Sausage and Bean Skillet Stew
Sausages browned until golden, then simmered with onion, paprika and beans in one skillet. A hearty, comforting stew that soaks up every bit of the sauce.
- Total
- 33 min
- Prep 8 · Cook 25
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Deglazing
- Savory
- Comforting
- One pan
Instructions
-
Peel the onion and cut it into 1 cm dice. Drain the beans thoroughly. Pat the sausages dry and cut each into 3 cm pieces.
~8 min
-
Heat 1 tsp olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages in a single layer and brown them on all sides, about 6 minutes. They do not need to be cooked through yet. Move them to a plate.
~6 min
Browning in a single layer triggers Maillard reactions, building deep flavour; crowding traps steam and makes sausages grey and rubbery.
Brown the sausages in a single layer without crowding so they sear instead of steam, and leave the browned bits in the pan: they are the base of the sauce.
Searing Pat the sausages dry and lay them in a single layer in a hot pan; leave them undisturbed until they release easily, or they will tear and steam instead of browning.
-
Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion to the skillet with the sausage fond and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 6 minutes.
~6 min
The browned fond left by the sausages dissolves into the onions, adding savoury depth to the finished sauce.
-
Stir 1 tsp paprika into the onion and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, then pour in 150 ml water and scrape up the browned bits.
~1 min
Paprika's flavour compounds are fat-soluble and volatile, so brief cooking in oil blooms them before they can scorch.
Deglazing Pour the liquid in while the pan is hot and scrape the browned bits with a wooden spoon; the fond dissolves into the sauce and adds flavour.
-
Return the sausages and any juices to the skillet, add the beans, 0.25 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper. Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens and the sausages reach 71°C/160°F in the centre.
~10 min
Simmering with the lid on gently cooks the sausages through while the beans release starch that thickens the sauce.
-
Uncover and simmer 1 minute more if the sauce is thin. Taste and adjust the salt, then serve straight from the skillet.
~1 min
Uncovering lets steam escape so the sauce reduces and clings to the beans instead of staying watery.
If the sauce looks thin after the simmer, mash a few beans against the side of the skillet with the spoon to thicken it naturally.