Hot Links Recipes

HOT LINKS

Steps:

• Preheat a large grill pan over high heat until almost smoking.
• Put the hot links split-side down on one side of the grill pan and grill over medium-high heat until some char marks appear, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
• Meanwhile, brush the other side of the grill pan with canola oil. Add the onions and grill, tossing with tongs occasionally, until softened and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the garlic, paprika, cayenne and cloves to the onions and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
• Reduce the heat to low. Add the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, 1/3 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring frequently to make sure the bottom doesn't burn, until tender, 15 minutes.
• Put the buns, split-side down, on the grill pan and grill until lightly toasted, 30 seconds per side.
• Serve the hot links in the toasted buns, smothered with the barbecued onions.

SMOKED HOT LINKS

Steps:

• If you're using sausage casings, the day before you plan to stuff the sausage, rinse the casings under cold water inside and out. Prepare a solution of 1 cup water to 1 capful of cider vinegar. Soak the casings in the solution overnight.
• In a large bowl, mix the pork with the garlic, sage, parsley, salt, fennel, oregano, thyme, pepper, and cayenne. Stir. If using casings, mix in the ice water if the meat mixture is too dry to stuff into the casings.
• Stuff the sausage mixture into the casings or make into loaves, sticks, or patties. If you're making sticks, links, or logs, it helps to use plastic wrap to form the meat into the desired shape. Hang stuffed casings for at least an hour in a cool, dry place and then refrigerate at least overnight but for no more than 5 days before using. Sticks, links, or logs can be cooked immediately.
• You can fry, smoke, or grill the sausage as desired.

TEXAS HOT LINKS

Steps:

• Cut the venison and pork into chunks that will fit into your grinder. Mix well with the salt and sugar. Let this sit in the fridge for as long as you can stand, up to overnight if you have time; it helps the sausage bind to itself better.
• Get out about 10 to 15 feet of hog casings and soak them in warm water.
• Mix the spices and garlic with the meat and fat and grind though a coarse die, about 10 mm. If you don't have that, grind with as coarse a die as you have. If your room is warmer than about 70°F, grind into a container that is set in ice, to keep things very cold.
• If the meat is still below 40°F, go ahead and grind again through a 6 mm die or similar. TIP: If you have some bread around, rip off a piece and make that the last thing in the grinder: It pushes out all of the rest of the meat so you don't waste any. If the meat is above 40°F, put it in the freezer for 30 minutes while you clean up everything.
• Add the beer (or water) to the sausage mixer and mix well with your (clean) hands, or a mixer with a paddle attachment set on low, for about 2 minutes. The sausage will adhere to itself and you will see whitish streaks in the bowl. Put the sausage in a sausage stuffer.
• Thread a casing onto the stuffer, leaving a few inches as a "tail" so you can tie it off later. Stuff the whole casing at once, again leaving a tail at the other end. Repeat until you've stuffed all the sausage.
• Make links by pinching them off and spinning them, first one way, then the other. This prevents them from unraveling when you hang the links to dry. You can also tie them off with twine. Here's a quick video on making the links. Tie off the ends of the casings.
• Carefully compress the links to reveal air pockets, and prick the links with a needle to remove them, gently compressing the meat.
• Hang your sausages to dry, for an hour at room temperature, or up to a day if you can do so in 40°F or below.
• Smoke your hot links at 200°F or thereabouts until they reach about 150°F internal temperature. Then, either eat them or plunge them into a bath of ice water to stop the cooking. Dry them off and store in the fridge for a week, or freeze.