Texas Hot Guts
Hot guts are the Central Texas standard. Coarse-ground beef and pork, beef-forward, stuffed in natural casing and smoked over post oak until the skin snaps. No water bath, no shortcuts. You want that bite that breaks and floods your mouth with juice. This is how you get it.
- Method
- Offset smoke
- Total time
- 3 hr
- Target internal temp
- 160 to 165F
- Gear
- Offset smoker, Folding Tongs, instant-read
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Serves
- 8 to 10
Ingredients
- 5 lb coarse-ground sausage links (70/30 beef to pork), natural hog casing
- Post oak splits
- Yellow mustard and white bread, to serve
- Dill pickles and raw onion, to serve
The Cook
- 01
Build a clean fire and settle the pit at 250F. Thin blue smoke only. Dirty white smoke makes bitter sausage.
- 02
Hang or lay the links with space between them. Crowding steams the casing instead of smoking it.
- 03
Smoke 2 to 2.5 hr, rotating once so the side facing the firebox does not run hot. Do not poke the casing. Every hole leaks fat you wanted to keep.
- 04
Start checking internal at the 2 hr mark. Pull at 160 to 165F.
- 05
Rest 10 min. Cutting hot dumps the juice on your board, not in the link.
Doneness
160 to 165F internal. The casing should feel tight and give a clean snap when you bite. Juice runs clear with a little fat, not pink.
Pro Tip
The number one mistake is poking the links to vent steam. Leave them alone. Every hole bleeds out the fat and juice that make hot guts worth eating.
Questions
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Build The Kit
Two or more pieces.
10% off your order.
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