Texas Smoked Hot Links

I love a good Texas style hot link sausage, in my area of Texas really good ones are hard to find. Now if I lived closer to the Texas Hill country things would be different. There are many German sausage makers located there. So whats up, I made my own. I have made lots of sausage but never hot links. I will admit I need to hone my sausage stuffing skills. I didn't take many photos Just forgot until I was almost finished.
These were pretty good but something was missing. So if anybody has a hot link recipe you are proud of and don't mind shearing it, please post it. Here are the photos I did take, and the recipe. I finished with 20 pounds of links mostly already gone. Thanks Bill

Out of the Smoker:

Packaged Freezer Ready:

The Recipe:

Genuine Texas Hotlinks

5 pounds Boston butt
2 pounds lean beef
1 bottle ice cold beer
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons ground thyme
6 teaspoons Morton's Tender Quick

Mix all the spices, cure, and garlic into the beer and place in refrigerator while you cut up the meats into grinder sized pieces. Pour the spiced beer on the cut meat and mix it up good. Run spiced meat mixture through the grinder coarse or medium plate and stuff into medium hog casings. Smoke or slow grill till they are done

Venison Sausage

This was one of those projects that was sure to bring some rewards. GOOD EATS !!
I thought why not I have every thing I need. So I kept busy in the pantry for a while gathering all the spices I might need. Now to bring out all the equipment, I have to keep it in the garage. (Wife's instructions)
Not really true, we just don't have room in the kitchen. Someday I hope to have a smoking and sausage making space just for me.
Anyway, got the venison and pork fat ground. Mixed the spices with water and poured over the ground meat. Added Red Chile Flakes and Cheese.  Began the mixing process but the meat was pretty dry, added more water. Stuffed into 3" collagen casings. Got my son to help, our stuffer is not motor powered. Enjoy Bill

Ready for smoke:

Ready for some good eats:

The Recipe:

 Beef or venison Sausage

This recipe is for 5 pounds meat plus fat. Fat content should be at least 20%

Ingredients

5 pound of venison or beef

1 pound of pork fat

5 teaspoon table salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon ground thyme

1 teaspoon ground marjoram

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 Tablespoon red Chile flakes

8 oz. high melt cheddar cheese (can also use grated cheese)

½ cup cold water

* 1 teaspoon of cure #1 if sausage is to be smoked

Option: whole pepper corns can also be added

Directions

Cube and grind the meat through medium size plate.

Place ground meat into a large container.

Add all spices with the water and mix well. Add cheese and spice mixture to the ground meat.

Mix until well blended.

Reminder: Be sure and add the cure #1 if sausage is to be smoked.

This recipe makes great links or can be made into logs or patties. 

Rib Roast

I have never cook a rib roast before, so this is something new to me.
 Our Mexican store runs bone in rib eye steak on sale ever now and then $3.99 pound. There meat is always select grade.
Anyway, I asked the butcher if he could cut me a roast, no trouble he says. Brings out a whole frozen rib eye bone in. I have him cut me off 3 bones from the small end. Total cost about $23.00, I am thinking man I hope this is good.
 Here is the way it went, I didn't trim it at all left the fat cap on. I rubbed it down heavy with salt and black pepper. Left it to sit until room temp. I wanted a little smoke flavor, so headed to the smoker (400°) seared on all sides using some pecan wood. Coming off the smoker with a nice bark and some smoke flavor. I had my oven set to 325°. My new ovens also have a meat probe. Set the internal temp to 145°. (med rare) Cooked with the bone down leaving the fat cap up, thinking the rendered fat might keep the meat moist.(it did) After several hours the alarm goes off and the oven turns off. I am thing this is pretty nice device to have.
Remove from oven. Sure looks great here is the finished product. One of the best roast I have ever cooked. Came out med. rare just wonderful tender and moist.  I am now wondering if this same process might work on any beef roast
Bone in Rib Roast:

More Sausage

Well its pan sausage this time. Those Jalapeno Cheese links didn't last long. We needed some breakfast Sausage, we were out. And Pork Butt was on sale again, $.88 pound I picked up several. Some for this sausage and some for the freezer. I didn't trim the butts, the fat content looked just right to me. So I set to cutting out the bone, and cutting the meat ready for the grinder.
Ground and Ready: 21 pounds

I divided the meat into two batches, One will be Sage flavor and the other will be Maple flavor.
Didn't get any photos of the mixing, its not interesting to watch anyway. The first batch was the Maple, I had never made this one before. It was good but a little to sweet for me.Here is the recipe I used.

Jarheads maple Sausage.

