Active Time

　　10 min

　　Total Time

　　20 min

　　Frances Foley—mother of Gourmet's freelance photography assistant, Stephanie Foley—found that when she grilled an entire coil of Italian sausage, everyone clamored for the well-browned outer ring. Rather than draw straws, Mrs. Foley now grills individual small coils so each person gets their own crispy edge to savor. We've used her method as the basis for these meaty sandwiches, and piled on some of our own quick-cooking toppings.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

　　1 lb coiled thin Italian sausage (sometimes called luganega)

　　1/2 fennel bulb (sometimes labeled "anise"), thinly sliced

　　1/2 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, thinly sliced

　　1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

　　1/4 teaspoon salt

　　3/4 teaspoon black pepper

　　4 hamburger buns

　　Accompaniment: mustard

　　

Special Equipment

4 (6- to 8-inch) wooden skewers; a large (2-burner) well-seasoned ridged grill pan (preferably cast iron)

　　

Step 1

Uncoil sausage and cut into 4 equal lengths. Re-coil each piece into a round and secure with a skewer horizontally through coil.

　　

Step 2

Toss together fennel, onion, oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

　　

Step 3

Lightly oil grill pan and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Arrange sausages and fennel and onion in grill pan (vegetables can be in a shallow pile). Grill, turning sausages over once and tossing vegetables occasionally, until vegetables are softened and charred, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and continue to grill sausages until cooked through, 2 to 5 minutes more.

　　

Step 4

Remove skewers and serve sausages, topped with fennel and onion, on buns.