Name: Beef and Pork Sausage with Smoked Muenster
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 22 h
Yield: About 10 lbs, roughly 35 to 40 links
Ingredients: 5 lbs beef, cut into about 1-inch cubes; 5 lbs pork, cut into about 1-inch cubes; Hog casings (about 32-35mm), rinsed and soaked; 200 g Meat Church The Gospel All-Purpose rub; 70 g table salt; 12 g Prague powder no.1 (curing salt; check against the package label); 90 g nonfat dry milk powder; 12 oz ice cold water; 1 to 2 cups homemade smoked muenster, cut into about 1/4-inch cubes

Beef and Pork Sausage with Smoked Muenster

I've made this beef and pork sausage a few times now, and I think I've got the recipe pretty dialed in. These links have a crisp, juicy bite and tons of flavor, with pockets of my homemade smoked muenster all the way through.

The mix

It's 5 lbs of beef and 5 lbs of pork, cubed and run through a medium grind. Grind it twice if you want a smoother texture. Then I mix in ice cold water and the seasoning: The Gospel rub, table salt, Prague powder no.1 and nonfat dry milk powder. Keep everything cold, and get it extremely well mixed before the cheese goes in.

Stuffing and smoking

I stuff 5 lbs at a time into hog casings. Don't overfill them. Once a casing is full, pinch and twist each link, alternating the direction every time so they don't unravel. The links rest overnight, then get a cold smoke for about 4 to 5 hours, kept below 50°F and ideally lower.

After that, snip between the links. Freeze them for later, or hot smoke them at 200 to 250°F until they hit 160°F internal.

Watch the cook

Watch on TikTok

Beef

Beef and Pork Sausage with Smoked Muenster

Half beef, half pork sausage seasoned with The Gospel rub, studded with homemade smoked muenster, cold smoked and then finished on the smoker to 160°F.

Prep: 2 hours, plus overnight rest
Cook: 6 to 7 1/2 hours (cold smoke plus hot smoke)
Total: About 22 hours, including the overnight rest
Yield: About 10 lbs, roughly 35 to 40 links
Method: Cold smoked, then smoked
Wood: Your choice

Ingredients

Meat and casings

5 lbs beef, cut into about 1-inch cubes
5 lbs pork, cut into about 1-inch cubes
Hog casings (about 32-35mm), rinsed and soaked

Seasoning mix

200 g Meat Church The Gospel All-Purpose rub Get it
70 g table salt
12 g Prague powder no.1 (curing salt; check against the package label) Get it
90 g nonfat dry milk powder
12 oz ice cold water

Cheese

1 to 2 cups homemade smoked muenster, cut into about 1/4-inch cubes

Instructions

Rinse the hog casings and soak them in lukewarm water for about 30 minutes, then flush them with water.
Cut the beef and pork into roughly 1-inch cubes. Chill the meat and your grinder parts until very cold, about 30 minutes in the freezer.
Run the meat through a medium grind. Grind it a second time if you want a smoother texture.
Keeping the meat cold, add the 12 oz of ice cold water and the seasoning mix: The Gospel rub, table salt, Prague powder no.1 and nonfat dry milk powder. Mix until it's extremely well combined and tacky.
Only once the meat is fully mixed, fold in the cubed smoked muenster.
Stuff the sausage into the hog casings, about 5 lbs at a time. Don't overfill them.
Once a casing is full, pinch and twist into links, alternating the twist direction with each link so they don't unravel.
Let the links rest overnight, uncovered or loosely covered, in the refrigerator.
Cold smoke for about 4 to 5 hours, keeping the smoker below 50°F and ideally lower.
Snip between the links. Freeze them for later, or cook them right away.
To cook, smoke at 200 to 250°F until the sausages reach 160°F internal, about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Rest a few minutes, slice and serve.

Pitmaster Notes

Prague powder no.1 is a curing salt. Weigh it carefully and follow the package label for the right amount for your batch of meat.
Keep the meat, fat and equipment as cold as possible the whole time. Warm fat smears and gives you a crumbly texture.
Cold smoking doesn't cook the sausage. Keep the smoker below 50°F during the cold smoke, and always cook the links to 160°F internal before eating.
Because it's cured, this keeps a lot longer in the fridge than fresh sausage, about a week. I vacuum seal and freeze most of the batch so it stays fresh for months, then thaw links in the fridge before cooking.
Mixing the cheese in last keeps the cubes whole so you get pockets of melted muenster when you slice.