Taste-testing all-beef sausage for gumbo

Mom promised I’d make gumbo for some people at 2 different locations. So I decided to make one BIG batch and split it. But this solution introduces its own challenges. At both locations, someone doesn’t eat seafood, so that means I’m making a chicken & sausage gumbo.

However, at one, someone doesn’t eat pork. And while my homemade hot sausage is all-beef, my usual smoked or country sausage options all include pork. So I needed to find an all-beef alternative, and a taste test was needed.

Of the three, Mom preferred them in the order seen in the photo. My favorite was the Opa’s, followed by the Johnsonville then the Hillshire Farms. The Johnsonville & Hillshire Farms were VERY similar in flavor.

TBH, any of them would work in a gumbo, but NONE of them was particularly smoky. I will definitely use one for this mission, but I may also include some smoked turkey thigh to add that subtle hint of smoky flavor to the dish. (Few people complain that they’re getting too much meat in their gumbo.)