DougE's Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage w/ 2 types of jalapenos

[SherryT]

OK...the sausage is done!

Fresh out of the SV:

...and cut:

I couldn't catch the lighting right on the cut pic to save my life, but both (raw jalapeno in the rear and candied in the front) are juicy and with a really good texture (read as "no fat-out and I think I got a good bind"!)...probably the best I've made texture-wise.

As for taste, both are ABSOLUTELY delicious. I wish the fresh jalapenos I bought for this hadn't been "notapenos", but STILL GOOD nonetheless.

I REALLY like those with the candied jalapenos (a LOT!), but when I make them again (and I will!), I'm going to increase the jal percentage from 7% to 10%.

It's a VERY good recipe, DougE!!!

I have some observations about the smoking process in BC using a PID, but as that has nothing to do with DougE's wonderful recipe, I'll post that tomorrow in a separate thread.

 

[SherryT]

SherryT
Waiting on the finish still. How’s it going?

Just posted...

 

[DougE]

Looks A OK from here. Nice job. Now we need reports on the flavor of each lol.

 

[DougE]

Looks A OK from here. Nice job. Now we need reports on the flavor of each lol.

My bad, you did already, I read too quickly. My pleasure passing along the recipe which I got from another member. I didn't change anything because I didn't need to, so that is the recipe as I got it.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Those look delicious Sherry. Well done and nice dang job. The recipe is solid, but, you also ground the meat correctly, mixed it for protein extraction correctly, you did a fantastic job on your end.

 

[Fueling Around]

Noteworthy and carousel worthy sausage Sherry.
Your and Doug have me thinking to go back to regular cheese. Oddly, I can get high temperature cheese for about the same price as Tillamook. Wife prefers Tillamook.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Noteworthy and carousel worthy sausage Sherry.
Your and Doug have me thinking to go back to regular cheese. Oddly, I can get high temperature cheese for about the same price as Tillamook. Wife prefers Tillamook.

Regular cheese works fine. The sharper, the dryer, and the better it works in heat.

 

[tallbm]

I kind of stumbled across the idea of "air trapping" when I first set/turned on PID/BC this morning.

Thinking I might need to put the drip tray in place, I put it on 2nd lowest rack (PID probe on the bottom rack) and I didn't get that big initial temp spike like I did Saturday...as soon as I removed the drip tray, it spiked. I didn't think of it as "air trapping" as much as "heat barrier", but I think your description is more fitting.

I'm glad you are finding some value in the idea.
Yeah it will take a little tinkering to figure out the best configuration for your new setup. Good thing is, that is standard for any smoker or major changes. You basically have a new smoker.

I also often put a pan to catch drippings but rarely for sausage.
I put my pan on the lower rack and then set the next rack directly on the pan so at least its closer to the heat source vs being way high up. All of my probes are on the lowest rack so it gives me a good reading and I know that 3 inches higher can't be that much lower in temp.

My birch board above the meat then holds air/heat below and keeps things relatively same temp without the element running full blast the whole time :)

OK...the sausage is done!

Fresh out of the SV:

View attachment 654254

...and cut:

View attachment 654255

I couldn't catch the lighting right on the cut pic to save my life, but both (raw jalapeno in the rear and candied in the front) are juicy and with a really good texture (read as "no fat-out and I think I got a good bind"!)...probably the best I've made texture-wise.

As for taste, both are ABSOLUTELY delicious. I wish the fresh jalapenos I bought for this hadn't been "notapenos", but STILL GOOD nonetheless.

I REALLY like those with the candied jalapenos (a LOT!), but when I make them again (and I will!), I'm going to increase the jal percentage from 7% to 10%.

It's a VERY good recipe, DougE!!!

I have some observations about the smoking process in BC using a PID, but as that has nothing to do with DougE's wonderful recipe, I'll post that tomorrow in a separate thread.

That sausage looks amazing! Next batch or 2 will nail it for sure!
It's cool you grow your own peppers and now have a really good way to dehydrate peppers to use for your sausages or for making pepper/chili powders (smoked or not smoked).

I'd love to get my hands on about 10-15 pounds of jalapenos and dehydrate them and be ready to rock for sausage! Believe it or not I have yet to do a Jalapeno or Jalapeno and Cheese sausage yet.
Kind of waiting on that day a family member or friend is like "I have a load of jalapenos want them?" then boom I'm on it :D

 

[SherryT]

I'm glad you are finding some value in the idea.
Yeah it will take a little tinkering to figure out the best configuration for your new setup. Good thing is, that is standard for any smoker or major changes. You basically have a new smoker.

I also often put a pan to catch drippings but rarely for sausage.
I put my pan on the lower rack and then set the next rack directly on the pan so at least its closer to the heat source vs being way high up. All of my probes are on the lowest rack so it gives me a good reading and I know that 3 inches higher can't be that much lower in temp.

