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Home » Charcuterie » Fresh Sausage » Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage

Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage

April 11, 2020 by Victor @ Taste of Artisan 40 Comments

This jalapeno cheddar sausage is the result of several experiments to create the juiciest, meatiest, cheesiest and the most flavorful southern-style sausage. Let me tell you, the end result is one of the most exciting sausages I've ever tried.

Stuffed jalapeno cheddar sausage.

After some trial and error, I settled on a 40/40/20 mix of beef, pork, and smoked bacon, studded with jalapenos, salt, and coarsely ground black pepper. I also added some onion and garlic for their savory notes, sage for its earthiness and warmth, and mustard for its sharpness and pungency. All work so well together in this recipe.

Jalapeno cheddar sausage mix.

This sausage is incredibly juicy. I used fattier pork but trimmings, which are about 65/35 meat to fat ratio. This is higher than I would normally use for any kind of sausage but it works in this recipe. Combined with the rest of the ingredients, you don't even notice the fattiness of the pork. Instead, every bite is full of meaty, cheesy, juicy goodness.

Stuffing sausage into hog casings.

I stuff my jalapeno cheddar sausage into standard 28mm - 32mm hog casings. The recipe below will require about 8 feet of the casings.

I normally smoke this sausage low and slow at 225F until the internal temperature reaches 165F. This takes about an hour to an hour and a half. You can go even higher if you want the sausage to take in more smoke. I've cooked this sausage to as high as 195F and it still remained quite moist, albeit not as juicy as when cooked to 165F.

If you want to make this sausage very smoky and exceptionally juicy, the best way is to smoke it at below 200F for two hours, then crank up the heat to about 250F to finish it off.

Other ways to cook this sausage include air frying, frying on a pan or grilling. Even baking. I am sure you will enjoy this sausage no matter how it's cooked.

Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage

4.67 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: smoked jalapeno cheddar sausage
Calories:
Author: Victor

Ingredients

  • 1 lb pork butt slightly fattier pieces are recommended, about 35% fat
  • 1 lb beef chuck recommended
  • 1/2 lb smoked bacon diced or chopped
  • 4 jalepeno peppers cored, seeded and diced
  • 1/2 lb sharp cheddar diced
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper coarseley ground
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp mustard powder
  • 1/4 tsp sage dried
  • 1 cup ice water

Instructions

  • Cut the beef and the pork into 1"-1.5" pieces, keeping the two separately and ensuring that the meat stays below 40F at all times.
  • Grind the beef through a 3/8" (10mm) plate and the pork through a 1/4" (6mm) plate.
  • Add the salt, the spices, the water, and mix well until the meat is sticky.
  • Fold in the jalapeno peppers and the cheese, making sure that they are distributed evenly.
  • Stuff into hog casings, tie off the ends and twist into 6" links.
  • Smoke over oak or hickory until the internal temperature is at least 165F. You can also cook this sausage on a grill, air fryer or a pan.

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    Recipe Rating




     

  1. Jim

    December 26, 2022 at 3:29 pm

    I'm new to making sausage but have made your polish kielbasa twice and it came out excellent. Trying this one tomorrow but how does the sausage stay red if there's no pink salt in it? Might be dumb a question but I'm still figuring all of this out

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      December 26, 2022 at 9:02 pm

      Jim, happy to hear about your results. The sausage that you see in the pictures is freshly made and uncooked, the meat will be pink at this stage, but will promptly turn greyish once cooked... unless you add pink salt, as you noted. Good luck!

      Reply
  2. kevin

    November 18, 2022 at 4:04 am

    is it best to use high temp cheese or can I use regular block cheese cubed? Cost is so much higher with high temp cheese, but dont want to sacrifice the quality of end product. Thanks

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      November 18, 2022 at 5:51 pm

      Kevin, I've never bothered using high temp one, only regular and it works great for me. I just care about the taste. If the cheese tastes good, it's good to be in my sausage. Good luck.

      Reply
  3. Steve

    January 01, 2022 at 3:13 pm

    So if I smoke below the 200 deg at first do I substitute the pink salt for the kosher and the measurment?

