to the mix. I call it inside out stuffed peppers and not only is it easier, I think it also achieves a better pepper to filling ratio.
But of course I still make stuffed peppers for special occasions. And I like the suggestion of adding zucchini!
swampyankee at 6:05PM on 03/14/09
i made the original Gourmet recipe many times since it was published. It's a great one. And i like the idea of using the grill so i willing to experiment. Thinking of maybe starting on the grill and finishing in the oven? They really need an hours plus of cooking time, especially the pepper shells. I dislike the undercooked bell peppers, and for the oven version sometimes prebake the peppers before stuffing them for 10-15mins or so...
tarelki at 6:49PM on 03/14/09
Can anyone link a good sausage stuffed peppers recipe? That picture looks really delicious and I would like to try it out.
Trendyguy at 1:20PM on 03/22/09