# Attempt to make Lockhart, TX style Beef Sausage



## tdimler

I set out to re-create the beef sausages made in the famous Lockhart, TX BBQ establishments like Blacks, Smitty's, and Kreuz.  They all make a beef sausage, simply seasoned, with a unique soft texture.  There isn't a modern recipe shared for these sausages but some old information basically stating that they are 85% Beef and 15% Pork and the beef mostly comes from the brisket points.  They are simply seasoned with only salt, black pepper, and cayenne.  I can attest that they way them make them ends in an excellent, but VERY fatty sausage.  I couldn't in good conscience make a sausage that fatty, so I used both the flat and point from a whole, somewhat lean brisket.  For the pork I used simple shoulder meat.  There is also some speculation that they use a cereal binder....this may have a lot to do with the texture.  

For a 10lb batch I used:

8.5 lb beef brisket
1.5 lb pork shoulder
2.2 oz coarse Kosher salt
1t. cayenne pepper
About 3.5 T. coarse black pepper
14 grams cure #1
1.5 cups of water mixed with 2 oz dry milk powder

I was conflicted on the pepper...some mixes called for way more...like 2 oz.  Some way less.  I weighed out 2 oz. and it looked like about 2 pounds so I got scared to add this much!  I started with only about 1.5 T. but added about 2 T. more but was afraid to over spice it.

The brisket flat













Brisket.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






The point already cubed up.













Cut Up Brisket.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






I added and mixed all seasoning minus water and milk powder to the cubed meat and put it back in the fridge to set overnight.

Pulled it out the next day and ground it twice through a medium plate then back in the fridge till later in the day.  Then I added the water and milk powder slurry and stuffed into pork casing. 

This is an older picture of stuffing some pork sausage but I thought I'd throw it in for effect!













Stuffing Kielbasa.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






I usually like traditional links tied with string but I thought I'd try to do something different...I thought you had to be a real old European sausage maker to link sausages but if I can now do it I am certain anyone can!













Fancy Links.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






I threw the stuffed sausage back in the fridge overnight and pulled it out early the next morning to let the casings dry off at room temp for a little over an hour.













Air Dried.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






Then into my smokehouse for about 4-5 hours of oak smoke running between 120F and 140F.  I just let them roll until I liked the color.  Almost done here.













Hanging in Smokehouse.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






This is what works the magic!













Oak Fire.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






Just out of the smokehouse.













Out of the Smoker.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






I got one of these old roasters to use for poaching and it worked really well...I have the water set around 165F and poached these sausages to 154F internal temperature.













Poaching.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






Then into an ice bath.













20140104-Ice Bath-2-2.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






Then let them bloom for a couple hours.













20140104-Blooming-2-2.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






Finished product after cooling again overnight.













20140106-Money Shot-2-2.jpg



__ tdimler
__ Jan 6, 2014






I grilled some yesterday to test it all out and I'm very happy with the results.  The pepper was a bit light and I would put at least 6T. next time.  The texture of the Lockhart sausage is what I can't seem to get, but I may try the cereal binder next time and see what that does...but if it takes simply more fat I'm not going that direction!  The whole process was much better than any of my previous sausage.  It's beginning to get easier and more fun thanks to practice and suggestions from others that have done it a lot more than me!

Travis


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## foamheart

Oh man, those look great! The color in the picture in the smoker was over the top!

I realized you were a pro when I saw those specialized custom made rebar rods...... J/K

Great looking sausage, and I have eaten down south of Austin also, all that is sausage country for sure, all that good German influence! Next you'll be telling me its Kolachee country..... Mmmmmm


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## tdimler

Foamheart said:


> I realized you were a pro when I saw those specialized custom made rebar rods...... J/K


Hey now......those are HAND PAINTED rebar rods!!!


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## boykjo

Sausage looks great... Nice job...........


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## woodcutter

Mahogany is my favorite color. Nice job!


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## driedstick

Wow those look great very nice job. - Great color. sounds very Yummy


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## Dutch

Great looking sausage! On beef sausage I really don't care for a lot of fat but on the other hand gotta love the fat in pork sausage. 
 I need to find me a local source for cure #1. I can get it from Butcher-Packer but they want more for shipping than the cure costs.


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## tdimler

Dutch said:


> Great looking sausage! On beef sausage I really don't care for a lot of fat but on the other hand gotta love the fat in pork sausage.
> I need to find me a local source for cure #1. I can get it from Butcher-Packer but they want more for shipping than the cure costs.


You might try Amazon...that's where I get mine.

TD


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## darwin101

Dutch said:


> Great looking sausage! On beef sausage I really don't care for a lot of fat but on the other hand gotta love the fat in pork sausage.
> I need to find me a local source for cure #1. I can get it from Butcher-Packer but they want more for shipping than the cure costs.


