Bratwurst

[lhendler]

I just finished a round of bratwurst. Came out amazingly good. The one item I experimented with was a substitute for soy concentrates as a binder. I had read a good amount as to whether binders did anything or were just fillers, and I must say, the jury is still out on that topic. This time around I decided to try rice flour as a binder, and, the recipe succeeded, although I have no idea how much the rice flour contributed. Here is the recipe I used
meat:
3 pounds pork shoulder butt (boneless)
1 pound veal (I used packaged ground veal)
1 pound fat (I used leftover brisket fat from my last brisket)

Spices:
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons white pepper
1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
1.5 teaspoons ground nutmeg
0.5 teaspoons mace
0.5 teaspoons coriander
0.5 teaspoons marjoram
0.75 cup rice flour

after grinding:
2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream

casings (I use hog casings)

I mixed the spices and rice flour, diced the meat, added the spices, mixed thoroughly and let sit in the fridge for a few hours.

I ground the meat, and after grinding added the eggs and heavy cream and mixed till very uniform (it was a fairly sticky mess). I sauteed a sample and tasted. Satisfied, I stuffed into 3 hogs casings, and had some left over (froze it and will use it for turkey stuffing on thanksgiving)
I gave it a medium smoking at a very low temperature (175F , 80C) until internal temperature of 155F (70C). Stopped the cooking with an ice bath, and the brats were ready for grilling. The first samples I did, I simmered in beer mixed with butter, thinly sliced onions, and some cayenne pepper for 30 minutes. Then I grilled and served on a roll with mustard and sauerkraut with a side of potato salad. The brats were amazingly juicy. The meat had a wonderful texture. Definitely a keeper.

 

[chopsaw]

Did you use cure ? That's a authentic recipe you use . Veal and cream ,, nice . I use milk and the eggs and a mix from sausage maker .

Those had to be good . Nice job . I use cure 1 in mine even if I don't plane on smoking them .

 

[lhendler]

I did not use cure #1 this time. I picked and chose ingredients from a number of recipes, and none of them called for pink salt, which surprised me, but I followed their leads. The two main sources I use are Rytek Kutas and Ruhlman and Polcyn. Then I read a few recipes from the internet, always checking what is published here.
These guys were exceptionally good. Remarkably juicy, and smooth mouth feel. I stress this cause last time I tried to make hot dogs, they came out with a gritty texture, in spite of the emulsification in a food processor, and the use of non fat dry milk as a binder. I might make them again, this time trying the rice flour.

 

[tallbm]

I've made sausage without binders but I do a 80/20 meat to fat ratio and they were fine for fresh grilling. Never did one for smoking.

I also have made ground venison Pastrami loaves with ground venison and ground beef fat at 80/20 meat to fat and they hold fine when hot and when I chill and slice, HOWEVER when I freeze them and defrost for use the slices want to break easily. In the future I am going to try adding 2% soy protein isolate to see if the slices will hold together better after freeze and defrost. This really isn't an issue but I would love for the slices to avoid breaking.

Just my bit of info :)

 

[driedstick]

Wow them look great nice job !!!!!

A full smoker is a happy smoker is your smoker happy

 

[SmokinAl]

They sure look good!
Great looking meal!

Al

 

[crazymoon]

IH, Nice job on the brats !

 

[johnnyb54]

Great looking brats! What size grinder plate did you use and did you double grind?

 

[troutman]

Well done and thanks for the walk through !! I love brats.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Sure looks good.. I like the water and onion way of simmering them too.. I'm a fan of fresh sausage and kielbasa.. Never tried smoking any yet. Have only smoked the factory made brats.. Lol..
When I was in Germany my girlfriend's mom made Weisswurst . Was from milk fed veal and pork back fat with pork shoulder in it too.. They used powdered non fat milk.. You had to eat it in a day because it goes bad quick.



;)

 

[tropics]

I would recommend using cure #1 smoking at them low temps.Nice job on the links
Richie

 

[pc farmer]

They look really good.

Never seen eggs used.

 

[myownidaho]

Great looking brats! Point!

 

[geo315]

Brats are my fav. I am going to try your recipe. They look good. Geo.

 

[lhendler]

Great looking brats! What size grinder plate did you use and did you double grind?

I use an attachment to my kitchen aid mixer. I did a single pass grind using the small die that comes with the attachment. My guess is this is a 3/16" plate.

 

[lhendler]

Brats are my fav. I am going to try your recipe. They look good. Geo.

They are really great. Very easy recipe to make. I have much more detailed instructions on my facebook page, but I do not wish to past any sort of advertisement here.

 

[lhendler]

Sure looks good.. I like the water and onion way of simmering them too.. I'm a fan of fresh sausage and kielbasa.. Never tried smoking any yet. Have only smoked the factory made brats.. Lol..
When I was in Germany my girlfriend's mom made Weisswurst . Was from milk fed veal and pork back fat with pork shoulder in it too.. They used powdered non fat milk.. You had to eat it in a day because it goes bad quick.
View attachment 339725


;)

I love weisswurst, and have wanted to make some. So far I have only been able to eat the store bought version, and I am sure good homemade will put any store bought brand to shame. By the way, that wasnt water, it was beer and onions. I dont know if the beer is absolutely necessary, but why mess with a good thing?

 

[Rings Я Us]

I love weisswurst, and have wanted to make some. So far I have only been able to eat the store bought version, and I am sure good homemade will put any store bought brand to shame. By the way, that wasnt water, it was beer and onions. I dont know if the beer is absolutely necessary, but why mess with a good thing?

Beer and onion. Good tradition.