Well a hotlink is a sausage which I aint sure how the term got started but suspect it might be originally a Texas thang. Ever since I was a young skull full o mush I have seen in em grocery stores. Back in the old days they was red and they keep a big pile of them laying out nekked behind the glass at the meat market or meat section of big stores. Never sure why that called em hotlinks cuz they never was none of em which was very hot..most of them was more cereal than meat etc. Guessing cuz they was red. Now I jump quickly here to the late 60's when my dearly diceased DIL introduced me to an all meat version of the critters with some heat made by Ebner Brother Packers in Wiskeyta Falls, TX (now defunct). They had some very good flavor. DIL would buy em by the case and cook em on his split barrell over Kingsford whilst we drank copious amounts of devils urine and refight WW II in his backyard listening to the country music radio station. Sure tasted good wrapped up in a piece of light bread and a lot of Frenchies mustard. Now that recipe DAT's got is an effort to clone those hotlinks we used to eat. Now when I got to Austin in 70' all the cedar hackers brag about Elgin Hot Guts. I tried em they greasy gut bombs..about one notch above Pittsburgh hot links.
Well not quite that bad..but close. General definition would be..a warmish sausage which dont taste Eyetaliany. Hopes this helps. Thanks.