Well I did them today and they came out really well. Very complex flavor, different. But I like it. Look forward to firing up the grill and trying the links. Thanks for all the help!

Jonathon said in Smoked Gouda Ancho portobello blend:

73Saint I actually dont prefer belly in my sausage, the shoulder/butt has a harder, slightly better fat for sausage, but that is just my opinion. For sausage, the perfect mix (opinion) is 70 lean and 30 sausage but all pork shoulders/butts are different so it is more of a range than an exact amount so that is what the “pretty good” is based on, without a fat analyzer (cost around $700 new) you won’t be able to perfectly tell the fat content. Too high and you will have a greasy sausage that most of the extra fat has rendered out of anyway and too little will be a little dry and less flavorful

Yep the seasoning packet feels like a bail of hay! So, Jonathan, when you say “pretty good”…what ratio do you think would be “really good”. You think I should get a higher fat content? Maybe pork belly instead of shoulder? I have a local bacon business, I cure and smoke my own bacon, so pork belly, while more expensive, is readily available to me.

Awesome, this is great info Jonathon! Tells me what I need to know. I had planned to go 50/50 venison and pork shoulder. (Unless you think otherwise). Thanks again!

Hello all!
I am currently getting all of my necessary ingredients together, about to make a batch of the above mentioned sausage. I’ve grown accustomed to reading the folks on here’s reviews, for detailed information on particular batches. But the smoked Gouda mix doesn’t have any feedback at all, and I was hoping to hear from anyone who has tried this.

I noticed it says smoked sausage, but it doesn’t appear to come with cure, so that was one thing I was curious about. Also, I have some home made smoked Gouda that I considered adding to the mix, but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea or not (it’s not high temp, not really sure how much cheese is already in the blend). Any flavor enhancing seasonings suggested, or just as-is?

Basically any and all feedback on this particular sausage would be most greatly appreciated!

Rob

Jonathon I guess my confusion lies with the fact that I didn’t realize hot links were hot dogs. I was hoping to make a sausage, not a hot dog. Is the flavor profile for the hot links seasoning you sell that of a hot dog?

Thanks Jonathon! Ok, so if I don’t have cellulose (I was planning on using hog casings), should I wait? Or will hog casings (32-35mm) suffice?

My primary question is, should I triple grind the venison the same as the recommended triple grind of beef?

Also, the ingredients for the hot links includes citric acid. I know it’s different from ECA, but will this give my sausages a “tang”? I’m not really looking for that.

Thanks in advance, and any pointers by all means throw them my way! Thanks!!