I know the healthiest way to cook them would be grilling them

However if i fry them using cooking spray and drain them on kitchen paper getting rid of the excess fat would this be nearly as healthy as grilling them?

probably not but should taste a lot better

The healthiest option is not to eat them at all.

No, it won't be. When you grill a sausage, the sausage at least has the chance to continually drip fat whilst cooking. It won't have that chance being fried, and it certainly won't drain as much fat on a bit of kitchen roll after cooking. And why pn earth would you use any fat/spray at all to cook sausages in the first place?

Why wouldn't you?

I don't actually agree with this - I think it would be the same because the fat will still seep out as they are being fried rather than stay beneath the skin of the sausage and the kitchen roll will blot any excess.

The main difference is how long they are cooked for. Sausages that are 'just cooked' taste beautiful and juicy as they still retain much of the fat content, but if they are cooked for longer more of the fat will drain out (whether grilled or fried) resulting in a healthier but drier sausage.

I think this is a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other. There's not really such a thing as a healthy sausage. The nearest you will get is to cook it how you like once in a while (every weekend *cough*) and enjoy it guilt free. This has proven benefits for your psychological well-being

I dry fry when in a hurry, making sure they are well pricked to let the fat drain out and drain the fat from the pan when necessary. Some chippies just drop them in the deep fat frier for maximum cholesterol. Normally I do them in the oven. Best is a low heat such as 120 degrees, but 90 is fine and you can go back to bed in the morning without worrying is you fall asleep again or do something else. Give them a quick blast in a hot oven to brown them (180-220 degrees).

Because unless you're cooking the low fat full of rusk type of sausages (which would negate the point of this thread) sausages excrete enough fat the fry themselves in - I don't see the need for any extra fat.

U say grilling them means the sausage continually releases fat but surely shallow frying them means they are continually releasing fat? I should add that its square sausage that I am using and not your usual links sausage. Plus the reason I use cooking spray is to make it a bit healthier

Square sausage really do release more than enough of their own fat to cook in. You end up with a pan of lard when you are done.

(Assuming you have sausage from butchers and not that fake stuff made from cardboard you get from Iceland)

Yes I always go to butchers for my sausages. It also works out cheaper for me to buy them in bulk

Yes, but on a grill the fat drips away from the sausage. In a pan the fat remains and the sausage fries in its fat - hence why no extra fat should be required.

Then a lovely bit of square slice will release enough of it's own fat to cook it.

Have it! Love it! All that fatty goodness dripping down your chin

*nom nom nom*

Can see what u mean regarding the sausage cookin in its own fat so no cooking oil or spray is required. I will do that in future. But the main question is if ensuring that I use kitchen paper to take off the excess fat on the sausage this will be as healthy as grilling it?

Well, yes, more or less, but this is all rather pointless, since the method of cooking really doesn't make much difference to the plain fact that sausages are full of fat and therefore are not healthy. As others have said, if you eat them in moderation, there's no need to worry about the fat content at all.

Cook your sausages how you like them and forget about the fat/health aspect.

If you're really that bothered then have salad for the next 3 days.

I have a roll n sausage and have an apple and banana every day aswell as my main dinner. Thats all I will have. Always make sure I cook most of the fat out the sausage to make it as healthy as can be

Fat = Flavour

Tangerine = healthy sausage
Square Slice = not healthy sausage

....no matter how you cook it or dress it up.

Personally I like mine on a buttered roll with ketchup. Square slice that is. Not tangerine. Obviously

Has to be brown sauce

If you have a George Foreman try cooking your slice on that, thats what I do it tastes just as good as fried if not better

Other grills are available

I always buy good quality sausages from my local butcher and/or farm shop and fry them in lard. I couldn't give a single flying toss what the health police think.

Square sausage is one of the foods of the gods. I tend to grill it and that gets rid of so much fat it must be healthy afterwards. It oftem seems the volume of fat is greater than the original volume of the square sausage.

Best way to eat it is in a morning roll with brown sauce, or maybe a fried egg that's still runny.

Note that most English haven't got a clue what square sausage is