Texas Hot Gut Sausage

Coarse-ground beef and pork sausage in natural hog casings - the smoked link every Central Texas meat market sells by the ring.

Prep

1.5 hours grind and stuff (plus overnight casing dry)

Cook

2-3 hours smoke

Rest

20 minutes bloom

Equipment

• Meat grinder with 3/8-inch (coarse) plate
• Sausage stuffer (dedicated stuffer beats a grinder attachment)
• Large mixing bowl (metal, chilled)
• Digital scale
• Sausage pricker or clean sewing pin
• Smoker capable of a steady 180-200F
• Instant-read thermometer

Ingredients

• 3 lbs beef chuck, cubed and chilled
• 2 lbs pork shoulder with fat, cubed and chilled
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 2 tsp Prague Powder #1 (pink curing salt)
• 1 tbsp granulated garlic
• 1 tbsp mustard seed, crushed
• 1 tsp cayenne (adjust to heat preference)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 cup ice water
• 8-10 feet natural hog casings (32-35mm), rinsed

Method

1. 01

   Chill everything - meat, grinder parts, mixing bowl - until nearly frozen. Warm fat smears instead of grinding clean and ruins the texture.

2. 02

   Grind beef and pork together through a coarse plate (3/8 inch). Do not grind twice - you want visible chunks of meat and fat in the finished link.

3. 03

   Add all seasonings and the ice water to the ground meat. Mix by hand or with a paddle for 2-3 minutes until the meat turns sticky and pulls at your fingers. That stickiness is the bind - skip this step and your sausage will crumble.

4. 04

   Cook a small test patty in a skillet. Taste and adjust salt or heat before stuffing.

5. 05

   Load the hog casings onto the stuffer horn. Stuff into 6-inch links, twisting every other link in opposite directions. Prick any air pockets with a sausage pricker or a clean pin.

6. 06

   Hang the links uncovered in the fridge overnight (or a minimum of 4 hours). This dries the casing so smoke sticks and produces the classic snap.

7. 07

   Smoke at 180-200F with post oak or pecan for 2-3 hours until internal 155F. Do not go hotter than 225F or the fat will render out and leave you with dry, greasy links.

8. 08

   Bloom the links in an ice bath for 5 minutes to lock in juices and set the color, then air-dry 20 minutes before serving or refrigerating.

How to serve

• Slice on the bias, serve on butcher paper with saltines, sliced yellow onion, dill pickles, and yellow mustard.
• Chop leftovers into pintos or scrambled eggs.