My easy, juicy smoked Italian sausages are absolutely packed with ALOT of intense smoky flavor and hands down a family favorite. These smoked sausages are versatile, intensely flavorful, and an instant winner when it comes to making family meals that everyone will love.
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The smoker is one of the best ways to cook sausages, but usually, it’s a sausage like kielbasa or a bratwurst. I’m smoking Italian sausages, which are perfectly enhanced by the smoky flavor.
The smoker makes these sausages juicy inside, crisp on the outside, and cooked perfectly all the way through. Smoked Italian sausage is super versatile as well! I’m serving them on buns, but you can also serve them with pasta, soup, in a casserole, or even on a hearty salad.
The best part about this recipe is there’s only 1 ingredient - the sausages. This recipe is easy and hands-off too. Everyone is going to love these juicy, irresistibly flavorful sausages that basically take no effort.
These sausages are also great to smoke if you’re smoking something else that has a longer smoke time, like a brisket, ribs, or pork shoulder.
You can throw them on, let them smoke for a few hours, and then eat them for lunch while you’re waiting on the other meats to finish!
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
- Almost Effortless. For this recipe, you simply arrange the sausages on the smoker, and then let them smoke! There’s minimal fuss with this recipe, so you’re never stressed.
- Unexpected. Italian sausage is usually pan-fried or grilled but smoking them ups the ante on flavor big time. Serve on buns with peppers and onions, and you’ve got a winner.
- Delicious. The smoky flavor that permeates these sausages really transforms them into something special.
🥘 Ingredients
These sausages are the most flavorful you’ll ever make. I’ve listed buns as optional here - you can serve the sausages on buns, on their own, or in a different dish, like pasta.
- Italian Sausage Links – You can use hot, sweet, or mild Italian sausages for this recipe - whichever is your preference! There are usually 5 to 6 links per package, so you’ll get about 5 servings per recipe.
- Hoagie or Hot Dog Buns – If you want to serve these sausages on buns, you can! I recommend hoagie buns, as they’re sturdier and will stand up better to the thicker sausage.
- Preferred Condiments – I like to top these sausages with roasted peppers and onions or even a creamy sauce like my delicious roasted garlic pizza aioli. You can use anything you like here!
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 How To Smoke Italian Sausages
The smoker really elevates the flavor of these tasty sausages. Make sure to preheat your smoker so the sausages cook properly and thoroughly. You can use a wood, pellet, charcoal, or gas smoker – whatever you have.
- Preheat the smoker. Preheat the smoker to 250°F (121°C) using your desired wood pellets or chips and get it smoking. You can use any kind of smoker here.
- Add the sausages. When your smoker is ready, place 9 ounces of Italian sausage links either in a grill tray or directly onto the smoker/grill racks. Space your links at least ½-inch apart so the smoke can get around each link.
- Smoke the sausages. Smoke the Italian sausages for 1 ½ hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C) as read by a digital read thermometer.
- Serve! Remove the Italian sausage links from your smoker and serve immediately on buns with your favorite condiments.
This sausage is served perfectly for lunch or dinner in buns with a topping of sautéed peppers and onions, or any of your favorite condiments. Try serving with a zesty pasta salad, or delicious vegetable. Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- If you need to temp the smoked Italian sausage, be sure to only pierce one link to preserve juiciness.
- Piercing the links will let some of the juices escape, so you don’t want to do this to every link.
- Because of the size of the links and the cooking time, it’s entirely possible they’ll be completely cooked – so you may not need to temp at all. Use your best judgment.
- You can adjust the cooking temperature of the smoker as needed.
- Some may want to smoke these sausages at 250°F (121°C),but if you have a particularly hot smoker, you can smoke for the same amount of time at 225°F (107°C). They’ll turn out just as delicious.
- Some recommend turning the links every hour of cooking, but I don’t recommend this method.
- I don’t like to open the smoker any more than necessary, because you want the smoke to stay in.
- If you are very concerned about them burning, I recommend cooking at a lower temp 225°F (107°C) or turning them only once.
- When the sausages are done, they will have a slightly reddish color on the outsides and be slightly wrinkled. That’s how they should look though. Don’t worry – they’ll be super flavorful and extra juicy on the inside.
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🥡 Storing & Reheating
Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic cling film or foil and kept in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. It’s important to keep them well covered so that they don’t dry out in the refrigerator.
To freeze: Wrap the cooled sausages in plastic cling film then place them into a freezer bag or airtight container and they can be frozen for about 3 months.
When you’re ready to eat, let the sausages thaw in your fridge overnight for the safest and easiest defrost.
To reheat: I recommend using the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and place the sausages on a baking sheet or baking dish.
Splash a little water or broth on them so they stay moist and cover with foil. Then let them reheat for about 20 minutes, or until the sausages reach 165°F (74°C).
❓ Recipe FAQs
Most sausages will do very well in the smoker! I recommend checking out my smoked bratwurst recipe for another great smoked sausage! The one thing to note is if you’re using a leaner chicken or turkey sausage, it may not have as much fat. Temp and check for doneness a little earlier, to be sure that they don’t dry out.
I like using hickory wood chips or pellets for smoking these sausages. I also love using the Pit Boss Competition Blend (which includes hickory, maple, and cherry woods). You basically just want a wood that will deliver a lot of flavors quickly, since the smoking time is brief.
If your sausages are a little pink inside, don’t worry! This is just due to the smoke that permeates the interior of the sausage. After the amount of time spent in the smoker, they should be fully cooked through!
You can also temp one of the sausage links with a thermometer to ensure they have fully reached the proper internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).
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📖 Recipe Card
Smoked Italian Sausage
Ingredients
- 19 oz Italian sausage links (5-6 links per package, use hot, sweet, or mild)
- hoagies or hot dog buns (optional)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Set your smoker to 250°F (121°C) using your desired wood pellets or chips and get it smoking.
- Place your Italian sausage links either in a grill tray or directly onto the smoker grill racks. Space the links at least ½-inch apart so the smoke can get around each link.
- Smoke the Italian sausages for 1 ½ hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C) as read by a digital meat thermometer.
- Remove the Italian sausage links from your smoker and serve immediately in buns with your favorite condiments.
Notes
- I like using hickory wood chips or pellets for smoking sausages. Or the Pit Boss competition blend (which includes hickory, maple, and cherry woods).
Mary K. says
Delicious! Just got a new Z-Grill a week ago and fixed some sausage today on it. Just the right amount of smoke. Just wish I had some sauerkraut in the house!