My birch board above the meat then holds air/heat below and keeps things relatively same temp without the element running full blast the whole time :)
View attachment 654259




That sausage looks amazing! Next batch or 2 will nail it for sure!
It's cool you grow your own peppers and now have a really good way to dehydrate peppers to use for your sausages or for making pepper/chili powders (smoked or not smoked).

I'd love to get my hands on about 10-15 pounds of jalapenos and dehydrate them and be ready to rock for sausage! Believe it or not I have yet to do a Jalapeno or Jalapeno and Cheese sausage yet.
Kind of waiting on that day a family member or friend is like "I have a load of jalapenos want them?" then boom I'm on it :D

I like the birch board concept...gonna run a test tomorrow (high winds/rain forecast this afternoon...AGAIN!).

As for getting your hands on jalapenos, if you decide to buy at the grocery, make sure to see if there's signage indicating whether they're regular jals or "mild"...mild = ZERO heat and is no hotter than a bell pepper (not quite what one is going for when buying jals!).

 

[SherryT]

My bad, you did already, I read too quickly. My pleasure passing along the recipe which I got from another member. I didn't change anything because I didn't need to, so that is the recipe as I got it.

It really IS a good recipe...thank you for sharing it!

Those look delicious Sherry. Well done and nice dang job. The recipe is solid, but, you also ground the meat correctly, mixed it for protein extraction correctly, you did a fantastic job on your end.

Thank you! I actually started paying attention when someone says to keep the meat COLD instead of "cold".

Noteworthy and carousel worthy sausage Sherry.
Your and Doug have me thinking to go back to regular cheese. Oddly, I can get high temperature cheese for about the same price as Tillamook. Wife prefers Tillamook.

Thanks! I'm not so sure about carousel-worthy...my knife and camera skills basically SUCK!

Regular cheese works fine. The sharper, the dryer, and the better it works in heat.

I thought it would sorta of "dissipate" into the surrounding ground meat once it got warm enough, but it didn't...and it wasn't extra sharp, just medium-sharp Tillamook (what they had at WM).

 

[chopsaw]

You nailed that . Looks fantastic . Really strong ( Advanced ) work there . Very impressive .
I use a good quality regular cheese . Never any issues .

 

[SherryT]

You nailed that . Looks fantastic . Really strong ( Advanced ) work there . Very impressive .
I use a good quality regular cheese . Never any issues .

Thank you!

Now if I can do the same with bologna and wieners, I'll be like sa-WISH!

 

[tallbm]

I like the birch board concept...gonna run a test tomorrow (high winds/rain forecast this afternoon...AGAIN!).

As for getting your hands on jalapenos, if you decide to buy at the grocery, make sure to see if there's signage indicating whether they're regular jals or "mild"...mild = ZERO heat and is no hotter than a bell pepper (not quite what one is going for when buying jals!).

Looking forward to seeing the results of the test run!

Yeah, over a couple of decades ago Texas A&M University engineered some jalapenos that have like no heat. TAM Jalapenos.
I keep an eye out at the store here in TX to makes sure the signage doesn't say TAM Jalapenos. They are good for bacon wrapped jalapenos and things like that.

I personally want a regular jalapeno and if I want to reduce heat I just dig out the veins and seeds. So my salsa will have like 5 jalapenos in it but 1 1/2 contain the heat. Gives a good balance of heat and flavor. Personally I like more heat but often I'm not the only one eating :)

Thank you!

Now if I can do the same with bologna and wieners, I'll be like sa-WISH!

I have made German Bologna with Owen's seasoning and it is fantastic! I have the measurements of seasoning and water by weight as like most pre-made seasonings their measurements and instructions weren't dead on when it came to scaling up and down.

Also I have yet to find anything that comes close to the LEM's Cured Frank seasoning for Franks. It's crazy how we went from great flavored franks to the very mild/generic hot dog. I also have these measurements by weight.

Finally, went I started my sausage journey I wanted to make hot dogs and bologna as well. I had the idea of getting the same kind of emulsified look and texture but along the way I found my finer grind and thorough mixing got me like 75-80% of the way there and tasted fantastic!
I never made the move to attempt emulsified meat since things came out so great as is without the extra hassle.

I would encourage you to give your first rounds of hot dogs and bologna a try with the same process you are using on the sausages you just made and see how they come out. The texture looks close enough to me, and looks like mine does.

If you want to try emulsified then that becomes your next batch but you may have to get a Champion juicer to emulsify. I have a sneaky suspicion with the way this sausage came out you won't bother with emulsified meat. To me finding and nailing the flavor for franks, hot dogs, and bologna is more important and more difficult than anything else :)

 

[SherryT]

Looking forward to seeing the results of the test run!

Yeah, over a couple of decades ago Texas A&M University engineered some jalapenos that have like no heat. TAM Jalapenos.
I keep an eye out at the store here in TX to makes sure the signage doesn't say TAM Jalapenos. They are good for bacon wrapped jalapenos and things like that.

