Homemade Grass-fed Beef Hot Dogs

Homemade Grass-fed beef hot dogs

This recipe makes about 30 - 6" sausages. The proper equipment will save you time and stuffing heartache! I recommend the KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the meat grinding attachment from Smokehouse and a vertical stuffer. I learned how to make these hot dogs from my friends over at Serious Eats. They feature 4505 Meats from San Francisco and I adapted their recipe to include a bit more complexity to the flavor profile. However, I love their home oven smoking technique. Check out our youtube page for a video on how we cooked up our dogs. Have fun!

COOK TIME | ACTIVE: 20 MINUTES - PASSIVE:  1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

PREP TIME: 60 MINUTES | SERVING SIZE: 25-30

Ingredients

  • 4 Pre Brands Chuck Roasts, cut into 1" cubes (this cut works perfectly) 
  • 1 Tbsp paprika
  • 2 Tbsp mustard powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp cayenne 
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp coriander
  • 2 Tbsp salt
  • Just over 1 cup ice chips
  • Sheep casings (24-26 mm)

Instructions

  1. Place chuck on rimmed baking sheet, transfer to the freezer, and chill until crunchy on the exterior but not frozen solid.
  2. In a small bowl, add the salt, paprika, granulated garlic, black pepper, mustard powder, cayenne, ginger, coriander and mix well. 
  3. Nest a large mixing bowl in a bowl filled with ice. Grind the meat and fat through the small die of the grinder into the bowl set in ice.
  4. Add the spice mixture to the meat and stir with your hands until well incorporated; the mixture will look homogenous and will begin sticking to the bowl.
  5. Transfer the meat to the bowl of a food processor, add half the ice water and process until all of the ice has dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the remaining crushed ice and continue processing until the mixture is completely smooth, 4 to 5 minutes more. Note: The temperature of your meat during this mixing step is critically important. Its temperature should never rise about 40°F/; work efficiently during this step of the process.
  6. Spoon 2 Tbsp of the meat mixture into a nonstick frying pan and spread into a thin patty. Cook the test patty over low heat until cooked through but not browned. Taste the sausage for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
  7. Using a stuffer or your kitchen aid attachment, stuff the sausage into the sheep casings and twist into links.
  8. If you do not have a smoker at home, you can use your oven! Simply, light apple wood chips with a lighter until fiery. Place them on the bottom rack of your oven. Place the links directly onto an oven rack above the smoking chips. Let them smoke in the oven for about 45 minutes or until fiery red. They may turn brown before they turn red and that's okay! Remove the sausages from the smoker or oven, let cool slightly, then transfer to the refrigerator and let stand, uncovered, overnight. The hot dogs are then fully cooked and can be finished on a grill or steamed. We like them steamed on the stovetop. 
  9. Serve with relish and mustard. If you're from Chicago, no ketchup. But, since we don't discriminate we'll allow you to put it on the side. Enjoy!