A coarse-ground beef and pork sausage seasoned with paprika, garlic and chili, smoked and served sliced over kraut at Schmidt's Sausage Haus in German Village. Family signature since 1967.

The Bahama Mama sausage is a Schmidt family invention developed at their German Village meatpacker. The family began meatpacking in 1886 and opened the Sausage Haus restaurant in 1967 on East Kossuth Street. The Bahama Mama is served sliced on a roll with kraut at the family hall, alongside the bratwurst, knockwurst and the fist-sized cream puff.

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Make it at home

Serves 83 hrAdvanced

Ingredients

  • 1 kg ground pork shoulder
  • 500g ground beef chuck
  • 20g sea salt
  • 1 tbsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 cup ice water
  • Hog casings, rinsed

Method

  1. Combine the ground pork and beef in a large bowl. Mix in salt, paprikas, pepper, garlic, cayenne and coriander until evenly distributed.
  2. Add the ice water and mix until the farce becomes tacky and slightly emulsified, about 2 minutes.
  3. Stuff into rinsed hog casings using a sausage stuffer, linking every 15cm. Twist alternating links to avoid unwinding.
  4. Cold-smoke at 80C (175F) for 2 hours with apple or hickory wood, then bring to internal 71C (160F).
  5. Cool, slice on the bias and serve hot over warm sauerkraut with a German potato salad and a soft roll.
  6. Store remaining links refrigerated up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Editor tip. The two-paprika blend (sweet plus smoked) is what gives the Bahama Mama its color and warmth; cayenne dials the heat to taste.

Common allergens: Gluten.