Can You Microwave Sausage Rolls Safely?

There are different types of sausage rolls in the UK, ranging from Greggs sausage rolls to supermarkets or even homemade ones.

And since we all love hot sausage rolls, the question is, is it safe to quickly throw them in the microwave when you’re short on time?

This article will look at the different varieties of sausage rolls and cover their safety using trusted sources.

The Safety Risk with Sausage Meat

Sausage meat contains quite a few varieties of bacteria that can cause food poisoning, such as:

• Salmonella sp
• Escherichia coli (E. coli)
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Clostridium perfringens

Not all bacteria will be present on each sausage, but as shown in the studies, those bacteria have been discovered in supermarkets before.

Therefore, health must cook sausage rolls containing sausage meat thoroughly.

Is It Safe to Microwave Sausage Rolls?

It is safe to microwave sausage rolls. The FSA states that any food is safe to be reheated provided it has been stored correctly and heated to a specific temperature for a particular time.

The temperatures and time required to heat sausage rolls safely are as follows:

• 80°C for at least 6 seconds
• 75°C for at least 30 seconds
• 70°C for at least 2 minutes
• 65°C for at least 10 minutes
• 60°C for at least 45 minutes

Understandably, most people won’t use a thermometer when heating sausage rolls in the microwave, as it seems a bit excessive.

So, if you prefer a quicker method of checking, the best thing to do is microwave them for 90 seconds, cut them in half, and feel the temperature at the core using your fingers.

If it burns your fingers to the touch, it’s thoroughly cooked, but if you can hold your fingers onto the core, it’s not hot enough to kill potential bacteria.

Let’s take a deeper look into the different varieties of sausage rolls.

Supermarket Sausage Rolls

All supermarket sausage rolls can be microwaved. They are pre-cooked and refrigerated to slow down the bacteria. They also contain preservatives, which slow down the growth of bacteria further.

These include sausage rolls from supermarkets like:

• Sainsbury’s
• Tesco’s
• Morrisons
• Asda
• Aldi

As with any sausage rolls, ensure they are thoroughly heated in the middle after cooking in the microwave by using a temperature reader or your fingers to check.

Greggs Sausage Rolls

Greggs sausage rolls can be reheated in the microwave, but it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t store them for eating later.

Since Greggs sausage rolls are cooked from fresh, they are left out for 4 hours before being thrown away. That means when you purchase a Greggs sausage roll, you have no idea how long it’s been left out, and by the time you get home to store it, it could have been out for a good 4 hours.

So, putting it into the fridge after it’s been out for this long would not be safe.

However, if it’s slightly cold when you get home and want to warm it up quickly, you can microwave the Greggs sausage roll. Place it on a microwave-safe dish and microwave it for 90 seconds. If it’s not hot enough, add another 60 seconds.

Homemade Sausage Rolls

Homemade sausage rolls can be safe in the microwave, providing the following has been met:

• The sausage meat has been thoroughly cooked.
• They’ve been stored safely after cooking.
• The sausage meat isn’t past its use-by date.

If all of the above is true, you can microwave the sausage rolls, and it’s completely safe.

To microwave homemade sausage rolls, put them in the microwave for 90 seconds, and if they’re not hot, add another 60 seconds to the microwave until they are hot. The time can vary depending on how many are in there.

To ensure safety, ensure your microwave has a rotating plate to evenly heat the sausage rolls, or manually rotate them every 30 seconds.

How to Microwave Sausage Rolls Safely

The first thing we need to do is prepare the sausage rolls to be microwaved.

If you have frozen sausage rolls, you’ll need to thaw them out. This means putting them in the fridge for a few hours until they’ve thawed. I do not recommend thawing them in the microwave or any other method, as this has been shown to harvest bacteria.

Next, you’ll want to place them on a microwave-safe dish to put in the microwave. Your plates should have a microwave-safe symbol if they’re safe to microwave. If they do not have the symbol, avoid using them unless you are sure they’re microwave-safe. Alternatively, Microwaves should come with their own dish for you to place food on that rotates around in the microwave.

Now they’re prepared, follow the steps below.

1. Turn the microwave on full power for 2-3 minutes (2 minutes for 1 sausage roll, 3 minutes for 2)
2. Leave to stand for 60 seconds to allow them to finish cooking
3. Remove from the microwave and check the internal temperature using your fingers or a thermometer to ensure they’re either hot to touch in the middle or reached 75°C.
4. Serve on a plate.

Alternatives to Microwaving

Microwaves aren’t the best at cooking food when it comes to quality. They can often ruin the texture of food and leave them heated unevenly.

Sausage rolls are actually a prime example of a food that doesn’t do so well in the microwave, they end up soggy and unappetizing. Some alternatives to microwaves are

Common Questions

Here are some answers to some common questions about microwaving sausage rolls.

Can You Microwave Frozen Sausage Rolls?

You can’t microwave frozen sausage rolls unless you defrost them first.

Microwaves heat unevenly, and since frozen sausage rolls require much longer, they become too dangerous to risk the growth of bacteria.

If you have frozen sausage rolls, you must first defrost them in the fridge; once defrosted, you can microwave them.

Are Sausage Rolls Already Cooked?

Sausage rolls are generally pre-cooked. You’ll know this if “Ready to eat” is on the packaging.

If they don’t have “Ready to eat” on the packaging, they are most likely not pre-cooked, making it vital to follow the cooking instructions on the back of the packaging for food safety.

How Do You Prevent Soggy Pastry in the Microwave?

Place a piece of kitchen roll around the sausage rolls to prevent soggy pastry when microwaving them. The kitchen roll will absorb the excess moisture, leaving the sausage roll crispy.

It’s generally advised to find microwave-safe kitchen rolls. However, I’ve had difficulty finding any that state it’s microwave-safe.

But looking at videos on this being done, it seems safe for things like sausage rolls as the microwave isn’t on for a prolonged period, making it dangerous.