Brat recipe?

[brockel]

Anyone have a good brat recipe they want to share? Thinking about making some next weekend

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Sausage Equipment Supply | Mixes & Spices | Three Forks MT

Sausage Equipment Supply (SES) is located in Three Forks, Montana and offers a selection of sausage mixes and spices for other businesses or individuals to create their own tasting sausage.

sausageequipmentsupply.com

Their fresh bratwurst seasoning is best I’ve ever had and all I use. I do about 18 lbs meat and 5 lbs pork fat. 2-2.5 cups of cold water. I also use their casings.

 

[WyoDoug]

Brats are easy. I use 30% porkfat. Key is you want to maintain particle definition for brats. Do not over mix.

INGREDIENTS​

5 pounds of cubed meat and fat*
2 1/2 tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp pink #2 curing salt
2 tsp. white or black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg or mace
1 1/2 tsp. marjoram or oregano
1 tsp. caraway seed (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 oz. ice-cold milk or water
Sausage casings (recommend natural hog casings)

METHOD​

1. Prep. Soak casings in a big bowl of water for at least an hour or overnight before stuffing. If they are packed in salt, run cold water inside to rinse before soaking.
2. Grind. Combine the dry seasonings and mix with the diced venison cubes and diced pork fat cubes in a large bowl. Make some room in the freezer and place the meat inside to chill. The meat and fat must be very, very cold before grinding. Let chill for 30 minutes or longer, but don’t allow to freeze solid. use #8 (3l8" grind) grinding plate on your sausage grinding. Do not grind any smaller.
3. Use the large die attachment to grind the meat and fat. Return the mixture to the large bowl. Mix until fat and meat are evenly distributed but do not over mix. Grind again on number 12 plate
4. If you are doing cheddar jalapeno mix the cheddar, jalapeno and add just enough water or beer to the mix just to keep it moist but not real tacky. Stop mixing when ingredients are evenly mixed.
5. Stuff. Pull the casings out of the water and squeeze out any excess liquids. You still want the outside to be a little wet because it helps it slide better. Feed all of the casing over the stuffer’s tube, leaving a few inches off the end. Tie the end in a knot. If you use a sausage grinder to stuff, use the plate with the biggest holes you have. You do not want to grind it much smaller at this point.
6. Feed the meat into the sausage stuffer. Keep feeding it through at a consistent pace as it extrudes the meat into the casing. Don’t overstuff. As the stuffer continues to extrude meat you can start to coil the sausage. If you get air pockets, get rid of them with a sausage picker or corncob holder, anything sharp.
7. Form links by pinching at equal distances (about 7 inches) and twisting several times. Turn each link in alternating directions (or tie with butcher’s string). Do this throughout the entire casing. Refrigerate or freeze immediately afterward.

*You can use a classic sausage ratio of 30% fat by doing 3 1/2 pounds of venison and 1 1/2 pounds of pork fatback. If you want to cut in pork trim, use 3 pounds of venison, 1 pound of pork trim, and 1 pound of fatback.

Now you can also vary the recipe and make some cheddar jalapeno brats. To do that, add 1/2 cup HIGH TEMP cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup diced and seeded jalapenos (diced fairly fine), and 1/4-1/2 cup very cold water or beer. You need additional moisture with adding cheese.

CAUTION: DO NOT use conventional store bought cheese for sausage making. It must be high temp or the cheese will melt and you end up with a runny mess when you cook them.

 

[Jonesy125]

Just made some last night and had for
Lunch today, turned out great. I used the hi-country Wisconsin brat kit, natural hog casings, used pork shoulder and elk per their ratios and added about a pound and a half of peppered bacon. Best batch of brats I have made yet. Also substituted some cold smoke for the water.

 

[WyoDoug]

Something to add in my recipe, I sometimes use Jack Daniels instead of the beer if using cheese and jalapenos. You do not want more than 1/3 of the added moisture to be booze or beer or it overtakes the flavor instead of enhancing it. You can also use other booze options like bourbon. It don't take a lot, just a little bit goes a LONG ways.

 

[WyoDoug]

I should add on the various recipes out there, I prefer to develop my own rather than use mixes or kits. If you use premixed spices you are paying significantly more than buying all the spices individually if you use spices as often as I do in cooking. You are also limited to their flavors and taste. I prefer to develop my own, that's just me and not a hit on premade kits for making sausages or jerky. I also like to experiment a lot and you can't really do a lot of that with premixed kits.

 

[Bambistew]

@WyoDoug why do you use pink salt in fresh brats? Are you smoking them?

