Ziti Question: Does Baked Ziti Recipe Call for Mild Italian Sausage?

[kcjodih]

For those of you who've made Baked Ziti before does your's call for mild italian sausage. The recipe I'm about to try calls for 1 pound of mild italian sausage, casings removed. What the heck does that mean? Is it ground sausage like ground beef or turkey? Is it like breakfast sausage and I have to take the casings off? Or is it like Oktoberfest sausage where it has that 'outside' that I'd need to peel off?

It says cook over medium heat until evenly browned. Drain, crumble and set aside.

Help!

 

[wadesgirl]

I usually just use hamburger. I think sausage ruins Italian food!

 

[GourmetGirl]

I would use the sausage you can get in a tube like hamburger.

 

[leahevanson]

The Italian sausage is just sausage but not in sausage form. That sounds funny, but when you go to your grocery store's fresh meat case you'll likely see fresh sausage links. The casing is what makes the sausage look like a sausage, which is just a thin covering around the actual meat. Removing it is easy if the people at the store will not do it for you. Just cut through the covering and peel it off, nothing too difficult just a little messy. You could always get sausage that is not in the casing; if you have a grocer with a section for pre-packaged lunch meats you can probably find small 1-pound tubes of fresh sausage. (with thanks to my husband the butcher).As for the ziti, my hubby makes a mean baked ziti that does not call for anything but ground beef, though he says Italian sausage would add a nice kick to it! If you're wary of using the sausage, try mixing it with ground beef.

 

[kcjodih]

Okay thanks all! Since I'm laid up and really just trying to find an easy pasta recipe for our hockey player houseguest but haven't been out of bed for awhile and they're eating what's been in the freezer, I think I'll take the easy route this time around and just use hamburger. Then if I like it I'll kick it up a notch next time with the sausage. I LOVE things a little spicy but our houseguest does not.

So except for the noodle shape, how is this different than lasagna? Looks pretty similar to me.

 

[raebates]

They are similar, but different, especially if you make it with the sausage.