Bratwurst Sausage Question

[sescoyote]

I went to my local sausage shop because I felt that it's time for me to learn how to smoke sausages.  I asked the lady what was a good sausage to smoke with, she said Bratwurst.  So not thinking, I took home a wheel of it along with some Chipotle variety.  Thinking back now, what I really wanted was beef sausage, not pork.  Well, here I am stuck with a wheel of pork sausage. My question is, will this Bratwurst be ok to smoke or will it taste bland?   What kinds of sausages do BBQ restaurants server?  I am looking to make my own some day, just getting my feet wet. 

 

[boykjo]

Yes it will be ok to smoke but you will need to hot smoke it. I am assuming it is fresh sausage (sausage with no cure added)) so you will need to get it from 40 degrees out of the fridge to 140 degrees in the smoker in 4 hrs. Take the sausage to an IT of 160  Run the smoker at around 180 to 200
 

 

[smokinhusker]

Yes it will be ok to smoke but you will need to hot smoke it. I am assuming it is fresh sausage (sausage with no cure added)) so you will need to get it from 40 degrees out of the fridge to 140 degrees in the smoker in 4 hrs. Take the sausage to an IT of 160  Run the smoker at around 180 to 200
 

Sounds good to me. Have you tried the bratwurst you purchased without smoking them? If so were they bland...that will give you your answer I hope.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Sounds like you are looking for Texas Hot Links. If you Google it you will find a variety of Recipes using All Beef or a Beef/Pork Blend. They also run from basic to using a cabinet of spices. The majority have some Nitrite Cure so they can be smoked at lower Temps...JJ

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Ditto with Joe
 

 

[kathrynn]

I have used Johnsonville brats...and the Hubby LOVED them....took about 2 hours in my smoker...juicy up to temp....yummm.  One day I will try making my own!

 

[couger78]

If you're looking at all-beefers to smoke, I second the suggestion of Texas Hot links.

[color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]All Beef Texas Hot Links[/color]

Beef Chuck 2.26kg (5.0 lbs)

Kosher salt 44g

Non-Fat dry milk 40g  (1/2 cup)

*I pulverized the NFDM in my spice grinder. makes it a very fine powder.

Sweet Paprika 15g  (2.5 TBL)

Smoked Paprika 15g (2.5 TBL)

(if you REALLY want to make these burn, use 30g of [color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]Hot Paprika[/color]  in place of the sweet & smoked)

Cayenne pepper 30g (4 TBL)

Onion powder 16g (2 TBL)

Mustard powder 14g (2 TBL)

Garlic powder 9.0g (1 TBL)

Brown sugar 20g (2 TBL)

Black pepper 6.0g (1 TBL)

Anise* 6.0g (1 TBL) (very prominent flavor, use less if desired)

Coriander, ground 4.0g (2 tsp)

Allspice 3.0g (1.5 tsp)

Cure#1 6g (one level tsp)

Red Tabasco Sauce 60 ml (4.0 TBL)

Ice water 8 fl oz (1/2 cup)

- Beef partially frozen. Cut into pieces that fit your grinder's feed chute.

First grind through a medium plate (4.5mm). Dissolve cure in the ice water, along with the anise, coriander, allspice & black pepper.

Pour mixture into meat. Add the remainder of ingredients and mix well until a sticky meat paste results (about 10 minutes of hand-mixing). Regrind again through a FINE plate (3.0).

Stuff into 32-34mm casings. Twist off 4-6 inch lengths. Hang to dry while the smoker is being prepared. Pre-heat smoker to 130-140° and hang sausages in smoker. No smoke for the first hour. Add heavy smoke for the next 2-2.5 hours, increasing temps gradually over the same time up to 160°. Quit smoke. Raise temp in smoker up to 170° & continue to cook links until an IT of 160° [color= rgb(0, 0, 205)]OR[/color]  pul the links after the smoke  and put them in a hot water bath  (165°) until the IT of 160° is reached (less than 30 minutes). Cool off in ice bath (the hot links, NOT you!). Pull links & hang to bloom. Refrigerate.