Made with ground beef chuck, pork shoulder and spices, it’s easy to see why smoked hot links are a staple of Texas BBQ.
These spicy smoky sausages form one prong of the Texas BBQ trinity and a staple of Lone Star State cuisine.
Forget hot grilling or pan-frying these: smoking is the way to go. The low and slow process unlocks the flavor from the fat in the beef chuck and pork shoulder, while the wood smoke (as ever) enhances the spices used in our homemade sausage mix. Also, the smoke is what really makes that iconic red color found in Texas hot links pop.
What Are Texas Hot Links?
Texas hot links (also known as “hot guts”) are a classic spicy smoked sausage that’s an integral part of Texas barbecue culture.
True to Texas barbecue, these homemade links contain beef, but we have included a bit of pork shoulder to help give it a bit of sweetness that’s always welcome in a sausage. With a good amount of fat for flavor, these are coarsely ground and mixed with spices (like black pepper and cayenne pepper) before stuffed into natural hog casings.
Quick Tips
- As with all sausage making, the key is to use cold meat. Prepare the meat into 1-2 inch cubes and then freeze for an hour until the outside has started to set (but don’t go beyond this!).
- As well as your meat, it’s important to use cold grinder plates. This will make grinding easier (as well as more hygienic). When you come to putting the meat cubes in the freezer, throw in the grinder plates and blades too.
- Good sausage making is all about fat content (after all, fat is flavor), so don’t go overboard with trimming your beef chuck or pork shoulder. We need a ratio of about 80:20 meat-to-fat for good flavor and texture.
- Don’t forget to wear food-safe gloves when handling the meat mixture. Obviously for hygiene reasons, but you’ll be handling very cold meat (as well as spice!).
Smoked Texas Hot Links
Equipment
- meat grinder
- ¼ inch inch and ⅛ inch inch plates
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef chuck 80% lean
- 2 lbs pork shoulder 80% lean
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns cracked
- 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp light muscovado sugar
- 1 tbsp English mustard powder
- 1 tbsp
- 3 sprigs fresh sage stems removed and leafs chopped
- ¾ cup beer ice-cold (or cold water)
- 4 cloves garlic finely minced
- 5 feet hog casings (30-35mm), soaked in cold water overnight
Instructions
- Mix all the dry spices in a bowl
- Grind the beef and pork cubes through the ¼ inch plate, then again through the ⅛ inch plate.
- Add the spice mixture to the ground meat and mix thoroughly.
- Add the cold beer, then mix until the meat becomes sticky and binds well
- Into a clean bowl, regrind the meat through the ⅛ inch plate. Then, cover the mixture and leave in the refrigerator to firm up a bit for 30 minutes.
- Set up your sausage stuffer, nozzle, and hog casing. Ideally, you want the nozzle attachment to be slightly smaller than the size of your hog casings. For example, for our 30mm casings, we want a 20-25mm attachment.
- Apply a thin layer of oil to the nozzle to lubricate it, then load the casings on.
- Start filling the casings with the sausage mixture, starting slowly with an even pressure to keep the links even and consistent in size and thickness.
- Once you have a long length of sausage, create the links by pinching and twisting them a the point you want to form each link. Aim for every 6-8 inches.
- Let the sausages rest in the refrigerator overnight to allow flavors to develop and the skin casing to dry out.
- The next day, fire up your smoker to 250-275°F (120-135°C).
- Once at temperature, place your links on the smoker grates and smoke to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C), about 1-2 hours.
- Serve and enjoy right way, served as they are or with onions and pickles, and in a bun or with white bread for mopping up all that extra juice!
