Texas Hot Guts
intro
Spicy, snappy coarse-ground beef and pork smoked sausage, a beloved Central Texas BBQ staple, seasoned with cayenne and garlic for bold, smoky heat.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep meat and casings
Place cubed beef chuck and pork shoulder on a parchment-lined tray and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes until firm (0-2°C / 32-35°F, not fully frozen) to prevent fat smearing during grinding. While meat chills, rinse salt-packed hog casings under cool running water, submerge in a bowl of cold water to soak for 30 minutes, and flush water through the interior of each casing to check for small tears.
Grind chilled meat
Assemble a meat grinder fitted with a 6mm (1/4 inch) coarse grinding plate. Set a large stainless steel mixing bowl inside a larger bowl filled with crushed ice to keep meat cold, then feed the partially frozen meat cubes through the grinder at a steady pace. Keep the ground meat temperature below 4°C / 40°F at all times to avoid fat rendering, and do not over-grind to maintain a coarse, crumbly texture.
Mix in seasonings
Sprinkle kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, smoked paprika, ground mustard, and light brown sugar evenly over the ground meat. Pour in 120ml of ice-cold water, then mix with clean, ice-cold hands for 2-3 minutes until the meat becomes tacky and sticks together when squeezed into a ball. Do not overmix, as this will create a tough, dense sausage texture.
Stuff sausage links
Fit a sausage stuffer with a 30mm (1.25 inch) stuffing tube, then thread the soaked, rinsed hog casing onto the tube, tying a tight overhand knot at the free end of the casing. Feed the seasoned meat through the stuffer slowly to fill the casing evenly, avoiding tight overstuffing that can cause bursting. Twist filled casings into 15cm (6 inch) links, pinching and twisting in alternating directions to seal, then poke any visible air bubbles with a sterile pin.
Preheat smoker to temp
Preheat an offset or electric smoker to 107°C / 225°F using indirect heat. While the smoker preheats, arrange stuffed links on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes to dry the casing surface for better smoke adhesion and a snappier bite. Drain soaked hickory wood chips and add them to the smoker’s wood chip tray, waiting 10-15 minutes until thin, wispy blue smoke flows from the smoker vent before adding food. Thick, billowing white smoke will create a bitter, ashy flavor on the sausage, so wait for clean smoke to develop.
Slow smoke the sausages
Arrange sausage links in a single layer on smoker racks, leaving 2cm (1 inch) of space between each link for even smoke circulation. Smoke for 2 to 2.5 hours, maintaining a consistent 107°C / 225°F temperature, until the internal temperature of the links reaches 71°C / 160°F as measured with an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a link (avoid touching fat or casing for an accurate read). Limit lid openings to prevent temperature drops.
Rest before serving
Transfer smoked hot guts to a clean wooden cutting board and rest for 10 minutes at room temperature to let juices redistribute through the meat, which prevents juice runoff when biting into the snappy casing. Serve with classic Texas BBQ sides like dill pickles, potato salad, and white bread, with optional yellow mustard for dipping.
Tips
2.Do not overstuff casings: meat expands slightly as it cooks and smokes, and tight casings will split open, letting flavorful juices and smoke escape during cooking.
3.For authentic Central Texas flavor, skip sweet, thick BBQ sauces—hot guts are traditionally served plain or with a thin swipe of yellow mustard to let the smoky, spicy meat flavor take center stage.
OMG y’all, I made these for our neighborhood Memorial Day potluck and people were begging for the recipe before they even finished their first bite! I was a little nervous about nailing the authentic Texas smoke flavor, but following the temp guide to a T worked perfectly. SO good, even my picky teen went back for seconds. I used post oak like my grandpa used to for smoke and it hit so different.
Really solid recipe! Cook time was spot on at 3.5 hours for my smoker, no issues there. Only reason I’m knocking a star off is I wish there was a little more guidance on how finely to grind the meat—my first batch was a little coarser than I prefer, but the flavor was still chef’s kiss. Made these for our weekly Sunday family dinner and the whole crew devoured them.
Total game changer! I prepped a double batch of these on Sunday, smoked them all, and vac-sealed portions for quick weeknight meals. They reheat amazing on the grill or even in the air fryer. I added a tiny extra pinch of cayenne because my household loves extra heat, and wow. 10/10, will be making these once a month from now on.
I’ve tried half a dozen hot guts recipes online trying to find something that tastes like the links I had on a trip to Lockhart, TX last year, and this is IT. The smoke ring was perfect, the spice balance was exactly right, no weird filler ingredients. My roommate and I ate half the batch standing up next to the cutting board right after they came off the smoker.
First time ever making smoked sausage of any kind, so I was super intimidated by the medium difficulty rating! Took me a minute to get the hang of stuffing the casings without them tearing, but once I got in the zone it was smooth sailing. Flavor was incredible, my buddies were raving during our college football watch party. Next time I’ll leave a little more room in the casings so they don’t burst while smoking.
Made these for my dad’s Father’s Day cookout and he said they were better than the sausage he used to get at his favorite Texas BBQ spot when he was stationed in San Antonio back in the 80s. I served them with tangy coleslaw and pickled red onions, *chef’s kiss*. Will absolutely be making these for every family cookout from now on.
Just pulled these off the offset smoker and WOW. Let them rest 20 minutes like the recipe said, and the juiciness is unreal. I was worried 3.5 hours would dry them out but I kept the temp steady at 225 like instructed and they came out perfect. No leaks, perfect snap, amazing spice balance. 10/10.
As someone who’s gluten free, I’m always hunting for good smoked sausage recipes that don’t have weird gluten-filled fillers or hidden soy sauce. This recipe is perfect! I double checked all my spices to make sure they were GF, didn’t swap a single other thing, and these came out absolute fire. My kids loved it, even the non-GF folks at our cookout were going back for thirds. Total game changer for our summer cookouts.
Just finished stuffing my casings and they’re on the smoker now! The house already smells incredible. I added a little extra smoked paprika and garlic because I can never have enough garlic, will report back once they’re done but so far the prep was way easier than I thought it would be for a medium difficulty recipe.
Decent recipe, flavor is on point, but I had a hard time keeping my offset smoker temp consistent in this 105 degree Arizona heat so my first batch cooked a little faster than the listed 3.5 hours. Ended up pulling them at 2 hours 45 minutes when they hit 160 internal, and they were still juicy, but I wish the recipe had more notes for adjusting cook time in super hot weather. Still tasty enough that I’ll give it another shot once it cools off in the fall.