Texas-Style 'Hot Links' from Scratch

The Art of Sausage

Making sausage at home is a rite of passage for serious pitmasters. It gives you total control over the fat ratio, the grind size, and the flavor profile. The Texas “Hot Link” is a staple of the Hill Country BBQ trinity, known for its coarse texture, fiery kick, and snappy casing.

The Golden Ratio

The most critical aspect of sausage making is the meat-to-fat ratio. If your sausage is too lean, it will be dry and crumbly.

• The Target: 70% lean meat to 30% hard fat.
• The Blend: A classic Texas link uses a mix of beef (often brisket trimmings) and pork (usually pork shoulder).

The Grind and The Bind

1. Keep it Cold: Everything must be freezing cold—the meat, the grinder parts, and the bowl. If the fat gets warm, it will smear instead of grind, ruining the texture.
2. Coarse Grind: Use a coarse die on your grinder for that authentic, rustic texture.
3. The Mix: Add your spices (heavy on the black pepper, cayenne, garlic, and curing salt if cold smoking). Add a splash of ice-cold beer or water and mix vigorously with your hands until the meat becomes sticky and binds together (this is called primary myosin extraction).

Stuffing

Thread natural hog casings onto your stuffer. Work slowly, ensuring there are no massive air pockets, but don’t overstuff them, or they will burst when you twist them into links. Once stuffed, twist the long coil into 6-inch links.

Smoking the Links

• Dry the Casings: Hang the links in the fridge overnight. This dries out the casing, which helps it take on smoke and gives it that famous “snap” when you bite into it.
• Hot Smoke: Smoke the links over Post Oak at 250°F until they reach an internal temperature of 160°F.
• The Ice Bath: Immediately plunge the cooked sausages into an ice water bath. This stops the cooking process instantly and prevents the casings from shriveling, keeping the links plump and juicy.