Coarse Ground Beef Hotdogs
It’s wiener time and I’m ready to stuff some sausage. I like to use an overhand grip with my left hand to guide. I’ve seen other people use underhand grip. Whatever grip you like to use when handling tubed meat, get ready for a process.The type of hotdog I’m making is with coarse ground beef. This is not the same as a bologna-style hotdog that most people are used to. This is more sausage like in texture. I used about 3 lbs of chuck and 2 lbs of fatty beef trim that I’ve saved in the freezer. Since most people don’t save their meat trimmings, you can use just 5 lbs of fatty chuck. Cut the pieces into smaller strips. Place them on a baking sheet and freeze for just 30 minutes. This will make the grinding process easier.Since these are coarse ground hotdogs, you will need to use a coarse ground grinding plate. Grind the beef through 2 times. Mix in the seasonings and ice water. You will really want to make sure that the seasonings are mixed well into the meat, so I recommend mixing for at least 2 minutes. If you were going to make a bologna-style hotdog, you would add all of the meat to a food processor and purée to a smooth paste. Place the meat in the refrigerator until ready for stuffing.Hotdogs require the use of lamb casings. Any meat cutter will tell you that they are a huge pain in the ass to deal with. Make sure to soak them before hand. Stuff the sausage into the casings. Make sure to not over stuff them or the hotdogs will pop when twisting them. Speaking of twisting wieners; twist them around 6”to 8”. 6” hotdogs will be about 8 to 1 lb. My hotdogs were 8 to 1 1/4lbs; so just a little bigger. This recipe yielded me 32 hotdogs, or 4 packs if you were to by these at a grocery store. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. I used hickory wood chips for smoking. It is a good neutral flavored wood for smoking. Smoke the hotdogs until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees. This will take about 90 minutes. Let them completely cool before recooking, either on a grill, a sauté pan, or boiled in water. Or you can take a fork and go old school open stove top burner. Don’t act like you’ve never done that. No mother, I have no idea why the forks are charred to shit.
Equipment
- meat grinder
- sausage stuffer
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 5 lbs chuck cut into strips
- 3 tbsp ground mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp pink curing salt
- 1/2 tsp ground celery seeds
- 1 cup ice water
- lamb casings soaked
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together all of the hotdog seasonings. Set aside.
- Cut all of the beef into small strips. Place on a baking sheet and throw it in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will make grinding a little easier.
- Using a coarse ground plate, grind the beef through.
- Grind the beef through one more time.
- Mix in the seasonings and ice water into the ground beef. Mix well for 2 minutes. Place in the refrigerator until ready for use.
- Stuff the meat into the lamb casings. Make sure to not over stuff the hotdogs.
- Twist into your desired wiener length. This recipe yielded me 32 hotdogs.
- Place the wieners on your smoking rack.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the hotdogs in the smoker.
- Smoke the hotdogs until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees. This will take about 90 minutes.
