Apple, Jalapeno, and Gruyere Smoked Sausage

A delicious sausage submitted by Bob over at the You Tube Channel Robert Baldwin

Here are a few things you might find useful when making a smoked sausage.

• Digital Smokers (I use the model 4D Pro-series WiFi)
• Bella’s Cold Smoke Generator
• Kamado Ceramic Grill
• High Quality Natural Casings (AA Grade)
• Non Fat Dry Milk (Binder for better texture and moisture retention)
• Potato Starch (Binder for better texture and moisture retention)
• Insta Cure #1
• Eco Cure #1 (A Nitrite free alternative to curing your meat)
• Cure Accelerator
• Thermapen ONE (Accurate Thermometer)
• Sausage Pricker
• Kotai Chef Knife
• Sausage Stuffers
• Meat Grinder
• Meat Mixers
• Stuffing Horn Cleaner
• Butcher Twine & Dispenser
• Small accurate Scale for spices
• Large Capacity Scale (33 pounds)
• Drying rack and tray
• Custom Cutting Board
• Jende Lapping plate for sharpening our grinder plates and knife

Enjoy the video and the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away.

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Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Apple, Jalapeno, and Gruyere Smoked Sausage

A flavorful sausage with a cheesy bite

Prep Time1 day d 30 minutes mins

Cook Time6 hours hrs

How much do you want to make? 1000 grams

Ingredients

Metric – US Customary

• 500 g lean pork
• 500 g pork belly
• 150 g Granny Smith apples small dice
• 45 g jalapeños small dice
• 100 g Gruyère cheese small dice
• 15 g salt
• 2.5 g instacure #1
• 5 g fennel seed
• 3 g black pepper
• 2 g jalapeno powder
• 2 g mustard seed
• 2 g red pepper flakes
• 35 g milk powder
• 6 g baking soda
• 100 g water
• hog casings 29mm-32mm

Instructions

Prepare the casings

• Rinse off the salt and flush the casings with some cool water. Place the cleaned casings in some fresh water with some baking soda in it (I use 1 tsp per quart of water) and place in the refrigerator. If you let your casings soak for at least 12 hours, they will be nice and tender by the time you use them.

Prepare the Meat and the Ingredients

• Peel apples and remove the core. Dice into small cubes. Set in a bowl of water with a little lemon juice added to prevent oxidation. Next dice the jalapenos and the cheese. Set to the side.
• Clean meat from any silver skin and arteries. Chill the meat and the fat so that the temperature is below 34f (1.1c)
• Grind chilled meat and fat on a medium course plate (8mm – 10mm). Rechill. Keep the temp under 34f (1.1c)
• Combine the spices, liquid and binder and mix till the meat turns into a sticky batter. Once you have a sticky batter you can add the cheese, apples, and jalapenos. Mix till everything is well incorporated. The meat mixture will stick to your hand when you grab a small handful of it and turn your hand upside down.
• Stuff mixture in your casings and link them to your desired size. If you notice any air pockets, be sure to prick them out
• Place the sausage in your refrigerator overnight so that the cure can do its job
• The next day, smoke the sausage using incremental adjustments in temperature to slowly bring the sausage up to a core temperature of 145f (62.7c) – 150F (65.5c).

If you have a convection smoker:

• 1 hour at 100f (37.7c) with the fan on at 50%. This dries out the sausage.
• 1 hour at 125f (51.6c) start adding smoke. Fan still on at 50%
• Bump up the temp to 175f (79.4c) till the internal temperature of your sausage reaches 145f (62.7c). Once you hit your target internal, let the sausage remain there for 3-5 minutes for proper pasteurization.

If you have a digital smoker this is a great cooking schedule:

• 1.5 hours at 100f (37.7c) – this dries out the sausage (leave the dampers wide open and leave the door slightly ajar)
• 1 hour at 125f (51.6c) – this is when I start applying smoke
• 1 hour at 155f (68.3c)
• 1 hour at 175f (79.4c)
• then I bump up to 200f (93.3c) until I reach an internal of 145f (62.7c). Make sure you let the sausage cook for at least 3-5 minutes once you hit the 145f (62.7c) temperature to achieve proper pasteurization.

If you are cooking on a pit or offset:

• on indirect heat start smoking sausages while the pit is at 150f (65.5c) and smoke for 3 hours.
• Increase the temperature to 250f (121.1c) and cook till you get to an internal of 150f (65.5c)

Once finished

• After your sausage has finished cooking, place them in a cold-water bath till the internal temp gets below 100f (37.7c). Then place the sausage on a rack or hang them at room temp for 3-4 hours to bloom. After they bloom, refrigerate and enjoy

Storage Instructions

• For long term storage, place the smoked sausages in a vacuum sealed bag and freeze. They will last up to a year in the freezer.

NOTES

• If you want to use pork shoulder and pork back fat to make this a 70/30 sausage recipe, that's ok

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