Can you turn the classic Texan dish King Ranch chicken casserole into a sausage? Evan LeRoy can — and it’s packed with all the flavors of the original.
A deeply local Texas favorite, King Ranch casserole evokes the flavors of South Texas with its Tex‑Mex heartiness. Despite the name, the dish isn’t directly connected to the sprawling King Ranch property; that’s one of those fun local curiosities. The casserole itself is like a Tex‑Mex lasagna, swapping pasta for tortillas, starring shredded chicken, canned tomatoes with chiles, generous amounts of cheese and a creamy soup base. It’s pure comfort food.
Evan LeRoy — the Pitmaster behind Leroy & Lewis in Austin — took those familiar King Ranch flavors and made something unexpected: a smoked sausage that tastes unmistakably like the casserole. He debuted the Smoked King Ranch Sausage as a special at the 2015 TMBBQ festival and it immediately stood out. Too often gimmicky festival foods sound better on paper than they taste. This wasn’t one of those. The sausage delivers on texture and flavor, with pockets of cheese and toothsome bits of tortilla folded into the grind, recalling the casserole’s layered character. To my palate it also calls to mind migas — that Texan breakfast mash of scrambled eggs and crushed tortilla chips — because of the crunchy, savory notes.
LeRoy’s goal was simple: “Take familiar flavors and incorporate a whole meal into a sausage.” He works with natural hog casings and uses pink curing salt in this recipe to improve texture and help preserve the sausage during smoking. The result is an unusual, craveable link that still reads clearly as King Ranch chicken in sausage form.
I visited LeRoy at the restaurant to document the process and capture the recipe. He’s the kind of cook who shares what he loves rather than hoarding it, which is why this version is available here. If you like bold Tex‑Mex flavors and smoky barbecue, this sausage is worth making: it’s playful, true to its inspiration and legitimately delicious.
Recipe after the pics.
Evan LeRoy’s Smoked King Ranch Sausage
- Author: Jess Pryles
- Yield: 5 pounds
Ingredients
4 pounds chicken thighs, skin removed
10 oz pork scraps (trim from ribs or pieces of pork butt/collar)
10 oz smoked cheddar, cubed
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 oz kosher salt
1 tsp pink curing salt (Prague powder)
3 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ancho chile powder
1–2 jalapeños, chopped (adjust to heat preference)
1–2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tsp heavy cream
4 tsp beer (Lone Star or a similar lager)
4 tsp water
Natural hog sausage casings, soaked and rinsed
Instructions
- Trim and cut the chicken thighs and pork scraps into pieces small enough to feed through your grinder. Keep everything cold for a clean grind.
- Combine the chicken and pork in a mixing bowl. Season with kosher salt, pink curing salt, cumin and ancho chile powder. Cover and refrigerate to marinate overnight so the spices penetrate the meat.
- Add the chopped jalapeños and garlic to the meat, then grind the entire mixture through a coarse or medium grinder plate to preserve some texture.
- Transfer the ground meat to a mixing bowl. Stir in the cream, beer and water to help bind the mixture. Fold in the cubed smoked cheddar and the crushed tortilla chips, mixing until evenly distributed.
- Load the sausage mixture into a stuffer and fill natural hog casings. Form long coils or twist into links as desired. Because there are chunky inclusions (cheese and chips), long spiral sausages are often easier to handle than small links.
- Preheat your smoker to 225–250°F (about 107–121°C). Smoke the sausages until their internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C). Because this recipe uses chicken, reaching that safe internal temperature is important; it typically takes around an hour depending on sausage thickness and smoker conditions.
- Remove the sausages from the smoker, let them rest briefly, then slice and serve. The interior will show pockets of melted cheese and the occasional tortilla chip for crunch.
Notes
Note: “Pork scraps” refers to trimmings left from butchering — typically rib trim or shoulder/collar pieces. These add fat and flavor to balance the lean chicken. Use pink curing salt as directed; it helps texture and color in cured or smoked sausages.