Bratwurst from Scratch

[joea132]

Made about 25 pounds of bratwurst from scratch yesterday. Here's the recipe I followed. You should use 1 part beef to 3 parts pork. I kept the fat content low, probably 10-12 percent but I didn't measure.

For 2lbs of ground meat

1) Fresh sage minced 1 tbsp.
2) Garlic minced 1 tbsp
3) Sea salt 2 tsp.
4) Black Pepper 1 tbsp.
5) 2 eggs
6) ½ cup powdered skim milk
7) ¼ cup water
8) Mustard powder ½ tsp.
9) Caraway seed ½ tsp.

I used a little less eggs, water, and powdered milk for my batch. I fried up a bit before casing and it was fantastic.

 

[Rocky]

Joe, thanks for the recipe. Love Brats! The recipe that you posted is for a 2 pound batch and you made 25 pounds. I would assume you used something on the order of 6 pounds of beef and 18 pounds of pork (the remaining pound being all the other ingredients), correct? How did you have the beef and pork ground. I know that brats have a very fine meat texture. Was it ground more than once or with a special grinder? Thanks.

 

[joea132]

Joe, thanks for the recipe. Love Brats! The recipe that you posted is for a 2 pound batch and you made 25 pounds. I would assume you used something on the order of 6 pounds of beef and 18 pounds of pork (the remaining pound being all the other ingredients), correct? How did you have the beef and pork ground. I know that brats have a very fine meat texture. Was it ground more than once or with a special grinder? Thanks.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I had a 17 pound boneless pork shoulder and 4.25 lbs of boneless chuck steak. I used pork fat and put it through my big motorized grinder. I ground it on the course plate and again on the fine plate. I let it sit for a couple of hours to let the flavors soak in and made some regular pork sausage in the meantime. Then I stuffed them into natural casings and vacuum packed and froze the packages. I bought a Foodsaver from Costco and it was worth every penny.

My favorite way to serve these is to put then in a pan on medium heat and cover them in sliced onions. I cook it for at least an hour and let the onions caramelize. Bonus points for serving it on a croissant roll with the best course ground mustard you can find. Extra bonus points for gas-x!

 

[joea132]

I love cooking this in the firehouse that is only a one engine station. It fills the firehouse with the best smell you can imagine for our entire shift. I got the idea from my old partner who got promoted a while ago so it always brings back good memories.

 

[Rocky]

"My favorite way to serve these is to put then in a pan on medium heat and cover them in sliced onions. I cook it for at least an hour and let the onions caramelize. Bonus points for serving it on a croissant roll with the best course ground mustard you can find. Extra bonus points for gas-x!"

Joe, I would suggest Industrial Strength Gas-X! Good thing you work at a Fire House. If you don't mind, I would like to paraphrase a comical query:

Q: What is the difference between a saloon and a fireman's flatulance after eating one of Joe's Brats?
A: One is a bar room and the other is a BAAARRRR-ROOOOOM!

 

[JohnT]

I need to give this a try!