Southern Hot Links

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

Here is our recipe for a typically Southern sausage made with ground pork and lamb. For this recipe you will need a meat grinder with a sausage funnel, a tube that fits over the end of the grinder for filling sausage casings. You can also use a mixer such as KitchenAid, which has a sausage stuffer attachment. When stuffing, fill the casings until the sausage segments are about 4 inches long, then twist the casing and tie the sausages off with string. Then cut the casing off with scissors. Serve the links on buns with raw onions and barbecue sauce along with a macaroni salad and baked beans.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground pork, shoulder cut preferred

  • 2 pound ground beef, round steak preferred

  • 2 teaspoons crushed red chile (pequin for hot, New Mexican for mild)

  • 2 teaspoons paprika

  • 2 teaspoons dried sage

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 2 teaspoons dried basil

  • 1 teaspoon anise seed

  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano

  • Sausage casings

  • Barbecue sauce of choice, such as North Carolina Barbecue Sauce

Instructions

In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Using a meat grinder with a stuffing attachment, stuff the sausage casings and tie them off. Build a fire in the smoker, place the sausages on the grill in the smoker, and smoke at 200 to 220 degrees F. for about 3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F. Remove from the smoker and serve with the barbecue sauce.

Brisket Basting Sauce

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After a brisket has been smoked, it is basted in this sauce for a couple of hours before being sliced and served. Some cooks, however, slather the sauce on during the smoking.

Ingredients

Chili Powder, Cayenne, Margarine, Beer, Lemons, Parsley, Worcestershire Sauce

Instructions

This recipe is from Red Caldwell, who revealed the secrets of Texas barbecue to us when we were editors of Chile Pepper magazine. After a beef brisket has been smoked, it is basted in this sauce for a couple of hours before it is sliced and served. Some cooks slather the sauce on during the smoking. It can also be used with smoked lamb or pork.

  • 2 tablespoons commercial chili powder

  • ½ teaspoon ground cayenne chile (or more to taste)

  • 1 pound butter or margarine

  • 2 onions, chopped fine

  • 5 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 ½ cups beer, such as Shiner Bock

  • 4 lemons, quartered

  • 1 bunch parsley tops, minced

  • 2 cups vegetable oil

  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

  • 2 bay leaves

In a pot, melt the butter, add the onions and garlic, and saute for 4 to 5 minutes to soften. Add the beer, squeeze in the lemon juice, and add the lemon rinds to the pot. When the foam subsides, add all of the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a medium low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Yield: About 5 cups

Heat Scale: Medium

Excerpt from Barbecue Inferno, (Ten Speed Press, 2001), and available from

Pungent Pork Vindaloo

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Vindaloo describes a style of Indian cooking where the meat or fish is marinated in a vinegar-based sauce, and then cooked in that marinade.

Ingredients

Cider Vinegar, Red Chile, Ginger, Cardamon, Cinnamon, Pork, Onion, Potato, Chicken Broth

Instructions

Vindaloo describes a style of Indian cooking whereby the meat or fish is marinated in a vinegar- based sauce and then cooked in that marinade. This recipe can also be used for beef or lamb and, like a pasta sauce, is best if prepared a day in advance and reheated. Add ground cayenne if more heat is desired.

  • ½ cup cider vinegar

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 2 teaspoons crushed red chile

  • 2 teaspoons minced ginger

  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves

  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

  • Crushed black pepper

  • 1 ½ pounds pork, cut in 1-inch cubes

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 1 medium potato, cubed

  • 2 cups chicken broth

  • 2 cups cooked rice

To make the marinade, combine the vinegar, oil, chile, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, and black pepper in a non-reactive bowl. Add the pork and toss the pork in the mixture until well coated. Cover and marinate the pork for 2 to 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Remove the pork, drain, and reserve the marinade.

Heat a little of the remaining oil in a heavy skillet, add the pork and brown. Add more oil if needed to keep the meat from burning. Add the onions and potato and continue to saute the mixture until the onions are soft and the potatoes are browned.

Add the reserved marinade and the broth to the pork, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thickened, around 30 minutes. Add more broth if needed

Serve the vindaloo over a platter of hot rice.

Yield: 4 servings

Heat Scale: Hot

Marinated Grilled Vegetables

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Serve these spicy vegetables as a side dish to just about any grilled meat or fish. If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 20 minutes to prevent them from burning. From The Habanero Cookbook, by Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach, Ten Speed Press, 1995.

Ingredients

For the Vegetables:

  • 8 cherry tomatoes

  • 1 green bell pepper, seeds, ribs, and stem removed, cut lengthwise into wedges

  • 8 large button mushrooms

  • 1 onion, cut into wedges and separated

  • 1 zucchini, scored with a fork and cut into ½-inch slices

For the Marinade:

  • 6 green onions, minced

  • 1 Scotch bonnet chile, seeds and stem removed, minced

  • ½ cup soy sauce

  • ½ cup malt vinegar

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves

  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

To prepare the vegetables, thread them onto skewers, alternating colors and shapes, and place the skewers in a non-reactive baking dish.

To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and pour over the vegetables. Marinate for 2 to 3 hours, spooning the marinade over the vegetables occasionally.

Brush a grill rack with vegetable oil. Grill the vegetables for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked but still crisp, basting frequently with the marinade.

Carnitas Calientes

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Carnitas are “little pieces of meat,” usually pork, that are often served as a breakfast side dish in Mexico or wrapped in a tortilla and eaten as a burrito or soft taco. In addition I also like to serve them as an appetizer with a selection of salsas for dipping. Carnitas are an example of how a dry rub marinade can form a tasty crust on the meat, while the inside remains tender and moist.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons ground ancho chile

  • 1 tablespoon ground chipotle chile

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork, trimmed of the fat and cut into 1-inch cubes.

For the Sauce:

 

Instructions

Combine all the spices and cilantro together in a bowl and mix well. Rub the pork cubes with the mixture and marinate the meat at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Place the pork cubes on a rack over a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is quite crisp. Pour off any fat as it accumulates.

To serve as an appetizer place in a chafing dish along with toothpicks and accompanied with your choice of salsas, guacamole, and/or sour cream for dipping.