Sometimes a sausagesandwich can really hit the spot - but how is best to cook them?

Sausages aren't amongst the meats I cookregularly, unlike streaky bacon, chicken breasts and salmon fillets. That said, I do enjoy them occasionally in a comforting casserole, paired with mash and gravy, in a straightforward traybake dish or as part of a sausage breakfast muffin.

Many home cooks favour the frying pan for sausages, believing it delivers the crispiest outcome. Yet most chefs and butchers argue the oven is the superior method. Whilst the air fryeris my go-to when cooking sausages alone, I was keen to determine whether the frying pan or oven approach was best, so I tested all three techniques.

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To fry the sausages, I began by setting the hob to medium-low heat and lightly coating the pan with olive oil spray. Once sufficiently heated, I arranged the sausages in the pan, ensuring they remained separate to prevent them sticking together.

I allowed the sausages to cook thoroughly on one side before turning them over. I resisted the temptation to constantly flip or pierce them, as this could disrupt the cooking process. This method took considerably longer than anticipated, as certain sections of the meat struggled to cook properly. I likely spent 25 to 30 minutes ensuring they were fully cooked through.

Once finished, I was left with a grease-splattered cooker, a scorched pan and sausages that were unevenly cooked and blackened in numerous spots. The sausages boasted a satisfying crispness and were reasonably juicy, though the burnt flavour proved rather overwhelming.

Rating: 4/10.

In contrast to the frying pan approach, the air fryer offers a hands-off, relatively speedy method that delivers sausages with a golden, crispy exterior and pleasantly moist interior.

For the air fryer technique, I gave the sausages a light misting of olive oil spray before setting them to cook for 23 minutes at 180 degrees. I deliberately avoided pricking them beforehand to keep the juices sealed in, and gave the basket a good shake midway through to prevent any sticking. When the timer went off, the sausages appeared far more uniformly cooked compared to the hob method.

Upon sampling, I discovered them to be succulent and considerably less oily, as the air fryer basket enables excess fat to drip away.

Rating: 9/10

I can't recall ever having cooked sausages in the oven previously, but having tried this technique, I'll definitely be doing so again. To prepare the sausages, I set my fan oven to 180 degrees and lined a baking tray with foil.

After arranging the sausages on the tray, I slid it into the oven and left them for just over half an hour. Midway through cooking, I flipped them to ensure they browned evenly. Pulling the sausages from the oven, it was immediately apparent they'd cooked uniformly - far better than those done in the air fryer.

Whilst this method takes the longest, it also produces the most succulent results. The inside was moist and flavourful, whilst the skin achieved a pleasant crispness without becoming overly chewy. What's more, this cooking technique means very little washing up afterwards. I simply binned the foil and gave the tray a swift rinse under the tap.

Rating: 10/10