Question about making brats.

[BC Buck]

Years ago tried making some out of venison and 25%pork butt. Not very good and was told because way to lean. This year while grinder is out for venison thinking would try again using 100% pork butt. If I buy those vacuumed sealed ones like at Sams with about 3/8" thick fat cap how do you know how much additional fat to add? Was told commercial brats where around 40 to 50% fat.

 

[Bigtank]

I just grind the whole but and add no fat, they come out great.

 

[zwiller]

Butts vary to a certain degree but are GREAT for all sausages/brats with no added fat. I would say the ones I get are probably 75/25 and up 70/30 pork/fat and basically perfect. Never saw anyone running stuff at 40-50% fat so no idea but doubt it's better than 20-30%. I think beyond that quality starts to take a hit.

Yes, 75/25 veni/butt is too lean. The standard is 50/50. It would worth the effort to find some fatback if you have lots of venison.

 

[Homers1951]

My experience is to use pork butt with venison at 50/50. Best mixture I have used. Barry

 

[SmokinAl]

I do like Bigtank , just grind the whole butt. Sometimes I just butterfly it & use one half for buckboard bacon & the other half for sausage. The fat to lean ratio seems perfect for sausage without any added fat.
Al

 

[indaswamp]

Pork butt runs 25-30% fat so if you use half pork butt and half 100% lean venison, your ratio will now be 12.5-15% fat which is too little fat for a great sausage IMO. I like to add more additional fat at ratio of about 25% of the weight of the lean venison.

For example, if you want to make 10# of sausage, use 5# of pork butt, 4# lean venison, and 1# pure pork back fat.

 

[chopsaw]

Was told commercial brats where around 40 to 50% fat.

Just to address this , no . Not true . I think max on commercial sausage is 33 % depending on what it is .
edit :
Corrected in post 8 . Learn something everyday .

 

[indaswamp]

Just to address this , no . Not true . I think max on commercial sausage is 33 % depending on what it is .

By USDA regulations, a product technically can not be labeled as a sausage unless it has less than 50% fat. A lot of cheap sausages out there have 49% fat because it is cheap......
https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-types/federal-regulations-sausage
But we can make a better product at home. 25-30% is the sweet spot IMO.

 

[chopsaw]

Hmm . That's a new one on me .
I must be thinking of something else . Good correction Keith .
I went through a ground beef thing awhile back . I think that's where I got the 33 %

 

[indaswamp]

Probably so Chop....

 

[chopsaw]

I knew I read it somewhere . This is from the Marianski sweet Italian formula .
Doesn't point to the overall , but stuck with me because I make a lot of Italian .

Italian Sausage is a wonderful sausage for frying or grilling and can be found in every supermarket in the USA. The dominant flavor in fresh Italian sausage is fennel and by adding (or not) cayenne pepper we can create sweet, medium or hot variety. Fried on ahot plate with green bell peppers and onions, it is sold by street vendors everywhere in New York City. Don’t confuse it with cheap poached hot dogs on a bun, Italian sausage is bigger and served on a long subway type roll. It is leaner than other fresh sausages and the US regulations permit no more than 35% fat in the recipe. Fennel, sometimes added with anise, is the dominant spice in this sausage

 

[JC in GB]

When I make bratwurst, I use about 25% pork belly and 75% pork shoulder.

Makes for a very tasty and juicy bratwurst. I haven't made venison sausage but if I was making venison brats, I would likely mix pork belly at 40% of the mix.

My $0.02

JC

 

[indaswamp]

It is leaner than other fresh sausages and the US regulations permit no more than 35% fat in the recipe.

Thanks for posting that Chop. I can now see where the confusion stems from. Hmmmm.... wonder where they got that info from? Maybe N.Y. City regulations???? Italian is a fresh sausage and as far as I know all fresh sausages in the U.S. are regulated to 50% or less fat.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Scroll through this USDA link. Will clear most of this up. Pork sausage no more than 50% fat, beef sausage no more than 30% fat.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safe...and-preparation/meat/sausages-and-food-safety

 

[Fueling Around]

Scroll through this USDA link. Will clear most of this up. Pork sausage no more than 50% fat, beef sausage no more than 30% fat.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safe...and-preparation/meat/sausages-and-food-safety

Yeppers
If you read the entire CFR, there are sections that point to other sections that have provisions specifically for certain products.
Then you find

...
Italian Sausage is ...
It is leaner than other fresh sausages and the US regulations permit no more than 35% fat in the recipe.
...

 

[indaswamp]

Thanks for posting that SE! I don't make any beef sausages. And certainly did not know that Italian was regulated to 35% fat.

 

[chopsaw]

I can now see where the confusion stems from. Hmmmm.... wonder where they got that info from?

I had the guy that owns C Rallo meat market tell me the same thing about his Italian .
Funny because all the Italian I buy from local Italian deli's I would consider dry if not poached in sauce . Maybe that's why .

Pork sausage no more than 50% fat, beef sausage no more than 30% fat.

I went through a ground beef thing a while back on percentages of what made it " what " . That could be where I saw it also .

 

[clifish]

When I make bratwurst, I use about 25% pork belly and 75% pork shoulder.

Makes for a very tasty and juicy bratwurst. I haven't made venison sausage but if I was making venison brats, I would likely mix pork belly at 40% of the mix.

My $0.02

JC

Do you have a recipe of spices/cure for these brats?

 

[JC in GB]

Do you have a recipe of spices/cure for these brats?

Here is my general recipe for Nuremberg style bratwurst. German style brats use thinner casings than most American bratwurst but casing size isn't that crucial. Use the size you like best. I prefer the thinner sheep casings.

These are my favorite bratwurst.

1.5 kg pork shoulder
500 g pork belly
39.0 g Salt
6.0 g Black Pepper
2.0 g White Pepper
2.5 g Marjoram
1.5 g Cayenne
1.0 g Nutmeg

Sheep or hog casings

Enjoy.

JC

 

[clifish]

Here is my general recipe for Nuremberg style bratwurst. German style brats use thinner casings than most American bratwurst but casing size isn't that crucial. Use the size you like best. I prefer the thinner sheep casings.

These are my favorite bratwurst.

1.5 kg pork shoulder
500 g pork belly
39.0 g Salt
6.0 g Black Pepper
2.0 g White Pepper
2.5 g Marjoram
1.5 g Cayenne
1.0 g Nutmeg

Sheep or hog casings

Enjoy.

JC

Thanks! Do you SV them after they are stuffed? or just go straight to the grill?