Sausages aren't something I cook particularly often compared to streaky bacon, chicken breasts and salmon fillets. That said, I do enjoy them occasionally in a hearty casserole, paired with mash and gravy, thrown into a simple traybake or tucked inside a breakfast muffin.

Many people gravitate towards cooking sausages in the frying pan, assuming it delivers the crispiest outcome. Yet most chefs and butchers maintain that the oven is the superior approach. When preparing sausages on their own, my go-to method is the air fryer, but I was keen to determine whether the frying pan or oven truly came out on top, so I put all three techniques to the test.

To fry the sausages, I began by setting the hob to a medium-low heat and giving the pan a light spritz of olive oil. Once it had warmed up, I placed the sausages in the pan, ensuring they weren't touching to prevent them from sticking together.

I allowed the sausages to cook fully on one side before turning them over, resisting the urge to repeatedly flip or prod them, as this risks disrupting the cooking process.

This method took considerably longer than anticipated, as certain parts of the meat struggled to cook through evenly. All told, I spent roughly 25 to 30 minutes ensuring they were thoroughly cooked.

The end result was disappointing - a grease-splattered hob, a scorched pan and sausages that were unevenly cooked and charred in several places. The sausages possessed a pleasant crispness and contained some moisture, but the burnt flavour proved rather overwhelming.

Rating: 4/10

In contrast to the frying pan technique, preparing sausages in the air fryer requires no supervision, takes relatively little time, and the sausages develop a golden, crispy exterior while remaining reasonably succulent inside.

To prepare the sausages in the air fryer, I lightly coated them with olive oil spray before placing them inside for 23 minutes at 180 degrees.

I ensured not to pierce them beforehand to prevent the juices leaking out and shook the basket midway through to stop them sticking.

After the timer finished, the sausages appeared considerably more uniformly cooked than when prepared on the hob.

Upon sampling the sausages, I discovered them to be moist and significantly less oily as the air fryer basket permits the fat to drain away.

Rating: 9/10

I don't believe I've previously cooked sausages in the oven, but having experimented with this approach, that's set to change. To prepare the sausages in the oven, I heated my fan oven to 180 degrees and lined a baking tray with foil. I then arranged the sausages on the tray, slid it into the oven and left them to cook for just over 30 minutes. At the halfway point, I turned them to ensure they cooked evenly throughout.

Upon removing the sausages from the oven, it was immediately apparent that they had cooked more uniformly than those prepared in the air fryer.

While this is undoubtedly the most time-consuming method, it produces the juiciest results by far. The inside was succulent and flavoursome, while the skin had developed a satisfying crispness without becoming overly tough.

There is also the added bonus that this method requires virtually no clearing up afterwards. Simply discarding the foil and giving the tray a brief rinse was all that was needed.

Rating: 10/10