I was cooking some link sausages in a cast iron skillet and was amazed to see that they started to roll back and forth on their own..It was rather amazing as well as entertaining. Just a note -  they were straight from end to end allowing them to roll easily. This all

happened just after they had started to cook... Curious as to what was going on, I did a search to find the rolling condition was described as "dancing sausages".  What was lacking was an explanation as to what was causing the sausages to move back and forth.. 

Has anyone else encountered this??   What is the cause of the movement??

I believe it is either the 1st or 2nd law of thermodynamics!

First law of thermodynamics: When energy passes, as work, as heat, or with matter, into or out from a system, the system's internal energy changes in accord with the law of conservation of energy.
Second law of thermodynamics: In a natural thermodynamic process, the sum of the entropies of the interacting thermodynamic systems increases.

 Thanks Bent!  Thermodynamics for sure..Long forgotten in my mind....  Am I too old to be amused by dancing sausages or would a young child be more so inclined? (loaded question - don't answer).

I have never seen it.  About how long into the cooking process before it starts?  Does it do it on all of your skillet surfaces?

What is the cause of the movement??

They're still alive!!!!

Lol, pmillen.

I have not had them “roll back and forth” but have on several occasions had them roll approximately 1/2-3/4 and I always attributed it to casing shrinking etc. Have no clue if that’s not the cause?
We almost exclusively use cast iron, especially for meats.

IMO, they "roll" because the fat underneath the casings liquefies and expands, giving the sausages a "push" from one side to the other.

IMO, they "roll" because the fat underneath the casings liquefies and expands, giving the sausages a "push" from one side to the other.

This is what I thought too.

But Bentley's explanation is going to make me sound smarter if this ever comes up in a conversation. Lol

 Bent: As I have had this happen only once, I don't have a lot of information other than after a few minutes at med/low heat, in a pre-warmed skillet, it started. The two sausages started rolling, to the side of the skillet, then back to the other side. Just kept rolling back and forth. If I stopped them they would restart. Eventually they stopped.. I can only assume that when they stopped the internal temperature of the sausages had stabilized...  I have always done sausages on the grill. Inclement weather caused me to cook inside. That is how this came to be.

 pmillen: Not alive for sure. Just acted that way.