Cure?

[kkbait]

Looking at doing this recipe for Texas Hot Links, should I add cure to it? Thanks

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

If you hot smoking it should be fine.

 

[DougE]

I wouldn't think it's necessary with that short of a smoke, but I'll defer to those with more experience if they say otherwise.

 

[tallbm]

Looking at doing this recipe for Texas Hot Links, should I add cure to it? ThanksView attachment 522595

Hi there and welcome!

I say yes.
Every Texas Hot Link I have ever eaten has been a cured and smoked sausage.
Cure#1 gives it that flavor that is needed.
Think of pork belly seasoned and smoked without Cure#1. Without it will taste like smoked ribs. WITH Cure#1 it tastes like bacon.

Also step #7 is poor sausage smoking practice WHEN YOU ADD CURE#1, you may melt all the fat out of your sausage following step #7.
Proper sausage smoking practice is to start low at like 100F or 115F for an hour so the sausages are good and dry, then you apply smoke and raise the temp up every 45 min-1hr or so by like 20F degrees or so until you reach a max of like 165F-170F. This is done to avoid melting out the fat because a rapid increase in temp can do so.
Once you hit a smoker temp of 165F-170F smoke the sausages to like 153F or so and then it is good to go (cause of cure#1).

If you don't add Cure#1 then you can follow #7 as written but understand that step #7 is written the way it is because there is no cure#1 involved and you may get a bunch of fat loss leaking from the sausages.

Let us know what you go with and how it turns out :)

 

[SmokinEdge]

I think tallbm has you covered.
I would add cure #1 at 1 teaspoon. Then follow what has been said to smoke. Never smoke a sausage at 200* unless you are grilling it then it’s fine, but to get that initial smoke flavor start low 120* then increase 10* every hour to a maximum of 170* smoke temp. All looking for an internal sausage temp of about 150*.

 

[thirdeye]

When you run across a Texas hot link recipe that is a 'fresh' sausage intended for grilling, they often have a lighter dose of cure, like about 1/2 of what is needed for protection if you were smoking it for hours in the 40°-140° food danger zone. This will give the beef a 'cured' flavor, and keep the color on the pinkish side.

Here is one for example, and it uses Tender Quick. Note this is a pork/beef sausage, but will give you some examples of seasonings in hot link recipes.

Bigwheel's Texas Hot Link
5 pounds boston butt
2 pounds lean beef
1 bottle ice cold beer
2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons ground corriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole anise seeds
1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons ground thyme
6 teaspoons Morton's Tender Quick
1 teaspoon MSG

Mix all the spices, cure, and garlic into the beer and place in refrigerator while you cut up the meats into grinder sized pieces. Dump the spiced beer on the cut meat and mix it up good. Run spiced meat mixture through the grinder coarse or medium plate and stuff into medium hog casings. Slow grill till they are done. Wrap in a piece of bread and slap on the mustard heavy. Wash it down with ice cold beer.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Whenever your going to make sausage for your smoker always add cure 1.

BTW 200* to start is way too high of a temp.

 

[indaswamp]

These guys got you covered.... nothing more to add.

 

[kkbait]

Thank you for the replies. When I do it I will add Cure and start it at a lower temperature