Check out The Sausage Maker, it list free shipping if you are not in a hurry.  

 http://www.sausagemaker.com/curesandcultures.aspx

Here is another with free shipping

 http://www.myspicesage.com/prague-powder-number-1-p-925.html


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## crankybuzzard

Next time you have a go at it, grind first through your course plate, and then 2nd grind with the medium plate, that may help.  Also, some bread crumbs may assist.

Charlie


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## papa chops

Lookin Good! Nice color and smooth texture. I like Your chair set up too, good idea


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## Dutch

@ TD & Darwin-thanks for the info guys, I'll be checking them out.


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## Dutch

Got me some Cure #1 ordered from sausage maker-will probably see it in about 10 days.  Meanwhile in the mailbox yesterday was a book that Ma Dutch ordered for me. Ma saw me looing at it on Amazon back in October. I guess she didn't see me looking at Rytek's book. . . .


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## daniel robinson

Do you rinse the "cure #1" after the next day!  I thought that stuff was poison if eaten....  I'm curious on this as I want to make sausage I have bought all the hardware to get started!


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## bigwheel

Nice looking links. Yall need to find some stuff at the grocery store called Morton's Tender Quick. Just use it for the salt ration. Works like a charm. Aint been no steekne modern cure..insta cure Prague powder nonsense in my pantry for many moons.


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## mdboatbum

bigwheel said:


> Nice looking links. Yall need to find some stuff at the grocery store called Morton's Tender Quick. Just use it for the salt ration. Works like a charm. Aint been no steekne modern cure..insta cure Prague powder nonsense in my pantry for many moons.


"Just use it for the salt ration."   Not exactly. Read the label and use the amount specified for the amount of meat or brine you're making, then alter your recipe to suit the HUGE amount of salt in MTQ.

"steekne modern cure..insta cure Prague powder nonsense" as you call it allows you to keep the original recipe and simply add the appropriate amount of cure for the amount of meat. In other words, YOU control the salt and sugar content, rather than the manufacturer of the cure.


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## foamheart

Dutch said:


> Got me some Cure #1 ordered from sausage maker-will probably see it in about 10 days. Meanwhile in the mailbox yesterday was a book that Ma Dutch ordered for me. Ma saw me looing at it on Amazon back in October. I guess she didn't see me looking at Rytek's book. . . .


But this is the book you now wanted the most, right?


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## disco

That is great looking sausage. I have the book that was second choice. Learned quite a bit from it but have picked up more from these forums.

Disco


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## dls1

tdimler said:


> I grilled some yesterday to test it all out and I'm very happy with the results.  The pepper was a bit light and I would put at least 6T. next time.  The texture of the Lockhart sausage is what I can't seem to get, but I may try the cereal binder next time and see what that does...but if it takes simply more fat I'm not going that direction!  The whole process was much better than any of my previous sausage.  It's beginning to get easier and more fun thanks to practice and suggestions from others that have done it a lot more than me!
> Travis


Some time ago, a friend of mine in Houston told me he came across a recipe for the sausage in an old cookbook entitled "Texas On A Half Shell", on something similar to that. From what I understand, the book is a compilation of recipes for dishes and food items famous throughout the State, and that the sausage recipe was the original submitted by Smitty himself. I've never made the sausage myself nor had the sausage my friend makes, but he considers it a close, if not exact, duplicate.

Basically, the meat ratio given is 9:1, beef cuts to pork, with the overall fat content not to exceed 20%. To the total weight of the combined meats, commercial cereal binder is added at a level of 3%. Added for each pound of meat are1 teaspoon each of salt and cracked black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne. The meat is run through the coarse plate twice, then stuffed. Beyond that, the recipe just says to barbeque the sausage for 45 minutes.

I can't verify any of this, but if you're in the mood to experiment, you may want to give it a try.


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## bad santa

Here is the recipe from  Smitty's that dis 1 was referring to...

From the book, “Texas on the Half Shell” c 1982 

Smitty’s Sausage 
9 pounds assorted beef cuts 
1 pound assorted pork cuts 
1/3 pound cereal binder 
sausage casings  

“The secret to good sausage making is good meat. It’s not what you put in, but what you leave out.’ Smitty must leave out the right stuff because the sausages he sells at Kruez Market in Lockhart are some of the finest in the world. Here is his recipe as told to us: ‘The meat has to be good. Use a meat mixture of 90% beef and 10% pork. There should not be more than a 20% fat content overall. Sprinkle a liberal amount of salt and black and red pepper over the cut-up meat. For a 100 pound batch of sausages, add three pounds (3% of total weight) of commercial cereal binder (binder is made from flour, corn, wheat, rice, rye, etc. It is available from most butcher supply stores). Run the mixture through coarse ground hamburger plates twice. stuff it into sausage casings and barbecue for about 45 minutes. Good luck.”-- “Smitty”


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## bdskelly

Dutch said:


> Got me some Cure #1 ordered from sausage maker-will probably see it in about 10 days. Meanwhile in the mailbox yesterday was a book that Ma Dutch ordered for me. Ma saw me looing at it on Amazon back in October. I guess she didn't see me looking at Rytek's book. . . .


