Smoked Sausage

Smoked Sausage is so simple to make at home with ingredients you can feel good about feeding your family. This pork sausage recipe starts with a pork shoulder that is ground and mixed with delicious peppers and flavorful seasonings. Delicious made into links and grilled with hickory smoke. 

Crockpot Cheese Smoked Sausage and Potato Soup is one of our go- to meals in the slow cooker and it a great recipe that is even better the next day. Delicious meals are easy to get on the dinner table when you have your own homemade sausage on hand.

SMOKED SAUSAGE ~ HOMEMADE SMOKED SAUSAGE LINKS

This smoked sausage has tons of smoky flavor and is a pretty simple weekend project that is perfect for meal prep to make easy meals for a busy weeknight that the whole family will enjoy.

Ingredients Needed:

• Pork Shoulder ~ Any fatty cut of pork will work for this sausage. Boneless country style ribs or pork butt are also great options. We started with a pork shoulder, cut out the bone and cut it into chunks.
• Sweet Bell Peppers ~ Diced really fine adds amazing flavors to the pork.
• Jalapeño ~ Diced really fine and easy to adjust to your own tastes. We like our sausage pretty mild, so we just use a bit for additional flavor.
• Brown Sugar ~ Balances the flavors of the spices, does not make the sausage sweet.
• Spices: Granulated Garlic, Onion Powder, Onion Flakes, Green (or Red) Chile Powder, Dried Thyme, Smoked Paprika, Dry Mustard.
• Kosher Salt & Pepper
• Vegetable Oil ~ adds additional fat and helps keep the sausage moist and provides texture.

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Tools Needed:

A good  Meat Grinder & Sausage Stuffer will make quick work of this recipe. 

Natural Sausage Casings are a must for making smoked sausage links. Find them online, butchers or we often find them at the local farm and ranch store that sells hunting supplies. 

Vacuum Sealer  and Bags are my favorite for making big batches of smoked sausage to freeze. 

 A digital thermometer is a must- have for grilling and smoking meat.

Tips for Making Homemade Sausage:

It is essential for your tools and ingredients to stay cold. Place your sausage grinder parts in the freezer while you prep the pork. This will ensure the best combining of the ingredients and best texture.

Work in batches while grinding and stuffing the sausage casings. We usually divide into two bowls, keeping one refrigerated.  Repeating this through the entire process.

How to Make Smoked Sausage:

• Place sausage grinder parts in the freezer.
• Place 3-4 hog casings in cold water. 
• Mix brown sugar, spices, salt and pepper, set aside.
• Cut pork into 2 inch chunks.
• Place pork in the refrigerator in 2 bowls.
• Assemble grinder.

• Grind one bowl of pork at a time, keeping the other chilled.

• Pour all of the ground pork onto a large sheet pan or one large bowl and combine with peppers.

• Sprinkle spice mix over the ground pork. Mix well. 

• Add vegetable oil and mix to combine.

• Divide mixture into 2 bowls. Refrigerate one.

• Run pork mixture through the grinder one more time.

• Divide mixture into two bowls and refrigerate.
• Clean the grinder and add sausage stuffer attachments.
• Rinse a casing with cold water running through it. 
• Thread onto sausage stuffer and tie off the end. 
• Run sausage mixture through the stuffer, filling the casing. You may need to prick the end with a toothpick to let the air escape at first.
• When the casing is about full, stop the grinder and tie off the end. 

• Form sausage into a coil and refrigerate while you stuff the remaining sausages.
• Chill sausage links until grill fire is ready.

How to Smoke Sausage on Grill:

• Prepare a grill fire to about 300° using pecan or hickory for smoke flavor.

• Place sausage on the grill over indirect heat. Our grill only had room for 2, so we used a baking rack to stack the third sausage. 

• Cook with the grill lid closed keeping the grill temperature between 250° - 300° for about 1 ½ - 2 hours. Sausage needs to reach 165° using a digital thermometer to be cooked through. We removed ours at about 1 ½ hours and an internal temperature of about 180°.

• Remove to a sheet pan and cool slightly before slicing.

• We cut ours into about 3 inch slices and vacuum sealed them after they had cooled. 

How to Store and Reheat:

• Store vacuum sealed sausage in the refrigerator up to 4 days. 
• Freeze up to 6 months, make sure to label the bag with contents and date.
• Thaw in refrigerator before using.

Heat in a skillet with about 1 -2 tablespoons of water or olive oil over medium heat, turning to warm both sides.

We love to have homemade sausage in the freezer for easy dinners and one-pot meals with tons of flavor. Once you make your own homemade sausage, you will love the convenience of having it on hand for different recipes. Smoked sausage makes a tasty potato skillet and also pairs well with your favorite vegetables.

SMOKED SAUSAGE RECIPES:

Smoked Sausage Pizza is always a favorite dinner at our house. It's loaded with cheese and lots of vegetables.

Smoked Sausage Potato Rounds are a great appetizer or side dish for steaks or pork chops. 

• Sliced smoked sausage and enjoy cold for your favorite charcuterie boards.
• Smoked Sausage and Barley Soup and is a comfort food classics to make with sliced smoked sausage.
• Add Smoked Sausage to your favorite casseroles, soups, pasta or cooked rice dishes, sheet pan meals and more.

MORE HOMEMADE SAUSAGE RECIPES:

• Andouille Sausage is a Cajun smoked sausage that is incredibly flavorful and delicious. Great for Gumbo, Jambalaya and more for an easy dinner idea.
• Sweet Italian Sausage is one of our favorites for the perfect weeknight meal. Add it to all of your favorite Italian dishes like manicotti or lasagna!
• Breakfast Sausage is one of our go-to recipes to make in bulk. You can easily adjust the recipe to your favorite flavors and make it spicy sausage if you prefer. I have to say it's so much tastier than store bought.
• Maple Sausage can be made into breakfast sausage or smoked into links. It is a great combination of sweet and savory flavors. 
• Boudin is another Cajun favorite that is a mix of ground meat, vegetables and rice. If you haven't tried this classic, you are missing out. It is true comfort food.
• Venison Snack Sticks are great if you have some ground venison in the freezer. These are a huge hit and one of our most requested recipes.

Homemade smoked sausage is great to have on hand for quick and easy dinner recipes. It's a great way to know exactly what ingredients you are eating and this recipe is a fresh sausage with no preservatives like you would find in store bought sausages.

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