Creole to me means native. So what I have made is Louisiana Sausage. Either way its mighty fine eats. When you get a recipe from the internet you can only hope that it is true to form. I have not found this to be true with sausage recipes. Not saying that I like them all. But most sausage people take pride in the product they make.
This sausage is made from pork, for the meat cut I am using pork butt and some rib trimmings from spare ribs. I like using pork butt or pork shoulder (same cut) because the fat content is just about what is needed for 20% fat in your sausage. Fat adds flavor and acts as a binder for your sausage. Not enough fat and you have a crumbly product. If you are smoking your sausage be sure to watch you internal temperature. I like to bring mine to 150 to 155 deg. higher than this and the fat will start to render. (not good). So the photos show what happened in my process.
I like to cube my meat, add my spices, mix then grind.
Ready for the grinder:

Ground and mixed:

Hanging in the smoke:

Smoked cooled & bloomed:

Packaged for the freezer:

Hope you enjoyed this process, here is the recipe I used. Try it, I found it to be some good eats. Thanks Bill

CREOLE HOT SAUSAGE

• 4 pounds lean fresh pork
• 2 pounds pork fat
• 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
• 3-4 tablespoons cayenne pepper (more or less for your taste)
• 2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 teaspoons ground bay leaf (use a coffee or spice grinder)
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3 yards sausage casing (optional)

Grind the pork and fatback to a medium to coarse grind, and mix well with the other ingredients. Stuff into sausage casings, and tie them off so that each sausage is about six inches long. You can omit this step and make sausage patties if you like.

All Beef Sausage

Yeah I know beef is priced way out there about now. But I had some in the freezer that needed to be used. I buy all I can or all that I can afford at the time, when it is on sale. So, I am thinking (gets me in trouble when I do that) why not some beef sausage. So hear goes, first I cut the brisket like cutting steaks. I did this so the fat would be easier to trim. I wanted to weigh the fat and the lean to see what the ratio was. I wanted at least 1/3 rd  fat. Brisket being a fat laden cut of beef I didn't have any idea how much fat was in this brisket.
Cut Brisket like Steak:

Trimmed most of the fat:

Not knowing at the time I could of save all this trimming. Fat and lean was just right.
 Notice that the meat and fat are cut into chunks. I do this, then add my spices and mix before grinding.
After grinding I mix again. I think doing this makes for a better mix.
Ground, Spice mixed, Ready to stuff :

Now I discover I don't have casings. I was to let the sausage sit over night in the cooler and also soak my casing over night. Can't buy casings local. So start thinking again, yeah, I know. Off to the Mexican store, I know the manager and they make sausage. I was able to beg enough casings for this batch.
Stuffed and ready for smoker:

I forgot to take photos of the sausage being smoked. I used hickory for the smoke slow smoke because the sausage was cured. Smoked until sausage was 150 deg. Remove sausage and give a cool bath to stop the cooking. Hang in cool place to dry and bloom. Then can be packaged for freezer.
Freezer ready:

15 pounds of ready to eat all Beef sausage.
Recipe:

Brisket Sausage

Slice Brisket as for steak, trim fat, weigh fat and lean meat. Sausage meat should be 1/3 fat.

For a smoked sausage use a cure number 1,   rate:       1 teaspoon  to  5 pounds of meat.

Spice Mix

For 7-8 pounds meat

3 Ts course ground black pepper.

2 Ts ground cumin

4 Ts Chile powder

4 Ts crushed red pepper

2 Ts whole mustard seed

2 Ts pepper corns

3 Ts dry mustard

1 Ts onion powder

11/2 Ts salt

3 Ts brown sugar

Another Bacon Story

I can not lie, I love Bacon.Been out of good bacon for a while, we have been having to eat store bought bacon. That is some bad eats, but better than nothing? Not sure about that. Finely found some pork belly that was not priced like gold. They were a little thin around the edges, price $2.08 pound. Had to buy a whole case (four to a case) but my friend took two. So that left me with two. They weighed about 12.5 pounds each before trimming. I cured and smoked the whole belly's, the trimmings will be used for seasoning meat. I did my brown sugar dry cure for 12 days. I cold smoked these with my new A -Maz-N smoker using hickory wood pellets. Smoke time was 8 hours. Happy to say the Smoker worked great. I am now a happy Bacon eater. You Can Do This. Thanks Bill
The new Smoker:

Cured Bacon ready for Smoke:

The A-Maze-N Smoker in action:

Hickory Smoked:

Yeah Man, Good Eats:

Chicken

Haven't posted about Chicken lately. Although we eat chicken often.
 Most of the time I cook chicken parts on the grill. Or maybe spatchcock style in the smoker.
But today I wanted to do something different. So Rotisserie chicken it was. Simple and easy to do. I trim most of the fat, use my own rub and I always truss my bird for rotisserie cooking. This keep it from flopping around. I cook it until the thigh temp is 165° to 170°. I cook indirect so as to not burn, but still gets crispy.
This bird came out, nice and moist with good flavor. I would of liked the skin a little more crispy though.
 Rotisserie Chicken: 

And y'all know with any great meal you have to have desert. And a good Southern Pecan pie can't be beat.
Pecan Pie:

Pecan Pie recipe:

Classic Old Fashioned Southern Pecan Pie

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup of light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 heaping tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of pecans, coarsely chopped


• 
  
• Instructions
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pie crust by placing it into an un-greased, regular 9-inch glass pie plate and fluting the edges.
• 
  
• Whisk the eggs together, then whisk in the sugar. Stir in the Karo syrup and the softened butter; mix well. Add the flour and the vanilla; combine well and fold in the pecans.
• 
  
• Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for about 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Shield outside edges of the pie with a pie shield or aluminum foil about halfway through cooking to prevent over browning.
• 
  

Nothing Fancy

Not a real fancy cook but it sure taste fancy. Beef and pork ribs. Sad to say the beef ribs didn't have much meat on them. Wife picked them up at Walmart, guess that speaks for itself. I buy most of the meat and get beef ribs from the Mexican store. Beef has gotten so pricey I haven't been buying much anywhere. There were a few sales over memorial day (very few).
 Used my own homemade rub and sauce. Dry rub goes on before the cook and the sauce goes on at the end. I sauce and leave on the smoker just long enough to set the sauce. That is the way the wife like them. Happy wife, happy life.
Finished rib cook:

The Dry Rub:

Southern pork or chicken Rub

1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup Turbinado sugar or brown sugar
1 Tablespoons table salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper Or more of what ever you like for some heat.

Mix ingredients thoroughly. Makes enough rub for one pork butt

The finishing Sauce:

Bill’s Chipotle Bar-B-Que or Wing Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses, honey or cane syrup

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoon yellow mustard powder

2 tablespoon Chile powder

4 teaspoon black pepper

4 teaspoon onion powder

4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup chipotles en adobo sauce (chopped fine or run through blender)

4 cups catsup = 32 oz.

3 cups raspberry, apricot, strawberry, blueberry or what ever preserves you like. I like the apricot best.

Procedure

Combine sugar, vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, Chile powder, allspice and cloves.

Bring to simmer over med. heat. Cook uncovered, stirring until all ingredients are dissolved. Stir in catsup and bring to low boil. Reduce heat add preserves and chipotle pepper. Bring back to low boil. Pour up into pint jars and cap hot.

Should make about 3 pints.