Texas Hot Guts Sausage

Just the start. This is an East Texas Sausage. The only time I can remember having some was on the BBQ Crawl in Lockhart, TX back in 2012. We got in a day early and there was a place called the Chisholm Trail BBQ I had what I believe was Hot Guts there. It was outstanding! The places that make it well don't give up their recipes. I have been trying to make one for about 15 years and never got it right. Will see how close this one is. It is an All Beef sausage, 70/30 ratio with pepper jack cheese and fresh jalapeno's! The author of the recipe recommends Brisket so that is what I am going with.

Double grind 10mm plate, then remember you forgot the Jalapeños, so go pick them and 3rd grind. Spices (Salt, cure #1, black pepper, garlic & onion powder, paprika, turmeric, chili powder high heat dry milk powder) pepper Jack Cheese, beef bone broth. Recipe calls for the meat to be mix till a paste forms, I like that method!

Taking a break, will pipe into casing and let dry over night so cure#1 can go to work before the are warm smoked tomorrow! Happy so far!

Will see how it looks after smoking tomorrow. At this time, it does not have the color of the recipe! All the amounts were right, it just seems like the recipe looks like it has much more paprika color to it!

It is what the recipe called for and I am also a fan of that style, so it worked well for me!

About 2 hours at 100° in Memphis Pro with the Blazen Smoker going. (1st photo) Then Memphis pro set on 180° and the Links cooked to an IT of 145°. (2nd Photo) Then bloomed in ice water and now they will sit at room temperature for couple of hours. then i will have a late lunch. If the small amount i had yesterday is an indication of what today will be like, will need to go to 60/40!

It always amazes me how smoke can change the color!

I am not sure if I do something technically wrong when I smoke sausage in a hog casing, but it seems to ruin the casing (fresh or in this case dried). These are unbelievable tough. The favor is decent. I will try a 60/40 ration in Round II. I would be pleased if the casing was not a fail, but because of it I must call Round I a failure!

No issues with the flavor. If it were just for me I would make it hotter. I will be interested to see how it comes out with the high heat Pepper Jack, t will be here in a few days!

Round II on the Hot Guts Sausage. I decided to cube meat and add spices. It will meld over night and then be course ground. No more mixing after grinding. I like that texture for breakfast sausage, but not for this. This also non seeded Jalapeño, and a 60/40% ration on the meat/fat! Another 1Kg batch for testing! Will put this in the dried casing and not smoke and in the cellulose casing and will smoke that and then remove it. Will be a much thinner link, but will see if the skinless is the way to go!

Round II. The small one with the black line is a cellulose sausage casings. It is kind of like reverse Gortex, will let smoke in, but nothing out. Has to be peeled after cooking.

You can definitely tell the cellulose accepts smoke!

The recipe is a dialed in winner, that is a done deal. The cellulose casing is a winner for a "skinless" product. But you cant make a Slim Jim size sausage and call it a Hot Link, it just does not track. They make a 31mm cellulose casing, but still not sure that is big enough (for reference, the link is a 42mm). The dried hog casing, still a little tough, but better then the cold/hot smoking. They were cooked at 180° till an IT of 150°, maybe 75 minutes. The high heat chees is a winner, $10/lb. is tough to swallow, but it makes a difference when hot!