Humble snags are an essential ingredient to any successful barbecue. They’re also versatile for an easy mid-week meal, such as sausage and spinach pasta or even curried sausages. But like any meat, you should know how long sausages can stay in the fridge so you can cook and eat them while they’re still good.
As a general rule, cooked sausages can be kept in the fridge for three to four days or frozen for two to three months. But the type of sausage, whether it’s raw, cooked, or treated, and the date you bought it can change how safe it is to store. So, here’s what you need to know for different types of sausage.
Garlic sausage is a delicious, flavored type of sausage that typically contains garlic as a main ingredient. But like any sausage, it has a limited shelf life in the refrigerator. So how long does leftover garlic sausage stay safe to eat?
The storage time depends on the type of garlic sausage. In this article, I’ll go over the different kinds and proper storage methods to maximize freshness. Follow these guidelines so you can keep enjoying garlic sausage without worry.
Overview of Garlic Sausage Varieties
There are a few main types of garlic sausage
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Fresh uncooked sausage – Raw pork sausage mixes or links with garlic.
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Fully cooked smoked – Smoked kielbasa smoked garlic brats.
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Pre-cooked – Breakfast links, kielbasa cooked but not smoked.
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Dry/hard – Pepperoni, salami dried and cured.
The fridge life varies based on preparation method. Let’s look at each kind.
How Long Does Fresh Uncooked Garlic Sausage Last?
Fresh, homemade garlic pork sausage you’ve mixed and formed into patties or links has the shortest fridge life. It lasts just 1-2 days refrigerated.
The raw meat is highly perishable. To maximize freshness:
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Wrap tightly or store in a sealed container.
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Refrigerate at 40°F or below. Use a fridge thermometer.
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Cook within 1-2 days for food safety.
Once cooked, the garlic sausage keeps 3-4 days refrigerated. For longer storage, freeze sausage for 1-2 months at 0°F.
What’s the Fridge Life of Pre-Cooked Garlic Sausage?
Pre-cooked breakfast sausage links, kielbasa, and other sausages cook but not smoked also have a short fridge shelf life.
Eat them within 5-7 days of opening. An unopened vacuum-sealed package can last 2-3 weeks past its date.
Freeze pre-cooked garlic sausage for 1-2 months if well-wrapped.
How Long Does Smoked Garlic Sausage Last Refrigerated?
Fully cooked smoked garlic sausages like kielbasa keep longer than pre-cooked thanks to smoking.
After opening, smoked garlic sausage stays good for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
An unopened vacuum-sealed package lasts for 2 months beyond any printed date.
For freezer storage, smoked garlic sausages maintain quality for 1-2 months at 0°F when frozen airtight.
What is the Shelf Life of Dry Cured Garlic Sausage?
Hard, dry sausages like salami, pepperoni, and soppressata last the longest in the fridge and pantry.
An unopened package keeps for 2-3 months past the date on the label when refrigerated. It can even be stored in the pantry unopened for the same duration before refrigerating.
Once opened, dry cured garlic sausage stays fresh for 3 weeks refrigerated. It maintains quality for 1-2 months frozen if properly wrapped.
How to Tell if Garlic Sausage is Bad
Check garlic sausage for these signs of spoiled meat before eating:
- Moldy spots or fuzzy growth
- Slimy or sticky texture
- Unpleasant sour, rancid, or ammonia-like smell
- Significant color change – greyish, greenish, brownish
If you notice these, play it safe and discard the garlic sausage. Don’t taste meat that looks or smells questionable.
Safe Storage Tips
Follow these guidelines for safe garlic sausage storage:
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Refrigerate opened packages within 2 hours, never leaving sausage out over 2 hours.
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Wrap tightly or use airtight containers for the fridge and freezer.
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Label and date packages for easy monitoring.
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Cook fresh sausage within 1-2 days. Don’t rely only on sell-by dates for safety.
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Toss refrigerated sausage once it hits the use-by time mentioned for each type.
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Freeze extra garlic sausage for longer storage.
Proper storage times and watching for signs of spoilage allows you to fully enjoy garlic sausage. If in doubt, throw it out.
Creative Ways to Use Garlic Sausage
Try these tasty ways to use up garlic sausage before it expires:
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Breakfast sandwiches or burritos
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Pizzas – Use as a protein topping instead of pepperoni or meatballs.
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Pasta – Slice and add to tomato sauce for a flavor boost.
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Omelets – Dice and combine with veggies and cheese.
