Stephen, you can find the recipe I followed here : http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-recipes/braunschweigerRecipe please
Dr.K— it'd be a bit more work, but sure, you can hand-stuff the casings in just the method you describe (using a spatula). Key is to make sure no air pockets are present so pack it fairly tight. Since it's a softer paste, you can stuff it like a pastry bag.This looks great! I don't have a stuffer but since it's in paste form I wonder if you can roll down those large casings and stuff with a spatula and roll it up as you go?
Wade, check my previous post for the link and some of my comments.Hi Kevin
Looks very tasty. Do you have the quantities of each ingredients - I would like to give it a try.
Dr K - I've seen people stuff casings with large pastry bags or large funnels using a dowel or something similar. I even once saw a sausage maker in a small village in Mexico stuffing chorizos with a hollowed out cow horn with the tip cut off. He tied off one end of the casing then secured the other end to the cow horn with duct tape. Rustic, but it worked.This looks great! I don't have a stuffer but since it's in paste form I wonder if you can roll down those large casings and stuff with a spatula and roll it up as you go?
Todd, I too like the texture (plump & juicy) that the 'post-smoke' poaching provides to sausages versus finishing them traditionally in the smoker.I wonder how the poaching first then cold smoking method would work with other sausages like Kabanosy or Kielbasa. I like the perfect texture from poaching but the water is always full of smoke when you dump it and some of the color is lost.
Jeff, I found the jowls (fresh, not cured) at a local asian market. Same place had the fresh pork livers, kidneys, ears & pretty much everything...except the 'oink.'Tasty looking!! This may be my next project. Wondering where you found Pork Jowl and was it cured? Smoked? A google search says it is like bacon. Wondering if a hunk of BBB could be used then? Maybe not enough fat? We have beef cheek here in MN but have not seen pork jowl.
Would like recipe on amount of spice used.
You just inspired me to do try this, your finished product looks perfect.
Jeff
Thanks Kevin, I'll try a few comparisons. Never thought of cold smoking after poaching.Todd, I too like the texture (plump & juicy) that the 'post-smoke' poaching provides to sausages versus finishing them traditionally in the smoker.I wonder how the poaching first then cold smoking method would work with other sausages like Kabanosy or Kielbasa. I like the perfect texture from poaching but the water is always full of smoke when you dump it and some of the color is lost.
You will lose some of the 'smokiness' in the water (water bath can look like brewed tea afterwards). In the past, I've done a side-by-side comparison with two types of smoked sausage (kielbasa and andouille)— half finished in the smoker; the other half poached in a water bath. The most apparent difference wasn't in the flavor, but in both appearance and texture. All tasted 'smokey'. Those finished in the smoker were maybe a touch stronger in overall smokiness, but they were also drier, a bit tougher and chewier. Not that these characteristics are undesirable (some folks like the chewier, dense results in smoked links). I just prefer a smokey link that is also moister & plumper.
Personal tastes play into what works best for you.
Kevin