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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
E- says
Did a double batch of these for Super Bowl. I had 2.5# beef chuck so just threw it in there with the 2# of pork and 1# bacon, didn't seem to throw things off too much. I wish my jalapenos were a bit hotter, I might use Serranos next time or do half and half. The flavor is amazing, deep, rich and better than anything I have bought in the store. I did run into an issue with tough casings, so I need to figure that out but I just had to chew on these a bit longer and enjoy the taste. 🙂 Definitely will make again, thank you for this recipe!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
You are very welcome. Glad you liked my recipe. Enjoy! And try my other recipes 🙂
Rob says
If I was going to use pork jowls instead of pork butt how much would I use ?any advice is much appreciated ty
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Rob, fat to meat ration in pork jowls is much higher than in pork butts. I would only use them as a supplement. The goal is to get 30-35% fat and 70-65% lean meat. Good luck!
Leon Heffernan says
Can you give the reicp for a 10 lb batch
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
I wrote the recipe for 2.5 lbs of meat. If you want 10 lbs, simply multiply by 4.
Olga Garcia says
I’m going to need powder milk to make this type of sausages ?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
You don't have to. I don't normally use it and have a perfect binding. Just make sure to mix well, until the meat is sticky. That's all. Good luck!
Adrianne Mock says
Could this work with wild hog or venison? I know they're much leaner, but adding beef fat might help.
We have a lot of venison and wild hog.
Thanks.
Recipe looks AMAZING
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Thank you. Yes, it will work with wild hog and venison. With lean game meat, adding some pork fat is the best way to go, IMHO. 25-30% total fat would be ideal. You could use beef fat but I much prefer pork fat. Good luck!
Shawn Carter says
If I’m understand the recipe correctly, this calls for 2.5lbs of meat. I’m using venison and pork belly only a 70-30 ratio. So to do 5lbs I would double up the recipe of Ingrediants?? And could I use high temp cheddar cheese instead or fresh cheese better? I don’t want the weird chalky cheese taste. And never used high temp before so didn’t know if that would do that or not. Thank you
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Shawn, yes, you can scale the recipe however you want, double, tripe, etc. And yes, you can use high temp cheddar. I don't know about the 'weird chalky taste', the only difference I know is one holds it's shape better than the other during high temp cooking but regular cheddar works just fine in this recipe as well. Good luck!
Ferdinand says
You mentioned, "If you intend to smoke it low and slow, at temps below 200F for several hours, then you need to add it." How much cure#1 do you need to add to it? Or do you have a recommended percentage based on meat weight?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
It's 1g per lb of meat, or 1 level tsp per 5lbs of meat.
Mathew Riva says
Do you feed the once ground meat and now new mixture back through the grinder to stuff the casings?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
No, I use a sausage stuffer, but you could use a grinder fitted with a stuffing tube, some grinders allow that.
Christine D. says
Decided to make this recipe before I was able to obtain any casings. No problem though, I was able to get 10 patties out of this batch. We grilled some up tonight and they are Delicious! This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Glad to hear it, Christine. Enjoy!
Vince says
You didn’t add any cure why?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
It's a fresh sausage, no need for cure #1. If you intend to smoke it low and slow, at temps below 200F for several hours, then you need to add it.
Kam Milly says
I would like to thnkx for this excellent recipe, the sausage came out perfect. I will be making it again soon.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Enjoy!
Marco says
I tried several excellent chedder sausage recipes and this one is clearly the best one. Thank you very much for sharing!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Enjoy!
Robert says
I have made your Italian sausage a few times before and am making this Jalapeno and Cheddar today.
Your recipes have inspired me and would like to thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I am a pitmaster and don't know why it has taken me this long too make sausage, thank you for the inspiration.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
You are very welcome, Robert. Glad you like my recipes. I will be posting more over time so please subscribe. Well-made sausage is such a treat.
Patrick Alan weathers says
.a little cheesey but very good
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
LOL Enjoy!
Donna R Doolittle says
Can you make this w/o casing? Cook as you would ground pork for using in recipes or to make sausage patties? TY
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Yes, you can. We often when we make sausage reserve some and fry up as patties. Try to tuck large peices of cheese inside so they don't melt and ooze out while you are frying the patties. It might help to grind/cut the meat a little finer if frying as patties. Enjoy!
Judy Kendrick says
What is the ice water for?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
To help distribute the spices evenly. Also helps keep the meat cold during mixing.
Matt says
Can't wait to make this recipe. I'm new to sausage making and love doing it. My parents loved my first bath So I want to make them more. I'm going to make this recipe for my dad (he will love it).
My mom loves apple and gouda sausage from a local market so I was thinking about making another batch for her and substituting the apples in place of jalapenos. Have you had any experience with apples in sausage?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Sounds like a great plan, Matt. I've never used apples in my sausages, but I don't see why not. I think something like Granny Smith will also add some tartness, which will enahnce the taste. Good luck!
Jim says
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
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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!
kevin says
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
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Don't Drew. Sr says
That looks good and great to have to eat...
Steve says
So if I smoke below the 200 deg at first do I substitute the pink salt for the kosher and the measurment?
Thanks,
Steve
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Steve says
Great, thanks
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
You are welcome.
Rick says
Recipe looks great!! At what temperature do you smoke the sausages?? Thanks!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
I do it a couple of different ways, I wrote about them in the post. The usual 225F temperature will do.
Jen M says
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?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Antso says
Can you use milk powder and pink salt or is it not needed?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Bill says
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
Dee says
First try at sausage making, and chose this recipe. They came out great! Really delicious .This recipe is a keeper! : )
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Glad you liked it. Enjoy!
KobusCoetzer says
I love chilly's in all my food
John says
Where can i get the casing
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Kyle Rutherford says
Really good! Used the recipe verbatim and quite pleased. Thank you!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Teeta says
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.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Steph says
Do you precook the jalapeños? Excited to try the recipe!
Thank you!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
No, no need to pre-cook jalapenos.
matt says
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
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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?
Agmy says
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.
Carol says
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!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Bob says
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 🙂
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Alvin Robinson says
I see that you didn't add cure #1 and smoked to 165* .
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
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.
Tich says
Great recipe.....thank you. Can I triple or more this recipe as it is if I wanted to make a bigger quantity ?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Yes, you can. Just multiply the ingredients by the factor you want to increase your batch.
Michelle says
Do you add the bacon in raw or parcooked?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Raw. It will cook together with the meat.
Michelle says
That's what I was thinkin', but I'm new to this sausage making biz. Thanks so much! Can't wait to try it. 🙂