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Soups – Add sliced or diced garlic sausage to bean, vegetable, or minestrone soups.
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Potato dishes – Fry up diced garlic sausage with potatoes.
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Kabobs – Alternate garlic sausage chunks with vegetables on skewers.
With proper fridge times and safe handling, you can take garlic sausage from package to plate while avoiding waste and foodborne illness.
The Takeaway
The shelf life of garlic sausage varies greatly by type. Follow these storage guidelines:
- Uncooked sausage: 1-2 days
- Pre-cooked: 5-7 days
- Smoked: 2-3 weeks
- Dry cured: 3 weeks
Check for signs of spoilage before eating. Freezing extends shelf life. With smart refrigeration and handling, garlic sausage stays fresh and delicious.
What are the different kinds of sausage?
Sausages are often linked to European food, like wursts from Germany, kielbasa from Poland, and salami from Italy. But they are also used in a lot of other types of food around the world. In South Africa, they have boerewors, which are spiced with coriander leaves and cloves. In Japan, they have kamaboko or fish sausage. And in the Philippines, they have a sweet and garlicky longganisa.
There are many kinds of sausages in the world, but they can all be put into four main groups: fresh, smoked, cured, and cooked.
Breakfast sausage links, barbecue sausages, loukanika, and sausage patties are your basic unsmoked, uncooked sausages. These are usually wrapped in plastic and kept in the cooler part of the grocery store or at a butcher shop. These types of sausages must be boiled, grilled, or cooked in a pan before consumption.
Kieslbasa, saveloy, and andouille are some smoked sausages that are slow-cooked in a smokehouse and can be eaten right out of the package.
Cured sausages like salami and chorizo are salted and fermented, and usually don’t need to be cooked. These dry, hard sausages can also be stored in the pantry with no refrigeration.
Cooked sausages like bratwurst, blood sausage, hotdogs, and frankfurters are pre-cooked then frozen. Though they’re pre-cooked, we still recommend either grilling or boiling these snags before serving.
How long does sausage last in the fridge when it’s raw?
One to two days after you buy it, raw sausage in the fridge should be cooked and eaten. If it’s pre-packaged and sealed, you could also check for a use-by date as a guide.
If you’re not going to use raw sausage within that timeframe, you can also freeze it for one to two months, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Garlic Sausage Recipe • Deliciously Savory Links! – Episode 397
FAQ
How long does smoked garlic sausage last in the fridge?
How long is garlic summer sausage good for?
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Type of Sausage
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Refrigerator – Unopened
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Freezer
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Hard/Dry Sausage
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Whole, 6 weeks in pantry; indefinitely in refrigerator
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1 to 2 months
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Hot Dogs and Other Cooked Sausage
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2 weeks
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1 to 2 months
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Luncheon Meats
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2 weeks
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1 to 2 months
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Summer Sausage (Semi-dry)
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3 months
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1 to 2 months
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Can I eat cooked sausage after 7 days?
How long will sausage last in the fridge?
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Food
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Type
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Refrigerator [40°F (4°C) or below]
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Luncheon meat
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Unopened package
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2 weeks
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Bacon and sausage
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Bacon
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1 week
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Sausage, raw, from chicken, turkey, pork, or beef
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1 to 2 days
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Sausage, fully cooked, from chicken, turkey, pork, or beef
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1 week
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How long does garlic sausage last in the fridge?
The shelf life of garlic sausage in the fridge depends on whether it is cooked or uncooked. Uncooked garlic sausage can last in the fridge for one to two days, while cooked garlic sausage can last up to four days. However, these timeframes are not set in stone and can vary depending on how the sausage was prepared and stored.
Is sausage casing healthier option to eat?
Cellulose casings and some natural casings are perfectly fine to eat. Sausage casings are used to hold and shape filling inside so that it can be cooked. There are natural sausage casings and synthetic varieties, and most of them are edible. The healthiest way to cook them is by boiling or baking. Sausages provide high levels of vitamin B12 and iron, both of which are essential for healthy red blood cells and hemoglobin production.
How do you store cooked garlic sausage?
To keep your cooked garlic sausage fresh for as long as possible, store it in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Make sure to label the container with the date of purchase or use-by date. How Was The Garlic Sausage Prepared? Garlic sausage can be prepared using different methods and ingredients.
Does garlic sausage expire?
If you have unopened, prepackaged garlic sausage, it can be placed in the fridge upon arrival and will usually have a “sell by” or “use by” date. It’s important to note that these dates are not expiration dates but rather a guideline for when the sausage is at its best quality.