Italian Sausage with Balsamic Grapes

5 from 9 votes

Savory Italian sausage links nestled with sweet roasted grapes in a tangy balsamic glaze.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: links

Calories: 491kcal

In a large skillet, add oil and brown sausage links on medium heat; rotate links until they're completely brown; transfer sausage to plate
1 lb. Italian sausage, 1 tablespoon oil
Add butter and grapes to the skillet toss to coat well; stirring occasionally, allow to cook 10 minutes on medium heat or until the green grapes begin to slightly brown and the red grapes begin to split; reduce heat to medium low
½ lb. red seedless grapes, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, ½ lb. green seedless grapes
Add balsamic vinegar and thyme; continue to cook until fruit begins to soften, sauce thickens; add sausage links back into the skillet, coat well with the balsamic sauce and cook until they reach 160ºF internal temperature; taste for salt and pepper
½ teaspoon thyme (dried or fresh) ; Optional, ¾ cup dark balsamic vinegar, salt and black pepper to taste
Plate sausage and grapes and drizzle remaining balsamic glaze over them; garnish with grated Pecorino Romano cheese and chopped basil (optional)
grated Pecorino Romano cheese (optional for garnish), chopped fresh basil for garnish (optional)

If you use "grocery store" sausage, the sausage casing will dissolve in the skillet; however, if you get sausage links from a local butcher, you'll need to boil the links in hot water for about 5 minutes to dissolve the casing. Why? The casing the butcher uses is different from the one sausage companies use.
A pound of sausage links is about 4-5 links, which, in our house will serve 1 hungry man and two women:)
This recipe makes about 1/2 cup of sauce which enough to drizzle over 5 links; however, if you want more sauce, double the amount of grapes and butter