Half-smokes - looking for recipe

[vogler]

Hi everyone,

I would like to advance my meat game and go into sausages. A project I would like to take on is making my own half-smokes. My biggest problem so far: I have not been able to find any information about what actually goes into them.

Does anyone have a recipe for these? I searched the forum for some time, but I have not been able to find any previous mentioning of them.

Any help is much appreciated.

All the best,
Volker

[Zeeker]

Hi Volker, here's a recipe for DC Half Smokes. I never tried it but it looks to be a good starting point, you can adjust to taste. Give it a try and report back. I'd like to know how it turned out. I guess your going to roll the dice on this one and see if it works.


D.C.-Style Spicy Half Smokes
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
• Serving Size: 6

Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large white onion, diced
• 1 Fresno chili pepper, minced
• 1 pound 80/20 ground chuck beef
• 1 tablespoon Yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more for extra heat
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken or beef broth
• 6 jumbo hot dogs
• 6 hot dog buns, lightly toasted
• Hot mustard, optional
• 1 small red onion, diced


For the hot dogs
1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the garlic, onion, and chili pepper, and sauté until the onions start to become translucent, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, and stir in the ground beef, mustard, mustard seeds, cumin, salt, 1 tablespoon of the chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Mix well, and cook for about 12 minutes, using a spoon to break up the clumps of meat.

2. Stir in the tomato paste, and cook for 4 minutes. Add the vinegar, and deglaze the skillet, stirring well and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, another 4 minutes.

3. Melt the butter in a separate medium skillet over medium. Add the flour and the remaining 1 tablespoon chili powder, and stir well. Slowly pour in the broth, whisking continuously to remove any clumps. Continue to cook, reducing the liquid by a quarter while continuously whisking, about 4 minutes.

4. Add the flour mixture to the chili and mix well to combine. Cook for 5 minutes over medium, continuing to stir.

5. Preheat your grill. Slice the hot dogs lengthwise about three-quarters of the way through, and then grill them, cut sides down, for about 8 minutes. Spread mustard inside each bun, if desired. Place a hot dog in each, and top with a large scoop of chili. Sprinkle with some red onions.


[Moosefire66]

Hmm. When I clicked on this I expected this to be a recipe for mini sausages, not chili dogs! I've never heard of these but they sure sound good. How is this different from a detroit style chili dog?

Best I could find is the hot dog is spicier, and the texture isn't as smooth... but that is about it

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[Richtee]

I ain’t nebber heard of them either... interesting...

[Moosefire66]

Ralleys used to have a spicy chili dog on its menu years ago... wonder if it was like that

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[Zeeker]

I think the difference is the dog is sliced lengthwise then grilled, cut side down. Also the dog casing has a snap like Sahlen hot dogs do. Not really sure but I don't think they come close to a Detroit or a Chicago dog.

[vogler]

Good morning,

thank you for the recipe, Zeeker. I have to admit that I am looking for information on how to make the sausage part myself. I think they are not based on a normal hotdog. They are more coarse, and I don't think they are an emulsified sausage.

So far I have not found much information... What meat? What spices? What is the procedure? Which casings?

I found now a pretty recent article that at least has a picture. It seems that it is i) a special sausage (no more information on that in the article), ii) grilled, and iii) topped with chili sauce (I will try Zeeker's recipe when I make them):

https://www.insidehook.com/article/w...ous-half-smoke

I will try to find more information on how to make the sausage.

Thank you for all your help.

Volker

[Richtee]

Well, there’s your answer...

Virginia says that it was Ben who first came up with the idea to make their own play on the concept of the half-smoke, a special local breakfast-sausage-turned sandwich. “He was the one who came up with the idea of a breakfast sausage going into a nice steamed hotdog bun, cutting it and dressing it with mustard, onions and homemade chili sauce,” says Virginia.

It’s a breakfast type sausage- usually all pork, sage, white pepper, thyme, sometimes nutmeg and ginger are used.

[Zeeker]

Good morning,

thank you for the recipe, Zeeker. I have to admit that I am looking for information on how to make the sausage part myself. I think they are not based on a normal hotdog. They are more coarse, and I don't think they are an emulsified sausage.

So far I have not found much information... What meat? What spices? What is the procedure? Which casings?

I found now a pretty recent article that at least has a picture. It seems that it is i) a special sausage (no more information on that in the article), ii) grilled, and iii) topped with chili sauce (I will try Zeeker's recipe when I make them):

https://www.insidehook.com/article/w...ous-half-smoke

I will try to find more information on how to make the sausage.

Thank you for all your help.

Volker

Volker, this recipe should workout for you. Give it a try and report back.

Use standard Hog casings (Buy casings from a butcher) and stuff into 6" long sausages links and grill when done. Let bloom for a day before grilling. Then follow the recipe in the previous post. After mixing the meat, do a test fry before stuffing.

This recipe is for 1lb of ground Pork so adjust accordingly for the amount of meat.

1 Pound Ground Pork

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt

1/2 teaspoon dried Parsley

3/4 teaspoon ground Sage

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon ground Coriander

1/8 teaspoon Oregano


Enjoy

[vogler]

Thank you for the recipe,

time is a bit scarce at the moment, but this is on my 'do soon' list. I will report back how it turned out.

[DanMcG]

Volker, this recipe should workout for you. Give it a try and report back.
Enjoy

That's a good looking recipe. I might give it a go myself.

[Moosefire66]

Has anyone tried the recipe yet?

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[Zeeker]

Has anyone tried the recipe yet?

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Yes I finally gave it a try and it was pretty damn good! Give it a try and post.

[crusty ol salt]

Heck they sell everything online if you want a taste comparison.

https://benschilibowl.com/

https://www.halfsmokes.com/

[nickelmore]

Heck I have been doing that with venison for years.....Except the chili.....I never understood ruining a good sausage with Chili.

Interesting that its been around that long and no recipes for the sausage have been reverse engineered.