Texas Hot Links
User Reviews
5.0
84 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
2 hrs
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Cook Time
2 hrs
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Total Time
4 hrs
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Servings
20 servings
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Calories
131 kcal
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Course
Main Course, Lunch
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Cuisine
American
Texas Hot Links
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This is a country style, reasonably spicy sausage made with pork, beef, or a combination. I used venison in place of beef. This recipe makes 5 pounds. If you're not already an expert, here's a tutorial on how to make sausage.
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Ingredients
- 3 pounds venison
- 2 pounds fatty pork shoulder, or belly
- 34 grams Salt, a little less than 2 tablespoons
- 5 grams Instacure no. 1, a little less than a teaspoon (optional)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cayenne
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 6 bay leaves, ground fine
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup lager beer, or ice water
- Hog casings
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Instructions
- Cut the venison and pork into chunks that will fit into your grinder. Mix well with the salt and sugar. Let this sit in the fridge for as long as you can stand, up to overnight if you have time; it helps the sausage bind to itself better.
- Get out about 10 to 15 feet of hog casings and soak them in warm water.
- Mix the spices and garlic with the meat and fat and grind though a coarse die, about 10 mm. If you don't have that, grind with as coarse a die as you have. If your room is warmer than about 70°F, grind into a container that is set in ice, to keep things very cold.
- If the meat is still below 40°F, go ahead and grind again through a 6 mm die or similar. TIP: If you have some bread around, rip off a piece and make that the last thing in the grinder: It pushes out all of the rest of the meat so you don't waste any. If the meat is above 40°F, put it in the freezer for 30 minutes while you clean up everything.
- Add the beer (or water) to the sausage mixer and mix well with your (clean) hands, or a mixer with a paddle attachment set on low, for about 2 minutes. The sausage will adhere to itself and you will see whitish streaks in the bowl. Put the sausage in a sausage stuffer.
- Thread a casing onto the stuffer, leaving a few inches as a "tail" so you can tie it off later. Stuff the whole casing at once, again leaving a tail at the other end. Repeat until you've stuffed all the sausage.
- Make links by pinching them off and spinning them, first one way, then the other. This prevents them from unraveling when you hang the links to dry. You can also tie them off with twine. Here's a quick video on making the links. Tie off the ends of the casings.
- Carefully compress the links to reveal air pockets, and prick the links with a needle to remove them, gently compressing the meat.
- Hang your sausages to dry, for an hour at room temperature, or up to a day if you can do so in 40°F or below.
- Smoke your hot links at 200°F or thereabouts until they reach about 150°F internal temperature. Then, either eat them or plunge them into a bath of ice water to stop the cooking. Dry them off and store in the fridge for a week, or freeze.
Notes
- I really like adding a bit of binder to these links to get a better snap and bind. I use Butcher and Packer's special meat binder, which you can buy online. You add it with the liquid, right before you mix.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
131kcal
(7%)
Carbohydrates
2g
(1%)
Protein
21g
(42%)
Fat
4g
(6%)
Saturated Fat
1g
(5%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
1g
Monounsaturated Fat
1g
Cholesterol
76mg
(25%)
Sodium
715mg
(30%)
Potassium
340mg
(10%)
Fiber
0.4g
(2%)
Sugar
1g
(2%)
Vitamin A
464IU
(9%)
Vitamin C
1mg
(1%)
Calcium
13mg
(1%)
Iron
3mg
(17%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 20servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 131 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 131kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 2g | 1% |
| Protein | 21g | 42% |
| Fat | 4g | 6% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 76mg | 25% |
| Sodium | 715mg | 30% |
| Potassium | 340mg | 7% |
| Fiber | 0.4g | 2% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 464IU | 9% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 13mg | 1% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
84 reviews
Excellent
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