Chipolata sausage

Pan-fry them over a medium heat for about 12–15 minutes, turning often so they brown without splitting. For grilling, allow roughly the same time and check the thickest sausage reaches 75 °C in the centre.

Yes. Put them on a baking tray in a preheated oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan) for about 20–25 minutes, turning once; cook until piping hot throughout and browned.

No: pricking lets the fat and juices escape, making them drier. Cook them gently and turn them regularly to help the skins stay intact.

Keep raw chipolatas refrigerated in their original packaging and follow its use-by date. Once cooked, cool them promptly, refrigerate in a covered container and eat within two days; freeze raw or cooked sausages for longer storage.

They work well with mashed potato, onion gravy and peas, or alongside roast vegetables. Small chipolatas are also common in British-style pigs in blankets, wrapped in streaky bacon and roasted.

Yes: slit the skins and squeeze out the filling for stuffing, sausage rolls or meatballs. Sausage meat has 323 kcal and 29.1 g fat per 100 g, compared with 253 kcal and 21 g fat in chipolata sausages.

Yes. Chipolata sausages contain 21 g fat per 100 g, while chicken sausages contain 7 g; chicken sausages also provide 155 kcal per 100 g, compared with 253 kcal in chipolata sausages.

A chipolata is a small, thin sausage, often made from pork and seasoned with herbs or spices. The name comes from the French word for onion, though modern chipolatas are not necessarily made with onion.