Got this recipe from Bruce Aidells book, "Hot Links And Country Flavors: Sausages in American Regional Cooking" and I make them all the time. I modified the recipe with the addition of some cure #1 and phosphate, and added details to the process. I typically smoke them on my vertical gas smoker because I can get the temp low. But I've tried them on my Memphis Elite and it works well. It only goes down to 180F so you need to watch carefully.
Double Recipe
1 lb pork shoulder (trimmed of fat)
3 lbs beef chuck
2 lb pork back fat
3 tablespoon kosher salt
4 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tsp dried sage
2 tsp dried marjoram
2 tsp cayenne
2 Pinch each; ground allspice, cardamom, cloves, coriander, cinnamon
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
4 tsp sugar
1 cup ice water
Medium hog casings
Additions:
Pink Salt (by weight)
Phosphate ( optional @ 1.5gm/lb)
If possible, separate meat and fat to weigh and grind separately. Shoot for approx 30% fat total. Some beef fat from the chuck is ok to use as well. Chill until firm but not quite frozen. Grind lean meat through 3/8 plate and fat through finer plate. Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients with the ground meat and add ice water. If using phosphate, dissolve it first in a bit of the water. Mix well. Stuff into hog casings and tie off into 4oz links. Place sausages on top of a wire rack on a sheet pan and refrigerate overnight to allow meat to bind to the casings. Try not to let the links touch so the surfaces will all dry well.
Smoke between 160-170 until the internal temperature of a link is 152F. Remove links from smoker and shower with cold water or put into ice bath until the temperatures is reduced to 120. This step is important to maintain good eye appeal, as it stops the meat from shrinking and pulling away from the casing. If you skip this step, the links will become wrinkly, but still taste great. Let air dry (bloom) at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. Heat, serve, enjoy. To keep for longer periods, air dry the sausage for a day or two in the fridge , vacuum seal in bags and freeze.
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Topic: Oakland Hot Links (Read 1862 times)