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Homemade Texas Hot Links - Spice it Up

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Experience the bold flavors of Texan cooking with a dish that's sure to spice things up  – Homemade Texas Hot Links. Barbecue is big in Texas and hot links are a quintessential part of Texas barbecue culture. They are a staple item in any Texas BBQ joint worth its salt. This hot link recipe is an exploration of the smoky, spicy, and bold flavors that define the Lone Star State's love affair with barbecue. These hot links are a bit spicy, full of flavor and slow smoked to perfection. The best part is that they are really easy to make. 

Get ready to fire up the smoker as we dive into the art of making Homemade Texas Hot Links where ground pork and spices come together to create a satisfying dish with the perfect balance of heat and smokiness. Enjoy the sizzling heat of Texas, right in your own kitchen.

Texas Hot Links can be found just about anywhere good barbecue food is sold. The interesting thing about hot links is how many different variations can be found. While every pit master has his or her own secret spice mix, there is also a lot of variation in the cuts of meat and fat ratio in the hot links recipes. There are some hot links made out of pure beef and other hot links made with a combination of beef and pork. This recipe is based on a 50/50 mixture of pork shoulder and prime chuck roast.

This was inspired by my recipes for Smoked Brisket and Burnt Ends, Smoked Beef Dino Bones with Bourbon BBQ Sauce, Smoked Pulled Pork and Baby Back Ribs.

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Ingredients

  • Prime chuck roast
  • Boneless pork butt (aka shoulder shoulder)
  • Kosher salt
  • Black pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Paprika 
  • Mustard powder
  • Dried thyme
  • Prague powder curing salt (aka Insta cure #1 and pink salt)
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Powdered milk
  • Natural hog casings

See recipe Texas Hot Links card for quantities.

Instructions

Prepare the Meat and Spices

Cut the boneless pork shoulder into 1" pieces.

Cut the boneless pork shoulder and chuck roast into 1.5" cubes.

Add the hot link seasonings to a large bowl.

Add all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, except the powdered milk and water, and mix together. Add the cubes of meat and mix well. Freeze for 30 minutes.

Get it Cold and Grind it Twice

Cold meat grinds much better than meat that is cool or room temperature. After cutting the pork shoulder and chuck roast into 1.5" chunks and adding the spices, place them in a bowl and freeze them for 30 minutes. Also, place the components of the meat grinder that will come in contact with the meat in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will make grinding a breeze.

Note: The photo below is of meat being ground without the spices because it was a better photo. Grind the meat with the spices because that will help distribute them throughout the ground meat.

Grind the pork shoulder using a course grind.

First, grind the meat mixture once with a coarse (⅜") grinding plate.

Grind the pork should again using a fine grind.

Grind it a second time second time with a medium (¼") grinding plate. The medium grind is important to get the right texture in the hot links. Mix the dry powdered milk with the water and add it to the ground meat. Using gloved hands, mix it all together until the meat mixture becomes tacky.

Stuff the Casing

Load the ground meat into the sausage stuffer and thread a rehydrated natural hog casing onto the fill tube. Tie a knot in the end of the casing and begin to fill. Gently squeeze the casing around the fill tube to put a little bit of resistance on the casing. This will allow each casing to be properly filled to capacity. Twist the casing between the links or tie them off with kitchen twine. Prick each hot link a few times with a clean sewing pin to make a few small holes. Refrigerate the stuffed hot links for about an hour while you warm up the smoker.

Setup the sausage stuffer.

Setup the sausage stuffer and rinse and rehydrate the natural casings. 

Stuff the natural casings using the sausage stuffer.

Stuff the natural casings using the sausage stuffer. These hot links were made using medium hog casings.

Smoke Them Low and Slow

Setup your smoker for indirect heat at 160˚F. I used a Kamado Joe with some wood chips that had been soaked in water for 30 minutes. An offset smoker burning kiln dried oak would work as well.

Smoke the hot links for two hours then raise the temperature to 175˚F. Continue to smoke the hot links until they reach an internal temperature of 155˚F.

There are recipes on the internet that utilize cold smoking, but I prefer this method. This way, I know that the sausages are actually fully cooked.

Setup the smoker with lump charcoal.

Setup the smoker with lump charcoal.

Smoke the hot links.

Smoke the hot links until they reach an internal temperature of 155°F.

Remove the hot links from the smoker and immediately submerge them into an ice cold water bath for three to four minutes. Placing the links in an ice bath will help prevent shriveling. Then, place the links on a wire rack over a sheet pan and allow them to rest at room temperature for two hours. This allows the flavors to develop.

To serve, cut the hot links on the diagonal into ¼" slices and pan fry until lightly browned on both sides. Serve alongside a big bowl of potato salad and maybe some cole slaw. By the way, this is one of those foods that is actually better the next day, if you can wait that long.

