Barbecue: Smoked Cheddar and Jalapeño Sausage
Each week Joshua Bousel of The Meatwave drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!
[Photographs: Joshua Bousel]
My favorite sausages in the world are the incredibly juicy and spicy beef links smoked in Elgin, Texas. A few years ago I attempted to reproduce them, only to fail miserably. Traveling about two hours southwest to Houston, there's another sausage I love and thought would be a little easier to tackle: smoked pork with cheddar and jalapeño.
The flavors of this sausage run only as deep as its name, so I started by grinding pork, fat back, and chunks of sharp cheddar together. Then I threw in a bunch of chopped jalapeños, salt, pepper, and more grated cheese, and gave the mixture a whirl in the Kitchen Aid to emulsify the meat and fat a bit before stuffing it into hog casings. Smoked over applewood chips for about two hours, the pale sausage emerged from the smoker, transformed into beautiful orange links.
The flavors were pretty spot-on and cheddar oozed out, which balanced the spiciness of the peppers in a plump and juicy link. The only issue I had was after cooling down, the skins shriveled. This didn't stop anyone from enjoying the sausage, but one eater suggested giving the sausages a bath in ice water as soon as they come out of the smoker to prevent this in the future. I'll give it a try next time, but for now, these sausages were definitely good eats.
Smoked Cheddar and Jalapeño Sausage
Ingredients
5 lbs of pork shoulder, cubed and trimmed of tough gristle
1 1/2 lbs pork fat back, cubed
1 lb sharp cheddar, half cubed, half grated
10 medium jalapeños, seeded and chopped fine
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Medium hog casings, soaked in lukewarm water for at least 30 minutes prior to use
Chunks of applewood or other smoking wood of your choice
Procedure
1. Using the fine die on your meat grinder, grind the pork shoulder, fat, and cheese cubes into a bowl set in ice water. Add in the grated cheese, jalapeños, and salt and pepper to taste. Using a stand mixer, mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Make a small patty from the mixture and cook in a skillet, placing the rest of the meat in refrigerator during this time. Taste the patty and adjust seasonings as needed. When the seasoning is right, stuff the meat into medium hog casings and twist into 6" links. Store sausages in the refrigerator until ready to smoke.
3. Fire up your smoker to 225°F. When at temperature, add wood chunks and the sausages. Smoke until an instant read thermometer reads 155°F when inserted into the sausages, about 1 to 2 hours. Remove from the smoker, let cool for 15 minutes, and serve.
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2 Comments:
cheese in a sausage? Give your head a shake.
I love sausages but i'm revolted by ones that have cheese in them.
dre2112 at 4:30PM on 09/26/09
revolted? really? what is revolting about cheese in sausage? i can think of a lot of revolting food things, but cheese in sausage isn't one of them.
carriebwc at 9:48AM on 09/28/09