Homemade Brats

[Cliff Bartlett]

I've had some fun the past couple of days. I made some homemade Brats. Probably won't be cooking them for a couple more days so I thought I'd post this portion of the process. Here are a few pictures.

This is a two pound piece of Veal I picked up. $17.99/lb. Yikes!



Three pounds of pork butt.



I chopped then both up into small chunks, seasoned them, mixed thoroughly and let sit in refrigerator for 24 hours. Spices included Salt, Allspice, Nutmeg, Ginger, and White Pepper. Forgot to get a shot of this step.

Next afternoon, took them out and got ready for the grind. This is my new grinder I picked up last week.







Took it about three minutes to grind the 5 pounds of meat. Ran the ground meat through the grinder a second time.



Added three eggs and one cup of cold milk to the grind and thoroughly mixed again.



The result was a mixture very smooth and almost creamy.



OK, I bought a Stuffer too.



And boy, did it work great.

 

[Cliff Bartlett]

The finished product.



This was really fun so far. We'll have to wait a couple of days to see how they taste! The upgrade on my stuffer and grinder really made things easier. The Kitchen Aide worked fine, but the new stuff was definitely an improvement. Thanks for looking.

 

[Wystan C]

I've been wanting to buy the attachments for the Kitchen Aide for a while, but may pass after seeing this... Looks great! I can't wait to see how they cook up.

 

[Dwain Pannell]

Nice job! My new stuffer will be delivered Weds. I am going to use the KA to grind for a while longer but I am looking forward to the new stuffer.

 

[JRAiona]

Awesome job Cliff. I'm planning a sausage project in a couple of weeks. Hope they turn out as good as those.

 

[Peter Gallagher]

These look so great. You had me at the shot of the hunk of veal....That's something else - wow! I tell you what, making good sausage is no easy task - there is a huge learning curve, and yours look great! I've always told my wife, if there is an afterlife, I want to come back as the Village sausage maker ..lol ..

We have a LEM grinder and stuffer as well - (not familiar with the Vivo - need to check it out....)

 

[Craig Alumbaugh]

Looks good Cliff, cant wait to see them cooked.

 

[Robert T]

Looks awesome Cliff. I now have grinder envy. I have a LEM but it's plastic and not near the horsepower of yours. I love making sausage. Can't wait to hear how it tastes!

 

[CaseT]

Tasty looking Brats! Having a dedicated stuffer and grinder makes a world of difference when making sausages!

 

[ChuckO]

That is extremely impressive. You better cook some up by noon today, call they Hudson Brats. You boy is on the hill today, we could sweep if he's solid today

 

[Phil Perrin]

Looking good! I have the KA attachments. Love the grinder,have only used the sausage stuffer once. I may have to bust it back out. Mind if I get your brat recipe?

 

[Rich Dahl]

I'm impressed! Shows what the proper tools can do. Eager to see the cook that's coming.

 

[Barb D]

So far it look awesome can't wait for the cook. With the right tools to work with it makes all the difference in the world.

 

[TOM BAUER]

I'm envious of you guys and your equipment, I use a Porkert hand grinder #10, and a Sausage Gun to make my sausages and stuff them. More work, but they come out pretty good!!

 

[Gene Brownson]

That looks really good Cliff. Can't wait to see the finish product and read about the taste. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Mike R. (Heyworth)]

Good looking brats, Cliff! It's my birthday month so I gifted myself the LEM #12 big bite grinder. I did #11 pounds of sirloin tip for hamburger yesterday, as the maiden voyage. I used to use the Kitchen Aid as well, but wow, what an upgrade this is! I've had the LEM stuffer for a few years, which revolutionized my sausage making, both in terms of time and improved texture. Now, with the grinder, I'm unstoppable! I told my wife that we're living on ground meat from here on out...she didn't seem as excited as me.

 

[DBWallis]

Mike, I've been thinking about getting the Kitchenaide grinder and stuffer attachments for some casual sausage making. What about the LEM that makes it superior? Is it just more powerful/faster?

Thanks!

 

[Robert-R]

Wow! Good job. All these sausage posts are killing me.

 

[Cliff Bartlett]

Mike, I've been thinking about getting the Kitchenaide grinder and stuffer attachments for some casual sausage making. What about the LEM that makes it superior? Is it just more powerful/faster?

Thanks!

David... The KA does a really good job grinding, but (in my limited experience) the stuffing was difficult. As far as grinding, I believe the LEM is more powerful and definitely faster than the KA. The meat tray on the LEM is much larger and holds at least three times the meat. What I really like about the LEM, its tray and grinding head are metal. You can put them in the freezer for 20 minutes or so and really get them chilled and this facilitates the grinding and helps the meat stay nice and cold. If there's a negative with the LEM, it's much louder than the KA, but I can live with that.

 

[Mike R. (Heyworth)]

David, I'll echo what Cliff said, as well as my own $0.02. The KA grinder works well, but I do some big batches a couple times a year, and it's much slower, as well as having a pretty wimpy blade which effects your texture. With the LEM being all stainless, it's tough as a tank too. Speed means your meat is ground faster and it doesn't have a chance to get as warm, giving you gummy fat and a mushier texture.

As for the stuffer, the kitchen aid doesn't have an air release valve on it, causing a vapor lock of sorts, which really slows the process down. Also, because it requires the auger to move the meat in the casing, your meat can get overworked which also will effect your texture. For no more than the 5lb stuffer costs, it is very much worth it for the final product.