I think high temp cheese is gross... you can use regular cheese, just cook it low and slow. Been doing it for a long time with no issues. Just get high quality sharp or extra sharp.

I would recommend you doing a trial run with your ratio. I find that with game I run about 20% pork fat, 30% pork grind (butt) and 50% game meat. If I go higher on the game and cut back on the fat, they tend to be pretty dry.

Sausage isn't hard... grind it up and stuff it and eat. If you don't like it try something else.

 

[WyoDoug]

@WyoDoug why do you use pink salt in fresh brats? Are you smoking them?

I think high temp cheese is gross... you can use regular cheese, just cook it low and slow. Been doing it for a long time with no issues. Just get high quality sharp or extra sharp.

I would recommend you doing a trial run with your ratio. I find that with game I run about 20% pork fat, 30% pork grind (butt) and 50% game meat. If I go higher on the game and cut back on the fat, they tend to be pretty dry.

Sausage isn't hard... grind it up and stuff it and eat. If you don't like it try something else.

It is not a requirement. Purpose of pink curing salt is to extend shelf life and slow down bacterial growth in meat. I also use it on jerky when I freeze it. It is something that you could do away with especially if you consume them within 6 months or so.

And I disagree with you on the cheese. I prefer high temp cheese myself and dislike runny messes when regular cheese is used. Again, low and slow takes care of the high temp cheese. Most people don't cook it long enough or on way too high of heat.

As far as your variation on fat, that works too, but I prefer to use back fat which is cheaper than pork butt. If I want higher moisture content, or if I am making chorizo, I add a little pork trim. I have even added bacon ends I got from the commissary and those add flavor, but I stick with the 30% fat/pork ratio. My own personal preference.

Sausage making is something you do want to experiment until you find the combination you like personally. Everyone has different taste. I personally don't like to add additional pork beyond the 30% ratio because I like the meat taste to the sausage and don't like it when pork overtakes the meat.

 

[Bambistew]

Do you keep the brats in the fridge for an extended period or freeze them?

I guess I don't understand why you would use curing salt on fresh meat that is either going to be eaten or frozen. Bacteria doesn't grow in the freezer.

 

[WyoDoug]

Do you keep the brats in the fridge for an extended period or freeze them?

I guess I don't understand why you would use curing salt on fresh meat that is either going to be eaten or frozen. Bacteria doesn't grow in the freezer.

I seal meal then freeze. Before I get going, no one has the exact one size fits all method of sausage making. Your way is not wrong. My way is not wrong. It's a matter of personal preference and slamming someone's methods just because you prefer not do do it yourself is rather selfish and self-centered.

I guess you do not know what curing salt is so I am not going to spend a lot of time explaining. It's a personal preference, use it or not. Meat does spoil in the freezer. If it gets warm enough or is maintained right below freezing bacteria is not killed but slowed down and that yields toxins that remain in the meat even when it is frozen. Pink curing salt, sodium nitrate, is a preservative intended to extend shelf life of raw or dried meat and kills most of this. Arguments for and against using it have just as valid basis so it boils down to personal preference. I prefer the safe route if I am making sausages that will be froze for any length of time.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, any food stored at exactly 0°F is safe to eat indefinitely. So you can store your meat for as long as you like, as long as it stays at that temperature and does not fluctuate. The reasoning behind this, according to the USDA, is that keeping food frozen "prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness."

But it's important to note that this rule applies for meat stored at exactly 0°F without fluctuation, and it must be uniformly frozen at that temperature to keep harmful bacteria away. The process of thawing and refreezing can disrupt the bacteria, fungus and mold that naturally grow in aging food, allowing them to multiply when the temperature rises enough. Some molds and fungus grow at extremely cold temps which are as dangerous as bacteria. This has been proving in cores taken from ice caps that have been frozen for over a thousand years.

Finding Feisty Fungi in Antarctica

In a place where no one believed they existed–-treeless Antartica–wood fungi are feasting on polar exploration relics

www.smithsonianmag.com

Now having said that, the process of opening and closing freezers to get meat can cause enough fluctuation to allow mold and fungus to grow. Freezing does not kill them but stymies their growth. Most freezers are not set at zero degrees Fahrenheit and the older they get the more this varies. They should be set between zero and five degrees. Even with that, opening and closing them on a daily or near daily basis is enough to allow some fungus and mold to grow.

Freezing kills most bacteria but not all. Freeze resistant bacteria does exist. It kills parasites but not the eggs that remain in the meat. Freezing slows mold and fungus but takes an incredible amount of time to kill it. Both start growing quickly as soon as the temp rises enough for them to multiply. And if it is killed, the spores are not and remain in the meat to grow when warm enough.