Single White Male iso Bratwurst Recipes!

[chef jimmyj]

If you grind your own you will get a good ratio of fat to lean, just use it all even if you think it looks like a lot of fat. With pre-ground you may not know what you get. At least around here the label just says Ground Pork with no percentages. In any event any where from 20 to 30% fat content is good. I you used 30% Venison you should have used 50% Pork and 20% Pork Fat. The end result would have put you in the desired Fat % range...JJ 

 

[smokeamotive]

Either Pork Butt or shoulder will work. I prefer to use a butt, more meat, less bone. I find it has enough fat to use it "as is". Shooters recipe is a great place to start.......or restart in your case.

 

[robbieh]

Thanks.  Its strange how I can use 50/50 venison and pork butt for summer sausage, and it comes out great... texture and all.  I used the same pork and less venison for these brats and the texture was wrong.  

Often when I get a pork butt, there is a thick layer of white fat along the entire bottom.  Do you guys grind that too?  I left it out thinking it was too much.  That's probably the mistake I made right there.

I'm already looking forward to trying again!  

 

[woodcutter]

Straight pork butt makes great sausage, it has a naturally good meat to fat ratio. Most people grind brats and Italian sausage with the coarse disc which affects the texture. Other sausage like hot dogs get ground fine and several times.

Your sausages look great in the pictures! I'm eating some summer sausage right now that will be better next time.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Leaving that Fat out did you in! Dude, it is Sausage, a once a week thing...Screw the Fat content! Enjoy it for what it is and have a Salad for lunch the next day. So many people have learned to eat crappy Turkey Sausage or Tasteless Beef and Pork because they are worried about the Fat...

...JJ

 

[shannon127]

Leaving that Fat out did you in! Dude, it is Sausage, a once a week thing...Screw the Fat content! Enjoy it for what it is and have a Salad for lunch the next day. So many people have learned to eat crappy Turkey Sausage or Tasteless Beef and Pork because they are worried about the Fat...

...JJ

ONCE A WEEK THING????????? 

Them are fighten words!

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Yeah, at least a once a day thing here, often more. LOL


~Martin

 

[robbieh]

By a "coarse" disc, do you mean one with larger holes?  My grinder came with 2 discs, one with larger holes, with with smaller ones.  I used the smaller one.  Hmm...come to think of it, that's yet another mistake I made!  When I do breakfast sausage, I use the smaller ones.  Comes out great.  For summer sausage, I use the larger ones.  Comes out great too.

I think I shoulda used the plate with the larger holes.  The texture would have been correct, like how the summer sausage comes out.

Ok so next time:

Use ALL the pork - fat and all.

Use natural hog casings.

Try ShooterRick's brat recipe.

Use the grinder plate with the larger holes.

Awesome.  Can't wait.  I'll start a new thread if I have a successful batch of brats!  (probably next week sometime).

Until then, keep the suggestions and ideas coming.  This will help me as well as others.  I hope my screw-ups here will prevent other newbs from doing the same. lol

 

[rtbbq2]

YIKES!!!! I didn't even realize I wrote that!  LOL Wow...okay it's funny, but I hope I didn't make anyone here upset or anything. 

 Was an honest mistake.

Dried MILF powder.........................Gotta get me some of dat powder....................

 

[smoking b]

Leaving that Fat out did you in! Dude, it is Sausage, a once a week thing...Screw the Fat content! Enjoy it for what it is and have a Salad for lunch the next day. So many people have learned to eat crappy Turkey Sausage or Tasteless Beef and Pork because they are worried about the Fat...

...JJ

   

   

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[smokeamotive]

I use a small plate to make breakfast and summer sausage. That is after I make my first grind with the large plate. I also use beef with my venison in my Summer Sausage @ 50/50. I try for a 10% fat content when all is mixed. I do this for two reasons. 1. Beef has a closer flavor and texture to venison than pork. 2. It makes a finer and firmer sausage, almost like salami.

 For Brats and Itailian I only gind it once thru the larger plate. This gives it a courser texture like a good sausage you would get from a local sausage maker. From the sound of things I'm willing to bet you will be looking for a sausage stuffer before to long.

 

[robbieh]

Thanks for the clarification.  The texture my brats ended up being was definitely that of breakfast sausage...and yes, I used a large plate, then the small one.  That's why I was disappointed with the texture.  As far as flavor, I bet if I left out the sage as suggested before, the brats would have tasted more like brats, not something in between brats and breakfast sausage. Finally, I'll be sure to use natural hog casings next time.

Glad I did this test run first, before offering to make brats for a gathering. lol.  My grinder came with a stuffing plate and a couple of nozzles.  It has a Stuffing mode too, which is just a slower speed then the grinding mode.

 

[shannon127]

Here is something else to consider, the high temperatures probably cause the fat to render out. If you want smoked sausage you should keep them temperature below 175. You will also need to cure the meat.

 

[woodcutter]

Here is something else to consider, the high temperatures probably cause the fat to render out. If you want smoked sausage you should keep them temperature below 175. You will also need to cure the meat.

And God only knows what the MILF powder did. lol

 

[robbieh]

lmao @ MILF powder!  So smoke them at 175F until IT reaches 165F?   Seems like thatd take a while, but I'll try that.  To cure the meat, what do I use?  Is "cure" something that I could buy somewhere or is it made with kitchen ingredients?  Also, Cure is salty, right?  So if I use a cure, should I decrease the amount of salt a recipe calls for?

 

[woodcutter]

Here is a link with info on curing. I printed it out and read over about 3 times to become familiar with the different curing options. I have it book marked and refer to it.

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?736-Curing-Salts

Nitrites and nitrates are important and need to be added at the correct amounts. Too little or too much is a bad thing and can get you sick.

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Also, Cure is salty, right?  So if I use a cure, should I decrease the amount of salt a recipe calls for?

Here's a calculator that'll factor in the salt in the cure.

http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html

Everybody has their preferred way of smoking (and finishing), I like to be very gentle with the heat. Very gentle.


~Martin

 

[robbieh]

Very useful link Woodcutter.  Thank you.  I read it and bookmarked it.  So if I do a 5lb batch of brats, I'll need to add 1tsp of cure #1 to the meat.  Where do you get the cure from?  What brand do you use?  Does the extra salt that's in the cure ever effect your recipes that much?

 

[diesel]

IMHO I would get the brats recipe down first.  Then move to curing the sausage. 

1. Leaving the sage out will help w/ it not tasting like breakfast sausage.  But, it is your recipe and that is the great thing about making your own sausage.

2. I get the nutmeg whole and use a grader to grade it fresh.  Now, you will have to do a fry test before stuffing to get the amount correct.  But I think you will pleased with the flavor from the fresh nutmeg.  (again, it is my opinion on that)

3. Try roasting your spices like the coriander, celery seed, rosemary, and black pepper.  I try to buy the whole spice and toss it in a frying pan on medium heat until I smell the spices.  Doesn't take very long.  And do not leave it alone.  Dump the spices into a grinder, I use a coffee grinder and pulse it till they are powder.

 I think I may have been scolded a little for the internal temp I suggested.  I do apologize for that one.  I am a true believer in the 4 hours 40/140 rule along with the USDA guidelines.  So.. with that good luck

Aaron.

 

[woodcutter]

I use insta cure #1. I bought a large jar from sausage maker.com. I have bought small envelopes of Lem cure #1 from Gander Mountain. Cure #1 has some salt in it  but doesn't seem to affect the salt taste level too much. A lot of the recipes will have the cure and salt amounts listed separately. The cure calculator Martin posted will help you figure out how much you will need with a certain weight of meat.