    Thanks,
    Steve

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      January 01, 2022 at 4:19 pm

      Yes, for smoking below 200F it's recommended to use Cure #1 (5g or 1 level tsp per 5 lbs of meat) for protection against botulism. It slows down the growth of other pathogenic bacteria as well. So, just calculate how much Cure #1 you need, then substitute the equal amount of salt with it. You can mix the meat with salt, spices and a little bit of water very well, stuff, dry and smoke right away or cut the meat into 2" cubes rub with salt and Cure#1 mixture and cure for 24-48 hours, then grind mix with spices, stuff, dry and smoke. You can use my Hot Links Sausage as an example.

      Reply
      • Steve

        January 02, 2022 at 1:38 pm

        Great, thanks

      • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

        January 02, 2022 at 6:43 pm

        You are welcome.

  4. Rick

    December 26, 2021 at 8:53 pm

    Recipe looks great!! At what temperature do you smoke the sausages?? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      December 26, 2021 at 10:03 pm

      I do it a couple of different ways, I wrote about them in the post. The usual 225F temperature will do.

      Reply
  5. Jen M

    August 07, 2021 at 3:51 am

    Would it be possible to use something other than the bacon. I have a low sodium lifestyle and bacon is way too much. Also going to attempt with a bit less salt. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      August 11, 2021 at 1:37 pm

      You can substitute it with pork belly or pork butt and optionally add some liquid smoke if you want the smokiness that smoked bacon would have added.

      Reply
  6. Antso

    June 01, 2021 at 5:54 pm

    Can you use milk powder and pink salt or is it not needed?

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      June 17, 2021 at 12:33 am

      You can add powdered milk. Pink salt is needed when smoking Polish-style at temps below 200F (I smoke at about 135F) which can take several hours, to prevent pathogenic bacteria from growing. If smoking at above 200F, like on a smoker at 225F - 250F, you don't need it as the target temp will be reached fairly quickly. In general, adding pink salt improves the flavor and the color too... and the sausage definitely keeps longer in the fridge if you use pink salt.

      Reply
  7. Bill

    April 23, 2021 at 8:05 pm

    Going to try your recipe except i will be using pork shoulder and venison . using canning salt. Which would be better, fresh or frozen for storage. Thank you Bill

    Reply
  8. Dee

    February 20, 2021 at 10:50 pm

    First try at sausage making, and chose this recipe. They came out great! Really delicious .This recipe is a keeper! : )

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      February 22, 2021 at 11:52 pm

      Glad you liked it. Enjoy!

      Reply
  9. KobusCoetzer

    February 12, 2021 at 5:22 am

    I love chilly's in all my food

    Reply
  10. John

    February 08, 2021 at 7:05 pm

    Where can i get the casing

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      March 27, 2021 at 1:09 pm

      Hi Johh, sorry about the delay with my response. You can get the casings at your local butcher shops or even supermarkets just ask at the meat counter. They normally make their own sausage so have plenty of casings on hand to sell if you ask. You can also buy online - Amazon, The Sausage Maker, Butcher Packer, etc.

      Reply
  11. Kyle Rutherford

    December 23, 2020 at 1:27 pm

    Really good! Used the recipe verbatim and quite pleased. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      December 24, 2020 at 5:37 pm

      You are very welcome, Kyle. I will be posting more fresh sausage recipes in the near future, some are exceptionally good. Please, subscribe and give them a try.

      Reply
  12. Teeta

    December 21, 2020 at 4:58 am

    Greetings Victor,
    Your recipes look absolutely incredible. My fascination for culinary found this particular recipe especially appealing and intriguing. I unfortunately don’t however have a smoker. That being said was curious if this could go in the refrigerator to dry then vacuum sealed and put in freezer until ready to cook and serve? I’m not sure of the contamination factor between beef and pork by doing that hence not certain if possible. Perhaps your expertise could advise? Your time and consideration is greatly appreciated.

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      December 24, 2020 at 11:15 pm

      Hi Teeta, thank you for the kind words. You absolutely can freeze this sausage than thaw and cook when ready to consume. If you don't have a smoker, cook it on a cast-iron pan, like this pan-fried bratwurst. Cross-contamination is a problem when meats are cooked separately to different temps for example, or one is cooked and the other isn't. In this case, you will be cooking the sausage to 165F, which is a safe internal temp for any ground meats - pork, beef, chicken... cross-contamination is not a problem here.