Substitutions

If you have trouble finding a either chuck roast or pork shoulder, try making hot links using just one or the other. Many Texas pit masters swear by their secret ratio of beef to pork. The point is that there is no right way to make hot links. It's all good.

Variations

Play around with the spices if you prefer really hot links. Just remember, a little cayenne pepper goes a very long way.

Equipment

I am a big believer in having the right tool for the job, and there are two specific tools that you should own or borrow before you start making your own sausage.

The first is a good meat grinder with at least two different grinding plates, one coarse and one medium. I have tried making sausage using a meat grinder attachment on my stand mixer and it was a disaster. It only had one grinding plate and a low quality bearing where the shaft went through the grinding plate. That resulted in metallic colored meat all around the hub, not good. Invest in a decent grinder.

The second tool that is very helpful is a sausage stuffer. There are all kinds of sausage stuffers on the market and a fairly inexpensive model would work just fine. Again, I tried an attachment for my meat grinder to stuff sausages and it was an epic fail. It couldn't push the meat fast enough and ended up grinding and grinding and basically made sausages that had the consistency and look of a hot dog. The hand-cranked sausage stuffer used in this recipe worked great.

Storage

Store hot links in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They also freeze well, but need to be in vacuum sealed freezer bags to avoid freezer burn.

Top Tip

Invest in a good meat grinder and sausage stuffer. Surprisingly, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get tools that work well. I purchased entry-level commercial units online at a restaurant supply store and they work great.

Final Thoughts

This recipe is an invitation to experience the fiery spirit of Texas BBQ. Homemade Texas Hot Links promise an authentic taste of the Lone Star State. So, fire up your smoker and share these amazing hot links at your next backyard barbecue.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with this recipe.

📖 Recipe

Texas Hot Links

Spice it Up - Homemade Texas Hot Links Recipe

4.56 from 9 votes
Texas hot links are a staple item in any Texas BBQ joint worth its salt. They are a bit spicy, full of flavor and slow smoked to perfection. The best part is that Texas hot links are really easy to make.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Resting Time 3 hours
Servings: 16 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, BBQ
Calories: 117
Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2.5 lbs prime chuck roast
  • 2.5 lbs boneless pork shoulder
  • 2 tbs kosher salt
  • 2 tbs black pepper freshly ground
  • 1 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 tbs onion powder
  • 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbs paprika not smoked
  • 2 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon Prague powder (Insta cure #1)
  • 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ cup powdered milk
  • ¾ cup water ice cold
  • 28-32 mm hog casings

Equipment

  • 1 Meat Grinder
  • 1 Sausage Stuffer
  • 1 Smoker

Method
 

  1. Trim and discard any excess fat or silver from the chuck roast and pork shoulder. Cut the meat into 1.5 inch cubes and mix the pork and chuck roast pieces together with all ingredients except the powdered milk and water. Freeze for 30 minutes. Also freeze the grinder components that will come in contact with the meat.
  2. Rinse and rehydrate the natural casings. Then, grind the chilled meat using a course, ⅜" plate.
  3. Regrind it using a ¼" plate. Then mix the dry powdered milk with the water and add to the ground meat. Mix it all together with gloved hands until the mixture gets tacky.
  4. Load a piece of clean casing onto the sausage stuffer tube and fill the sausage stuffer with the ground meat. Tie a knot in the end of the casing and slow fill it with ground meat. Tie off individual hot links with butcher's twine or twist it between link. If a casing ruptures, just tie off the casing on both sides of the rupture and continue. Tie off the end of the last hot link with twine. Refrigerate the filled hot links for at least an hour.
  5. Setup the smoker for indirect heat at 160˚F. An offset smoker works with a wood like kiln dried oak. Alternatively, use a Kamado Joe, a Big Green Egg or another smoker and add a small amount of wood chips to the hot coals.
  6. Smoke the hot links for two hours then raise the temperature of the smoker to 175˚F. Continue to smoke the hot links until the internal temperature reaches 155˚F.
  7. Remove the hot links from the smoker and immediately plunge them into an ice cold water bath until they reach room temperature. Then hang the hot links or allow them to rest on a rack at room temperature for two hours. This allows the flavors to develop. Hot links will keep refrigerated for 3 -4 days. They also freeze well.
  8. To serve, cut the hot links on the diagonal into ¼" slices and pan fry until lightly browned on both sides.

Nutrition

Calories: 117kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 17gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 931mgPotassium: 354mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 240IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 1mg

Video

Notes

PAID AFFILIATE LINKS
 
BBQ Tools & Supplies
 
Fireboard 2 Drive: https://www.fireboard.com/shop/fireboard-2-drive/?fba_ref=16
 
 
 

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