How to Make Texas Smoked Hot Link Sausages: Thermal Tips and Recipe
Texas-style hot links, adapted from Chuds BBQ and GirlsCanGrill
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lb lean beef eye of round is perfect
- 1 lb beef fat not rendered, such as brisket trimmings
- 6 g paprika
- 8 g cayenne pepper
- 5 g mustard powder
- 7 g garlic powder
- 5 g onion powder
- 25 g ground black pepper
- 2 g ground mace
- 90 g dry milk powder
- 40 g salt
- 5 g Prague powder #1 curing salt the ratio is 17 g cure per 15 lb meat; you can work out your needs based on your batch size
- 1 ½ C cold water
- Hog casings
Instructions
- Cube and chill the beef and beef fat, then chill them in the freezer for about 30 minutes, alongside your grinder apparatus.
- Run the meat through the medium plate of your grinder into a bowl set into a larger bowl of ice.
- Mix the seasonings, milk powder, and cure together in a small bowl.
- Put the meat into the bowl of a stand mixer, and sprinkle on the cure/seasoning mix. Make sure the meat is still below 40°F (4°C).
- Mix the meat with the paddle attachment, adding the water as you go, until it forms a sticky, fibrous mass that clings to the walls of the mixer and the paddle.
- Stuff the meat into casings (not too tight or they will burst!) and twist it into links. Pop any bubbles in the casings with your Thermapen.
- Allow the links to sit, uncovered, in the refrigerator overnight to cure and dry out just a little.
- The next day, preheat your smoker to 180°F (82°C). Set up an air probe attached to your Smoke X to monitor the temperature.
- Put the sausages in the smoker, insert a needle probe into one of them, and close the lid. Set the high-temp alarm on your Smoke X2 meat channel to 160°F (71°C).
- Smoke the sausages until the high-temp alarm sounds on your meat channel. It should take a few hours.
- Verify the internal temperature with your Thermapen ONE.
- If saving the sausages for later, plunge them into an ice bath to chill and stop cooking.
- Otherwise, dig in and enjoy!