      Reply
  13. Steph

    December 08, 2020 at 4:53 pm

    Do you precook the jalapeños? Excited to try the recipe!
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      December 08, 2020 at 8:19 pm

      No, no need to pre-cook jalapenos.

      Reply
  14. matt

    October 20, 2020 at 1:22 pm

    Hello, I am going to attempt this recipe with venison. I have 5 lbs of venison I will be using. I am looking for some recommendation...
    If I was not to use venison and stick to the recipe as is I would be making approximately 10 lbs. How do I calculate this. Times each ingredient by how much.. Math is not my strong suit.lol Thanks

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      October 31, 2020 at 6:24 pm

      Hi Matt, sorry for the delay with my response. The recipe as written will give you about 3.5 lbs of sausage. To get to the total output of 10 lbs, you'd need to multiply each ingredient by 3. If you have 5 lbs of venison, I assume you will be substituting beef for venison and keeping pork and bacon - you should to get tasty sausage, then multiply the rest of the ingredients by 5, e.g. 5 lbs of pork, 2.5 lbs of bacon, 20 jalapeno peppers, etc. Does this make sense?

      Reply
    • Agmy

      January 17, 2021 at 12:28 am

      If you wanted to use venison only, you most definitely need to add fat. Venison is too lean by itself to make into sausage. When I was young, my family frequently hunted deer and we would butcher it in our kitchen. We would take the venison scraps that were too small to use for other things and combine it with beef fat that we got for free from the meat market at the grocery store to make 'hamburger'. I was manning the grinder, just stuffing in fat with the meat (but not too much), so that it was probably 20% fat. I don't know how much fat you want for the sausage though.

      Reply
  15. Carol

    October 18, 2020 at 7:07 pm

    How would I multiply these ingredients to yield 50 pounds of sausage?
    I would love to make it tomorrow so if you’re able will you email me back ASAP!
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      October 18, 2020 at 7:47 pm

      Carol, to get to 50 lbs of total sausage output, you will need to multiply each ingredient roughly 14 times. E.g. 14 lbs of pork, 14lbs of beef, 7 lbs of smoked bacon, 56 jalapeno peppers, 7 tsp garlic powder, etc.

      Reply
  16. Bob

    October 15, 2020 at 8:45 am

    Hi, looking great. after smoking at below 200 and finished at 250, I should put it in ice water? If not why is that?
    Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      October 16, 2020 at 12:14 pm

      Hi Bob, you want to put cooked sausage in ice water to quickly stop the melting of fat. Giving smoked sausage a cold shower also softens up the skin. It will, however, remove some of the smoky flavor. Another way is to leave the sausage on a cool/cold counter (it helps if it's granite or marble), then refrigerate. Both ways are fine, I guess it depends on personal preference. Take a look at my Swojska kielbasa recipe. I have pictures where you can see some fat melted, then after the sausage cools down and stays in the fridge for a little, it's pretty much back to normal and tastes great.

      Reply
  17. Alvin Robinson

    August 21, 2020 at 11:27 am

    I see that you didn't add cure #1 and smoked to 165* .

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      September 08, 2020 at 2:12 am

      Alvin, I posted this a 'fresh sausage' recipe hence no cure #1 and cooking to 165F. If I wanted to smoke it low and slow below 200F, like Polish kielbasa, say at 130F - 140F, I'd add cure #1 and cook to 154F.

      Reply
  18. Tich

    July 08, 2020 at 7:42 pm

    Great recipe.....thank you. Can I triple or more this recipe as it is if I wanted to make a bigger quantity ?

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      July 09, 2020 at 12:17 am

      Yes, you can. Just multiply the ingredients by the factor you want to increase your batch.

      Reply
  19. Michelle

    June 20, 2020 at 10:52 pm

    Do you add the bacon in raw or parcooked?

    Reply
    • Victor @ Taste of Artisan

      June 20, 2020 at 11:21 pm

      Raw. It will cook together with the meat.

      Reply
      • Michelle

        June 20, 2020 at 11:22 pm

        That's what I was thinkin', but I'm new to this sausage making biz. Thanks so much! Can't wait to try it. 🙂

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