 Ingredients:

8.8 pounds ground pork butt (1/2" grind)
1-2/3 cup Maple Syrup (the REAL stuff)
2 Tbsp + 2-1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 Tbsp + 1-1/2 tsp MSG (such as Accent) (optional)
2-1/4 tsp coriander

The method to my madness:
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Form the sausage into patties and cook in a skillet over medium heat until brown. Makes 9 pounds of sausage.

Bulk pack into 1# packages. Refrigerate (max 3 days) or freeze.
If I can find small hog casings, I will do some Breakfast Links. (looks like sheep, 20-22 or 26-28)

Add 1 tsp of Cure #1 per 5 pounds for stuffing and smoking sausage links.

Frying up a test patty:

I did have to add more salt, The taste was good. I think it needs to be cooked slower so that the syrup doesn't burn.

Recipe for the Sage Sausage, I have made this one before and it is more good eats.

Jimmy Dean Sage Pork Sausage

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon MSG (can be left out)

Directions

Combine all ingredients.
Form the sausage into patties and cook in a skillet over medium heat until brown.

Test run on the Sage Sausage:

Didn't need to add Add a thing, just right.
All done and freezer ready. I can see that there will be good eating coming soon, like tonight.
Freezer Ready: 

Jalapeno Cheese Smoked links

Yeah I know I am a little slow, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Mostly just cooking the same ol'
Ribs, Pork Butt. But tried something new, or at least a new recipe (to me).
Jalapeno Cheese smoked Sausage.  I think the taste is really good. I made some patties and some links. Just used one 6 pound Pork Butt. If I had a clue that it would be this good I might of made more. Needless to say it hasn't lasted very long.

I started by boning the Pork butt, cutting it up for the grinder. Using a 1/4" plate into the grinder it went. The fat to lean ratio looked good to me. I ground everything but the bone. After boning there was 5.5 pounds of meat. I also ran the Jalapeno Chiles through the grinder. Mixed all the spices and jalapenos with the water.
Added the mixture to the ground meat, along with the cheese. Mixed all ingredients well. Made a test  patty. yep good sausage. I was thinking I would chill over night to let the spice and meat get to know each other better. Covered and into the refrigerator. Next morning stuffing time, I really needed to add more liquid at this time but didn't (wrong move) The sausage was really hard to pass through the stuffer. I also didn't have green Jalapenos but had some red ripe ones, these worked out really well.
Here is the photo of whats left. Make some they are Good Food !! Bill
Jalapeno Cheese Sausage:

Recipe:
Jalapeno & Cheddar Sausage
1.5 cup chilled pork stock
3 Tbls sea salt
1 Tbls paprika
1 Tbls course ground black pepper
1 Tbls onion powder
5 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp ground marjoram
1 tsp ground sage
1.5 tsp Insta-cure or Prague Powder if available or desired
12-18 jalapenos, ground
8 lb boneless cubed pork shoulder or sirloin
1.5 lb grated cheddar cheese
Combine spices and stock in a blender, mix well, and re-chill.  Grind the pork through a fine plate then mix together well with the spice/stock mixture and ground jalapenos.  Add the cheese and mix well just before stuffing into hog casings.  Cook to 152° F is cured with Insta-cure or 165-170°F without the cure.

Beef Brisket

 Beef  Brisket was on sale, hard to believe but I bought Choice Brisket at Wal-Mart for $1.49 pound.
I got six in my freezer right now. So am good for a while. No, I really only have five left because I smoked one. Just used salt, pepper and a very small amount of Mexican oregano. The Oregano was not a good choice. Won't be doing that again. The Brisket was good, it was just that the oregano flavor did not belong on a Brisket. Not a Texas Brisket anyway.
Smoked on the UDS (ugly drum smoker) Man I love that smoker, easy to use and holds the temperature really well. I used hickory and red oak for smoke. Smoked at about 225° for 8 hours. The internal temperature was 190° when I pulled and wrapped it. Let rest for 2 hours then sliced. Good eats!!!

Beef Brisket ready for smoker: 

Smoked and ready to enjoy:

Loin Back Pork ribs

Loin back pork ribs, I don't buy these very often because of the cost per. pound.
But boy are they meaty. Makes spare ribs look like scraps. Well maybe they are,  but we sure eat a lot of them. So for us loin or baby back ribs are something special. And these were special.
I cooked them in my smoke house, I love that smoker. Its kinda set and forget it. Really easy to cook in. Although I built it to smoke my bacon and sausage with.
Anyway if you can get you some loin back ribs, try them you will be pleased.
Loin Backs rubbed and ready for smoker: These are rubbed with Hoochie Mama rub from Sucklebusters.

Loin Back Ribs in the Smokehouse: Pecan Smoke