The Texas BBQ Forum

Went to Costco the other day and bought a package of Southside Market Pork and Beef Smoked Jalapeno/Cheese Sausage. The spices seem to be pretty much minimal. Looking for the beef/pork ratio. Any help would be great. Thanks

Try PMing "jarhead". The Gunny is all over the sausage scene and some others too, just recall Gunny being really into it. Those mud Marines are partial to SPAM and things that look like SPAM.

Boots, you rang?
Spam, eggs, grits? It's not just for breakfast anymore.

Hey good morning Mark.
I made this about 2 years ago for a friend that owned a Branson Bar. I thought it needed more heat and less salt, but he and his customers loved it.
Sorry no pics, but I got Jalapeño Cheddar Summer Sausage goin' on this weekend. I'll post that later.
How much are you wanting to make? This will make ~25 pounds pre-smoked. I'll scale the recipe for you, if need be.

Smoked Jalapeño Sharp Cheddar Sausage

We are looking for 20 pounds of ground meat (medium plate). 2 pork butts, 5# chub of 80/20 ground chuck and the rest in bacon ends and pieces (~3 pounds). This is right near dead on, give or take. Just depends on the size of your butt.
10 Tbsp Black Pepper (coarsley ground) (1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp)
8 Tbsp Pickling Salt (1/2 Cup), Less for my tastes
2 Tbsp Dried Parsley Finely ground
4 Tbsp Brown Sugar (1/4 Cup)
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Garlic Granulated
4 tsp Salt Cure (Prague #1) - (1 tsp per five pounds of meat)
2 pts ice water
20 lbs ground meat (see above)
20 Seeded Jalapeños, grind through the grinder (or more to taste)
3 pounds Sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded (don't use the pre-shredded crap) I'd like to try the High-Temp on my next batch.

Mix all spices in ice water until dissolved.
Pour spice mixture over ground meat/jalapeños and cheese.
Mix until well blended.
Do a test patty and adjust seasonings as needed.
Cure overnight in the fridge.
Stuff into 32-35 mm casings.
After stuffing, let casings hang until dry to touch.
Once casings are dry, place in smoker.
Cook at 130 degrees for one hour with minimal smoke.
After 1 hour apply smoke for 1.5 hours or until casings turn the desired mahogany color.
After color is attained, reduce smoke, increase cooker temp to 180 degrees and smoke until sausage reaches internal temp of 152 degrees.
Takes 3.5 to 5 hours.
Give sausage an ice bath to reduce temps to below 80F.
Hang and air dry overnight or set in front of a box fan for a few hours to dry.

Thank you Gunny, you can always depend on the Marines to come thru for ya. In the next couple of weeks I'm going to give these a try. When I do, I'll post pictures. The store bought ones I have almost taste like there is some lard in them, they just have that taste about them.
Again, thank you.