Texas Hot Links from Scratch | Authentic Sausage Recipe
Dive into the world of Texas Hot Links, making these spicy, smoky sausages completely from scratch — and trust us, they’re absolutely worth it!
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins
Resting Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Side Dish
Cuisine American
- 4.1 kg chuck cut from a chuck eye roll
- 2 kg fatty minced pork
- 1.22 g sodium nitrate for curing
- 6 g ascorbic acid cure accelerator
- 30.5 g garlic powder 0.5% of the meat weight
- 30.5 g mustard powder 0.5% of the meat weight
- 15 g black pepper 0.25% of the meat weight
- 15 g smoked paprika 0.25% of the meat weight
- 15 g cayenne pepper 0.25% of the meat weight
- 15 g bahar allspice (optional)
- 91.2 g salt 1.5% of the meat weight
- 6 g milk powder binder
- 500 ml cold beer liquid component
- Natural hog casings rinsed and soaked
Curing Mixture
Dissolve sodium nitrate in a small amount of water for even distribution.
Mix this solution with the cold beer.
Add ascorbic acid to the mixture.
Seasoning
Add garlic powder, mustard powder, black pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, bahar, and salt.
Incorporate the milk powder as the binder.
Mixing
Using clean hands or a meat mixer, thoroughly mix the meat and seasonings until tacky (about 10 minutes).
Ensure the mixture is evenly seasoned.
Stuffing
Set up the sausage stuffer with a 20 mm horn.
Load the casing onto the horn, ensuring it's well rinsed.
Carefully stuff the sausage mixture into the casings, avoiding air pockets.
Smoking
Preheat the smoker to 65℃ (149℉)
Place sausages in the smoker, ensuring they don't touch.
Smoke for 1.5 hours, flip, and smoke for another hour.
Cooling
Immediately transfer the sausages to an ice bath to halt cooking and tighten the casing.
Leave for 10 minutes, then pat dry.
Final Cooking & Taste Test
Increase smoker temperature to 150℃ (300℉).
Cook a few sausages until they reach an internal temperature of 70℃ (158℉).
Slice and taste to check flavor and texture.
Keyword BBQ, cooking, foodie, greece, recipe