Jalapeño Cheddar Sausage Recipe
- Type
- Bratwurst
- Level
- Easy
- Rating
- Rate this recipe
In this post, I’ll show you how to make an American inspired jalapeño cheddar sausage of your own. It’s easy and super quick to make.
Grilling season has begun, and the jalapeño cheddar bratwurst is a great change of pace and perfect for a cookout.
If you’re interested in more great bratwurst recipes, my recipe book “24 Bratwurst Recipes for a Perfect Grilling Experience” is for you!
I also answered some general questions about making bratwurst in my post Making Bratwurst Yourself. Take a look there.
I use cheddar in my recipe. Want to use another cheese? No problem! Just replace the cheddar with the cheese of your choice. The amount remains the same.
But now enough talking …
Here you can find the complete Jalapeno-Cheddar Bratwurst recipe as a video or to read through.
Table of Contents
Jalapeño Cheddar sausage – What do you need to make it?
Ingredients per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| lean pork shoulder | 600 g | 60 % |
| pork backfat | 200 g | 20 % |
| cheddar cheese | 200 g | 20 % |
Spices per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|
| salt | 18 g |
| fresh parsley | 10 g |
| fresh jalapeños (adjust the amount to how hot you like it) | 10 g |
| black pepper | 4 g |
| sugar | 3 g |
| garlic powder | 1.75 g |
The equipment to make jalapeno cheddar sausage
You need a meat grinder to “grind” the meat. The grinder chops the meat into small chunks which then can then be mixed.
You need a sausage stuffer to get your meat mass into the casing. If you are starting out you can also add an attachment to your grinder or use a modified plastic bottle or funnel.
Sausage casings
The jalapeno cheddar sausage is filled in natural casings. I recommend 28/30 caliber pork casing.
If you want to prepare jalapeno cheddar sausage without intestines, you can use jars and boil down the mass.
Make jalapeno cheddar sausage – Step-By-Step Instructions
Cut the meat and fat into pieces that fit your grinder. You can vary the size depending on how big your meat grinder is.
Put the meat pieces in the freezer for 1-2 hours. This will help you with the grinding process later and make sure the mixture doesn’t get too warm.
Cut the cheese into small cubes. Dice the parsley and jalapenos finely. You could also grind them with the meat in the next step. This will change the distribution in your sausage. There is no right or wrong. Big cubes small cubes it is completely up to you.
Now you can grind the meat. Depending on how coarse or fine you want your sausage, you can use different perforated discs. To be honest, this is a matter of taste. Personally, I use the medium perforated disc. But as I said … it must taste good to you!
Mix the meat with the spices, parsley, jalapenos and cheese. You can do this by hand or with a hand mixer. Make sure that you mix the sausage meat for 4-5 minutes so that it gets a good binding.
Next, put the casing onto the sausage stuffer. I use 28/30 caliber pork casing for this.
In the end, it’s your decision whether you prefer to make thinner or thicker sausages. As with the fineness, this is a matter of taste and can be decided by you.
Now fill the meat into the casing. Hold the casing tightly on the filling spout and let it slowly fill up more and more. This part needs some practice. Don’t worry if it doesn’t work 100% right away. Important: Do not fill the casing too tightly, otherwise it will burst later during frying.
Link the sausages. You can decide for yourself how big your sausage should be. To accomplish this, press the sausage to the desired length with two fingers on each hand and rotate it forward a few times. Then leave out one sausage length and repeat the process.
You can prepare and eat the sausage now. Also, delicious: hot smoking – see next step.
Optional: Dry the bratwurst at 50 C° (122 °F) for about 1 hour. I then smoke the bratwurst at 70 C° (158 °F) for 2 hours. The core temperature should be at least 67 C° (152,6 °F) at the end. If this is not the case, you can poach them for a few minutes in a 70 C° (158 °F) water bath.
Your jalapeno cheddar sausage is now ready. Enjoy them.
Frequently asked questions
Which cheese works in a jalapeño cheddar sausage?
Which cheese works in a jalapeño cheddar sausage?
Cheddar is the American original and the reason the sausage carries the name, but as the intro says you can swap it. What matters is not the variety, it is the behaviour: pick a cheese that melts without going runny and that is not carrying much water. Gouda, Emmental and pepper jack all do the job. A very soft or very wet cheese loosens the mixture instead, and the sausage turns mushy inside the casing.
Cut it into cubes rather than grating it. The recipe dices the cheese so that it survives the mixing and the heat as pockets you find when you bite in, which is the whole point of this style of sausage; grated cheese simply disappears into the meat. The heat works the same way round: the jalapeños carry all of it, so taking the seeds out gives you a mild sausage and leaving them in gives you a sharp one, which is why the jalapeño line in the spice list is yours to adjust.
How long is the shelf life of the jalapeno cheddar sausage ?
How long is the shelf life of the jalapeno cheddar sausage ?
The jalapeno cheese bratwurst can be kept raw in the refrigerator for about 1-2 days.
If you scald it directly after production at 75 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes, it can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week.
Alternatively, you can also freeze it raw or scalded, then it will keep for up to 6 months and will not lose any flavor.
Do yu use high temp cheese or regular?
Tried both. Both works. Never had any issues with splitting but I don’t know how cheeses from other countries react 😀