Dutch

I bought this one on ebay and got it for half the price.  It's pretty darn good. 













photo.JPG



__ bdskelly
__ Feb 27, 2014


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## billyj571

Nice looking sausage. Thanks for the recipe gona try that sounds real good.


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## bigwheel

Wow thanks Santa. Got it copied. Hope you and Mrs. Santa have been well. As think we have chatted previously I had only one encounter with them world famous Hill Country sausages consisting of when the nice neighbor form Austin decided to snag us some januine Elgin Hot guts. Was by far the greasiest nastiest gut bombs I ever seen till been tricked into buying some E. Texas Pittsburgh Hotlinks. Now talk about nasty..whew. No wonder they eat mostly grits in that area. They should follow Smitty's Recipe. Now you can cut the cereal binder on my portion..and just a little more fat.


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## bad santa

Howdy bigwheel, good seeing you around again. Sadly Mrs. Santa passed away 2 years back but all in all I can't complain. Still alive and kicking...


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## bigwheel

Deepest condolences on that sad news. Prayers of comfort headed upwards for you and yours.

Been making any cookoffs? They had good a shot in the local paper about one of the recent big ones in Jouston. It looked mighty smokey around there..just as most folks claimed it tended to get I think.


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## bad santa

As a matter of fact bigwheel, Gordo and myself are doing a ribcook this weekend at the local watering hole...

apologies, wasn't intending to hijack thread...


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## bigwheel

Well kindly tell him hi from us and try not to let him drink up all your Pabst. Best of fortunes on the competition.


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## Dutch

@ Foamheart- I really wanted Rytek's book but I'm finding interesting information in the book. Ma found a recipe for Gyros that she's be pestering me to make.

@ Brian (BD) nice find on that book.  I have that on my Amazon wishlist; I'll have to check out ebay.


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## alblancher

I found the cereal binder as described at "The Sausage Source".  Doesn't seem to be the same as the more currently used soy based binders.

Do you think they are the same?  I've never needed a binder because I normally make pork sausage and boudins. 

May give this a try,  saves me a trip to Texas!


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## hoity toit

Very nice job on twisting the links. I use non fat powdered dry milk as a binder in the ones I make and your recipe is dang close to the old style. look in Rytek Kutas book as there are some very good old-time but basic recipes that are tried and proven,. I would say that book IS the bible of sausage making.  (and what do I know..heck i'm from New Braunfels)

HT


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## joshdura

Sorry for the late bump. I actually made this exact recipe this weekend. Tried a bit more pepper though, went with 5 tablespoons and it ended up a little bit more peppery than I would have liked. I would probably go with 3-4 next time. Overall though, it turned out great. Thanks for the recipe and the idea. Pictures below.

Grinding the meat:













photo 3.JPG



__ joshdura
__ Jun 15, 2014






Linked up:













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__ joshdura
__ Jun 15, 2014






The final product:













photo 1.JPG



__ joshdura
__ Jun 15, 2014


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## darwin101

Good lookin sausage, I can see the pepper


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## palladini

Dutch said:


> Great looking sausage! On beef sausage I really don't care for a lot of fat but on the other hand gotta love the fat in pork sausage.
> I need to find me a local source for cure #1. I can get it from Butcher-Packer but they want more for shipping than the cure costs.


Hey Dutch, is there TSC store anywhere in you neck of the continent?  If so, pay them a visit.  My local TSC carries all kinds of LEM seasonings and gadgets.  That is where I can get Casings, Cure #1, seasonings of all kinds, great place for the sausage making nut in the community.






	

		
			
		

		
	
Or 
	

		
			
		

		
	






	

		
			
		

		
	
 in the USA


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## neoo

This is the post that led me to SMF for the first time a couple days ago. I googled "Lockhart sausage recipe". Gonna give it a try within a couple weeks. Will post results w/ pics.


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## valtone1

Hello - are you speaking of Black pepper of Cayenne in this recipe that needs to be 3-4 Tblspoons next time ?


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## hoity toit

joshdura said:


> Sorry for the late bump. I actually made this exact recipe this weekend. Tried a bit more pepper though, went with 5 tablespoons and it ended up a little bit more peppery than I would have liked. I would probably go with 3-4 next time. Overall though, it turned out great. Thanks for the recipe and the idea. Pictures below.
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You nailed it. Looks right on the money.


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## countryboy-q

tdimler said:


> You might try Amazon...that's where I get mine.
> 
> TD


You can use Watsons.  That's where o get most of my stuff from.


