Chef critique
Italian Sausage & Kale Rigatoni
A well-seasoned and thoughtfully constructed weeknight pasta dish, though checking the temperature of crumbled sausage is impractical.
Score: 9/10
Suggested fixes
- Change the sausage doneness instruction in step 3 to simply 'until browned and cooked through'.
- Advise the cook to cover the water and hold it at a low simmer if it reaches a boil before the sausage is done.
Issues
- medium / cookability: Temping the largest pieces of crumbled sausage to 165°F is impractical for small pieces cooking in a skillet; visual cues are more reliable for ground meat crumbles.
- low / timing: Starting the pasta water in step 1 before prepping all vegetables and cooking the sausage for 6-8 minutes means the water will likely boil uncovered for several minutes before the pasta is added in step 4, potentially reducing the volume too much.
Strengths
- Perfect calculation of 2% salinity for the pasta water (2 tablespoons table salt for 2 quarts of water).
- Smart use of pasta water to cook the kale and build a glossy sauce.
- Accounts for the seasoned sausage and salty pasta water intelligently when seasoning the vegetables.