I personally want a regular jalapeno and if I want to reduce heat I just dig out the veins and seeds. So my salsa will have like 5 jalapenos in it but 1 1/2 contain the heat. Gives a good balance of heat and flavor. Personally I like more heat but often I'm not the only one eating :)




I have made German Bologna with Owen's seasoning and it is fantastic! I have the measurements of seasoning and water by weight as like most pre-made seasonings their measurements and instructions weren't dead on when it came to scaling up and down.

Also I have yet to find anything that comes close to the LEM's Cured Frank seasoning for Franks. It's crazy how we went from great flavored franks to the very mild/generic hot dog. I also have these measurements by weight.

Finally, went I started my sausage journey I wanted to make hot dogs and bologna as well. I had the idea of getting the same kind of emulsified look and texture but along the way I found my finer grind and thorough mixing got me like 75-80% of the way there and tasted fantastic!
I never made the move to attempt emulsified meat since things came out so great as is without the extra hassle.

I would encourage you to give your first rounds of hot dogs and bologna a try with the same process you are using on the sausages you just made and see how they come out. The texture looks close enough to me, and looks like mine does.

If you want to try emulsified then that becomes your next batch but you may have to get a Champion juicer to emulsify. I have a sneaky suspicion with the way this sausage came out you won't bother with emulsified meat. To me finding and nailing the flavor for franks, hot dogs, and bologna is more important and more difficult than anything else :)

I remove the veins/seeds as well depending on the recipe and who's going to eat it (hubs wouldn't even TRY it if he knew it had jals or cayennes in the recipe).

Me? I've always liked hot/spicy foods, but I do have my limits.

I'll look for the seasonings you mentioned...I would really REALLY love to actually ENJOY eating a hot dog again!

 

[tallbm]

I remove the veins/seeds as well depending on the recipe and who's going to eat it (hubs wouldn't even TRY it if he knew it had jals or cayennes in the recipe).

Me? I've always liked hot/spicy foods, but I do have my limits.

I'll look for the seasonings you mentioned...I would really REALLY love to actually ENJOY eating a hot dog again!

Yeah I'm with you on the spicy foods. I like it to where the flavor is their and it's enjoyable. To hot for heat sakes or bad flavor for sake of heat is a no go for me.

The Lem's Backwoods Cured Frank seasoning is amazing BUT understand it's so flavorful that you may be like, "hot dogs I eat don't have this much flavor", which just shows how far hot dogs have gotten away from what they used to be as Franks lol.

Let me know if you get either or both of those seasonings and I'll gladly share my weight per pound for each and you can fry test and tweak to your liking from there :)

 

[SherryT]

Yeah I'm with you on the spicy foods. I like it to where the flavor is their and it's enjoyable. To hot for heat sakes or bad flavor for sake of heat is a no go for me.

The Lem's Backwoods Cured Frank seasoning is amazing BUT understand it's so flavorful that you may be like, "hot dogs I eat don't have this much flavor", which just shows how far hot dogs have gotten away from what they used to be as Franks lol.

Let me know if you get either or both of those seasonings and I'll gladly share my weight per pound for each and you can fry test and tweak to your liking from there :)

I'll be ordering later this evening...had to sit and watch my local weather guy for a few hours as these storms rolled through. Thankfully, all I got at my place was a few minutes of VERY heavy rain, but they caught it around Selma AL...very bad!

 

[tallbm]

I'll be ordering later this evening...had to sit and watch my local weather guy for a few hours as these storms rolled through. Thankfully, all I got at my place was a few minutes of VERY heavy rain, but they caught it around Selma AL...very bad!

Glad you are ok with the weather. Yeah reports are Selma was hit by tornados and such. Also reports are that the rest of the state has more bad weather to come. Stay safe.

Good on ya for using this storm time to plan out your seasonings and I can see you are itching to get back to smoking some more sausage. Welcome to the club hahahha. I get all my sausage work in after my yearly hunting haul is done. Did around 200 pounds of sausage I would think this past year. We had 7 animals and I had 40 pounds of store bought meat ready for sausage making so I am good until next hunting season :D

 

[DougE]

thankfully, all I got at my place was a few minutes of VERY heavy rain, but they caught it around Selma AL...very bad!

We had some pretty heavy storms roll through here this morning. Thunder, lightning, hail, and heavy rain, but that's as bad as it got. A couple areas not too far off got hit harder though.

 

[SherryT]

We had some pretty heavy storms roll through here this morning. Thunder, lightning, hail, and heavy rain, but that's as bad as it got. A couple areas not too far off got hit harder though.

Glad it missed you!

 

[SmokinEdge]

I'll look for the seasonings you mentioned...I would really REALLY love to actually ENJOY eating a hot dog again!

SherryT

Nothing wrong with buying mix for hotdogs or bologna but if you want to roll your own here is a good recipe of mine for dogs or ring bologna.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/dogs-and-ring.309836/

And here is a good bologna recipe. I use a Champion juicer to emulsify but you can just double grind through the 1/8” plate. Enjoy.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/oh-bologna.312215/