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## countryboy-q

The T is that Tablespoon or teaspoon?


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## indaswamp

There is a youtube of one of those establishments stating in fact that they do use bull flour in the mix as a binder. The proprietor stated that years ago, they tried to switch to milk powder and soy flour, but the texture and moisture content got out of whack so they went bac to the original recipe and still use bull flour.


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## indaswamp

On the grilling-

Aaron Franklin says that cooking beef links made with beef fat-they must be cooked on a grill @275~300* for 30~45 minutes to render out the brisket fat, otherwise you end up with lumps of beef fat when eating it....


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## indaswamp

alblancher said:


> I found the cereal binder as described at "The Sausage Source".  Doesn't seem to be the same as the more currently used soy based binders.
> 
> Do you think they are the same?  I've never needed a binder because I normally make pork sausage and boudins.
> 
> May give this a try,  saves me a trip to Texas!


This is the binder referred to in texas hot link sausages..

https://www.spokanespice.com/itemdetail.php?id=113&secid=93


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## dward51

Indaswamp said:


> This is the binder referred to in texas hot link sausages..
> 
> https://www.spokanespice.com/itemdetail.php?id=113&secid=93


Man I have not seen a recipe that called for "bull flour" in sausage in a while.  That is old school for sure.


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## indaswamp

alblancher said:


> I found the cereal binder as described at "The Sausage Source".  Doesn't seem to be the same as the more currently used soy based binders.
> 
> Do you think they are the same?  I've never needed a binder because I normally make pork sausage and boudins.
> 
> May give this a try,  saves me a trip to Texas!


This is the binder referred to in texas hot link sausages..


dward51 said:


> Indaswamp said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is the binder referred to in texas hot link sausages..
> 
> https://www.spokanespice.com/itemdetail.php?id=113&secid=93
> 
> 
> 
> Man I have not seen a recipe that called for "bull flour" in sausage in a while.  That is old school for sure.
Click to expand...

One of the absolute best moisture retainers and sausage binders made for the home sausage maker. Definitely an oldey but a goody.


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## ApopkaDave

indaswamp said:


> This is the binder referred to in texas hot link sausages..
> 
> One of the absolute best moisture retainers and sausage binders made for the home sausage maker. Definitely an oldey but a goody.


Some of the old books describe bull flour as 1/2 wheat flour and the rest equal measures of corn, rye, and rice flours.  I made a test batch using *tdimler's* lockhart sausage with 860 g well-trimmed chuck ($2.99/lb on sale at Winn Dixie!), 150 g unsmoked pork belly from Costco, Alderwood smoked salt (I don't have a smoker, but smoke is smoke), Prague #2, the peppers, and binder as all-purpose flour, cornstarch, rye flour and rice flour. Hog casings. Under ice for 2 hours. Sous vide one hour at 65 degrees C, then to the grill on indirect heat.  Wonderful. The last time I ate at Kreuz and Blacks was over 25 years ago when we lived in Austin. Memories fade, but this is a keeper.

Why would this binder work? I suppose the flour mixes with the fat and water to make a roux. The cornstarch is a well-known thickener in cooking. Rye flour makes a sticky mess mixed with water.  I have no clue that the rice flour does.


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## petewoody

ApopkaDave said:


> Some of the old books describe bull flour as 1/2 wheat flour and the rest equal measures of corn, rye, and rice flours.  I made a test batch using *tdimler's* lockhart sausage with 860 g well-trimmed chuck ($2.99/lb on sale at Winn Dixie!), 150 g unsmoked pork belly from Costco, Alderwood smoked salt (I don't have a smoker, but smoke is smoke), Prague #2, the peppers, and binder as all-purpose flour, cornstarch, rye flour and rice flour. Hog casings. Under ice for 2 hours. Sous vide one hour at 65 degrees C, then to the grill on indirect heat.  Wonderful. The last time I ate at Kreuz and Blacks was over 25 years ago when we lived in Austin. Memories fade, but this is a keeper.
> 
> Why would this binder work? I suppose the flour mixes with the fat and water to make a roux. The cornstarch is a well-known thickener in cooking. Rye flour makes a sticky mess mixed with water.  I have no clue that the rice flour does.


Not sure why you would use Prague #2. If, as I understand it, you are cooking immediately over high heat you really don't need cure at all. If you were slow cooking it over a low heat or cold smoking it the Cure # 1 should be used. Cure #2 is used for curing meats over a longer period e.g. salumi.


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## ApopkaDave

I just happened to have Prague #2 in my pantry which is why I used it, and was following the recipe. I agree there is no good reason to use it in this case where the sausage is cooked and eaten/frozen right away.  

I did not know the difference between #1 and #2. I just now read up on the two on Wikipedia and also on this forum: Prague Powder #1 vs Prague Powder #2 by smokinhusker.

Thanks, petewoody.


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