German Beef & Potato Sausage or is it a Swedish Sausage?

[chef willie]

In organizing my recipe box I found this old sausage recipe buried in the bottom. I had cut it out of a very old Gourmet mag from late '70s or early 80's before the format change. I finally got to make it scoring the beef chuck for 2.49 # and the boneless butt from Cash & Carry for only 1.49 #. I decided to grind the potatoes, garlic and onions along with the meat instead of chopping them, grinding once only using the small plate. Since these would be baked off immediately after stuffing I used no cure. All in all a very mild sausage with a very moist texture due to the ground onion & potato. First time I ever used the oven on sausage but it gave them a nice color and snap. Buddies at the bar devoured about half of them slathered in mustard to good reviews although I prefer a much spicier sausage. I looked up some recipes on the Web to find an actual name for this sausage and discovered a very similar recipe labeled as Swedish Sausage so threw out the ?....is this a German sausage or a Swedish sausage......Willie

GERMAN BEEF & POTATO SAUSAGES

3 pounds ground beef

2 pounds ground pork

3.5 pounds of russets, grated coarse

1 pound of onions, minced

½ cup all purpose flour

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

¼ cup minced garlic

In a bowl combine the beef, pork, potatoes, onion, flour, eggs, garlic, s&p to taste and combine well. Stuff into casings. Bake in a 400 degree oven, turning once, for about an hour, until cooked through.

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• chef willie
• Oct 15, 2013

ground once, giving a good consistency

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• chef willie
• Oct 15, 2013

some of the linked piggy

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• chef willie
• Oct 15, 2013

I broke a few getting them off the parchment paper

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• chef willie
• Oct 15, 2013

 

[bkleinsmid]

Willie......I had something very similar to this last time I was in Germany (which still doesn't answer your question). Very good, but as you say, very bland. I wonder if a little salt and pepper wouldn't make this a much tastier sausage......

Brad

 

[disco]

Thanks for posting this. I appreciate your rating of a new recipe.

Disco

 

[woodcutter]

I was making sausage at my brother's a few years ago and a chef friend of his had 2 recipes. One was German and the other was Swedish. I think the German recipe used pork and pork and pork fat or crackling's but I'm not positive about that. I remember when he was test frying it smelled like  hash-browns and sausage. Heavenly!

 

[chef willie]

 
Willie......I had something very similar to this last time I was in Germany (which still doesn't answer your question). Very good, but as you say, very bland. I wonder if a little salt and pepper wouldn't make this a much tastier sausage......

Brad

Thx Brad....I did add sea salt & a handful of BP just before stuffing. I didn't add the salt prior to the overnight rest as I've heard it makes it tuff to stuff the casings. Didn't add much....doubt I will make again.

 
Thanks for posting this. I appreciate your rating of a new recipe.

Disco

Thx Disco....not all are winners & I'll call it as I see it. This would be fine for someone with NO tolerance for any heat/spice and requiring a bland diet...lol

 
I was making sausage at my brother's a few years ago and a chef friend of his had 2 recipes. One was German and the other was Swedish. I think the German recipe used pork and pork and pork fat or crackling's but I'm not positive about that. I remember when he was test frying it smelled like  hash-browns and sausage. Heavenly!

The only saving grace was the guys hitting them hard slathered in yellow mustard...LOL....no such thing as a bad sausage through beer goggles??

 

[bkleinsmid]

"The only saving grace was the guys hitting them hard slathered in yellow mustard...LOL....no such thing as a bad sausage through beer goggles??"

LMAO..........so true..

B~

 

[weisswurst]

I think this is credited to the Swedes.The first time I had it was in Escanaba Michigan UP.I have made it myself and it is oh so good. I have not baked it in the oven. I will try that. I am sure it would be great.When I make it it is pretty much like Chef Willies except I partially cook potatoes , cool  them and stuff. If I can find veal at a good price , I also use that. I also make it as a bulk sausage.It goes great next to eggs. Or good, homemade Sauer kraut. Nothing says you cant add a little bacon to the mix. Just a little . I tend to use more pork , not too much beef . For me , the meat is just a binder and flavor enhancer for the taters and onions.We  usually gently fry ours. Next time , though , we will bake it. Willies looks ooom doggie good. And mustard!

 I can not believe the Germans would not have  a version of this.We have a super market 5 minutes away that makes this.The owner is not even of European origin and thiers is the best.

   Beautiful display Willie. Happy SM  Weisswurst

 

[chef willie]

 
I think this is credited to the Swedes.The first time I had it was in Escanaba Michigan UP.I have made it myself and it is oh so good. I have not baked it in the oven. I will try that. I am sure it would be great.When I make it it is pretty much like Chef Willies except I partially cook potatoes , cool  them and stuff. If I can find veal at a good price , I also use that. I also make it as a bulk sausage.It goes great next to eggs. Or good, homemade Sauer kraut. Nothing says you cant add a little bacon to the mix. Just a little . I tend to use more pork , not too much beef . For me , the meat is just a binder and flavor enhancer for the taters and onions.We  usually gently fry ours. Next time , though , we will bake it. Willies looks ooom doggie good. And mustard!

 I can not believe the Germans would not have  a version of this.We have a super market 5 minutes away that makes this.The owner is not even of European origin and thiers is the best.

