1st Lockhart-style sausage

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broozer

Fire Starter
Original poster
Feb 3, 2024
73
247
Portland, OR
I just finished my first batch, and it may be my best sausage yet. Perfect snap, nice and juicy, with that lingering back of the tongue black pepper heat with a hint of cayenne.

I used this recipe:
3 lbs store-ground chuck
1 lb store-ground pork
4 Tbsp kosher salt
4 Tbsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp cayenne
3/4 tsp Cure #1 in 3/4 cup cold water
Slow smoked over charcoal & post oak chunks in my Bronco drum to 155˚ internal.

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I'm real close to being able to start making my own sausage. Hope my first batch turns out like that.
 
Texture is nice, good bind, looks plenty moist. I'd say you nailed it. good job.
 
I just finished my first batch, and it may be my best sausage yet. Perfect snap, nice and juicy, with that lingering back of the tongue black pepper heat with a hint of cayenne.

I used this recipe:
3 lbs store-ground chuck
1 lb store-ground pork
4 Tbsp kosher salt
4 Tbsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp cayenne
3/4 tsp Cure #1 in 3/4 cup cold water
Slow smoked over charcoal & post oak chunks in my Bronco drum to 155˚ internal.

View attachment 694694View attachment 694695View attachment 694696
Those look amazing! Can't wait to see the next smoke :D
 
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Reactions: broozer
Actually had to look up Lockhart style. Salt and pepper by themselves about as simple as it gets. From there, one can branch out into many, many others. Hot guts takes that, plus garlic and onion powder. Polish Kielbasa.......plus garlic and marjoram. Italian is salt, pepper, garlic , fennel.....and if you want it sweet.......plus anise.

All of them start out so close to each other, yet by differing only in some subtle spice profiles it changes them so much.

But what I am curious about is the fire management system you used in the Bronco. How much charcoal and wood and what temps you ran the smoker.......and how you managed to maintain those temps? Kept fire at bay using dampers? I ask as I'm trying to get my UDS to do the same thing. Also working with the guys at Hunsaker smokers to develop a process for their drum smokers too.

The outcome looks perfect.......so you did something right.
 
Lockhart style is salt, pepper, cayenne. It's typically uncured and smoked hot. There's some debate but supposedly they use bull flour binder. It's tied in the characteristic C shape. Kreuz, Smittys and Blacks make it and the Blacks is slightly different from the other two.

This was my take on it.

Hot guts is really also just salt pepper cayenne but some people add more stuff especially more modern interpretations. It's served in normal links. Most joints will do a "cold smoke" at about 150 and then re-smoke it at normal barbecue temps for serving.
 
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Reactions: indaswamp
Those look fantastic! I've had sausage from Blacks as well as City Meat Markets in Luling & Giddings. I liked 'em all. I could smell & taste it just looking at the pics.
 
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Reactions: broozer
Actually had to look up Lockhart style. Salt and pepper by themselves about as simple as it gets. From there, one can branch out into many, many others. Hot guts takes that, plus garlic and onion powder. Polish Kielbasa.......plus garlic and marjoram. Italian is salt, pepper, garlic , fennel.....and if you want it sweet.......plus anise.

All of them start out so close to each other, yet by differing only in some subtle spice profiles it changes them so much.

But what I am curious about is the fire management system you used in the Bronco. How much charcoal and wood and what temps you ran the smoker.......and how you managed to maintain those temps? Kept fire at bay using dampers? I ask as I'm trying to get my UDS to do the same thing. Also working with the guys at Hunsaker smokers to develop a process for their drum smokers too.

The outcome looks perfect.......so you did something right.
For the fire, I filled the charcoal pan level and start it with a Tumbleweed in the center. After I get about 1/4 white coals, I added two smallish chunks of post oak, load the sausages and close the lid. The exhaust port is always wide open, and I control the temp using the air intake. About 1/4 the way open (approx. #1 on the Bronco intake plate) settles in around 150˚, and I gradually open it up over the course of 3 hours, finishing around 220˚ for an internal temp of 155˚. I don't open the lid until my temp probe alarm goes off; makes for plenty of undisturbed brewski time...
 
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Reactions: Dustin Dorsey
I just finished my first batch, and it may be my best sausage yet. Perfect snap, nice and juicy, with that lingering back of the tongue black pepper heat with a hint of cayenne.

I used this recipe:
3 lbs store-ground chuck
1 lb store-ground pork
4 Tbsp kosher salt
4 Tbsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp cayenne
3/4 tsp Cure #1 in 3/4 cup cold water
Slow smoked over charcoal & post oak chunks in my Bronco drum to 155˚ internal.

View attachment 694694View attachment 694695View attachment 694696
Oh brother, that made me hungry instantly. Awesome texture, simple flavors... love it!
 
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