   Beautiful display Willie. Happy SM  Weisswurst

Thanks for the comments. I ran across a recipe that used those canned baby potatoes...now, that made sense to me. The raw potatoes, as I suspected, created a lot of juice that seemed to run everywhere as I stuffed into casings. So, maybe I will make again...increasing the pork, using cooked taters and more spice.

 

[ats32]

I get a very similar sausage from a Polish sausage maker. Doesn't matter where it's from as long as it's good!

 

[chef willie]

I get a very similar sausage from a Polish sausage maker. Doesn't matter where it's from as long as it's good!

Amen to that, Brother....preaching to the choir. I love those obscure recipes though, ya know....claimed by all probably. Borders in those times were very porous and people moved about freely, interacting & probably swapping recipes with other peasants. Proud to say my Grandmother was of Polish descent, came to the US and melted in, now just a trace of that in the bloodline. Just made a recipe called a Hungarian Brat which I'll post soon, thinking it's very old school and is quite tasty.

 

[reinhard]

To answer your question---If its good it's German--if not it's Swedish LOL!!  I think what's missing is salt, pepper, and allspice in my opinion. This is the recipe i use.

2 1/2 lbs frozen hash browns

3/4 lbs onions

1/2 lb pork

1/2 lb beef

1 1/2 T salt

1 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp allspice

1 cup dried powdered milk

The reason folks use cooked potatoes is because raw potatoes get  dark [even black] in the mix. They also add more moisture that you may not want, making the texture less desirable in my opinion.  I love the  pics and i will try baking some next  time. I usualy freeze mine fresh and then i simmer them in water until ready to serve. Reinhard

 

[chef willie]

 
I think this is credited to the Swedes.The first time I had it was in Escanaba Michigan UP.I have made it myself and it is oh so good. I have not baked it in the oven. I will try that. I am sure it would be great.When I make it it is pretty much like Chef Willies except I partially cook potatoes , cool  them and stuff. If I can find veal at a good price , I also use that. I also make it as a bulk sausage.It goes great next to eggs. Or good, homemade Sauer kraut. Nothing says you cant add a little bacon to the mix. Just a little . I tend to use more pork , not too much beef . For me , the meat is just a binder and flavor enhancer for the taters and onions.We  usually gently fry ours. Next time , though , we will bake it. Willies looks ooom doggie good. And mustard!

 I can not believe the Germans would not have  a version of this.We have a super market 5 minutes away that makes this.The owner is not even of European origin and thiers is the best.

   Beautiful display Willie. Happy SM  Weisswurst

Thank you....I'm thinking now a definite re-make, with more pork & a tad more spices. And, I will use the cooked potatoes as suggested in a different recipe I ran across on the Web. Interesting observation about the meat being just a binder for the veg's....why not? a scant amount might have been all that was available in past times, no? I ground the onions in with the meat this time....thinking next time just doing a finer dice, which is probably what the original recipe intended me to do.

 

[chef willie]

 
To answer your question---If its good it's German--if not it's Swedish LOL!!  I think what's missing is salt, pepper, and allspice in my opinion. This is the recipe i use.

2 1/2 lbs frozen hash browns

3/4 lbs onions

1/2 lb pork

1/2 lb beef

1 1/2 T salt

1 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp allspice

1 cup dried powdered milk

The reason folks use cooked potatoes is because raw potatoes get  dark [even black] in the mix. They also add more moisture that you may not want, making the texture less desirable in my opinion.  I love the  pics and i will try baking some next  time. I usualy freeze mine fresh and then i simmer them in water until ready to serve. Reinhard

HAH, funny retort. Yep, I was very concerned about that, seeing how I left them overnight. Much like potato pancake batter will turn black on you. I did, however, push the film right onto the top of the mix to keep as much air off as possible, much like you would do with guacamole, and drained off the most I could. Hashbrowns, interesting twist. I read one recipe where they took a #10 can of taters, drained & used that in the grind. Thought I might try steaming the next batch...so many variations being offered now....Willie

 

[ats32]

There's a German sausage place about an hour north of me that makes the best landjager you'll ever find. I don't even want to attempt making it cause there's is so good.

 

[reinhard]

When i was still working we used to get cooked potato chunks [peeled] in 10 pound bags and used them in 100 pound batches. We also used the frozen hash browns you find in the grocery stores. Hash browns are easy to work with being that they are already shredded and can be mixed into the meat mix.  i would try a small batch and see how you like them. Reinhard

 

[chef jimmyj]

 

[reinhard]

That brings back memories.  When i was a kid in Germany, i remember after the local folks killed some hogs, they would make blood sausage and put it in the pigs stomach. They would serve it to us kids warm.  We lived on a comune type village and we all shared what we raised and grew. Reinhard

 

[ronrude]

I grew up on the Minnesota/North Dakota border. I think the Norwegians,Swedes AND Germans made it. Norwegian in our house.

 

[chef willie]

I grew up on the Minnesota/North Dakota border. I think the Norwegians,Swedes AND Germans made it. Norwegian in our house.

aw right...another country in the mix...LOL.....guess this is a universal type of sausage. Thx for posting up.....Willie

 

[kon90]

I have had some tasty variants of this sausage, German in origin. I think they also contained some kind of offal though.

For applications requiring potatoes where you don't want to increase the moisture of the end product I like to bake the potatoes.

Those links look pretty good to me!