Rich G
TVWBB Honor Circle
Made some tweaks to a "Wisconsin" Bratwurst recipe that I found online, and really liked how they turned out......not sure this makes them California Bratwurst, but what's in a name, anyway?!?! Thought I'd share.... I will list this formula using percentages for the ingredients that are added to the meat. This makes it easy to adjust this recipe to any weight of meat that you want. I also use grams as my weight of measure since some of these additives are VERY small, so using a scale and grams makes things much more accurate......
Meat Mix:
35% Pork Butt
15% Pork Belly
45% Beef Chuck
5% Beef fat (brisket trim works great)
Spices/Additives:
2% Salt
.4% Sugar
.19% Pepper
.14% Nutmeg
.12% Ginger, ground
.04% Coriander
10% Water, ice cold
Casings needed: 3 feet of 32/35mm per pound of meat
I like to grind my meat/fat through a 4mm plate once, then put back into the fridge to keep very cold.
I weigh out all of my dry spices in a bowl, then add the required amount of COLD water and mix thoroughly.
Add the spice mixture to the meat in a container that will allow you to mix aggressively, and thoroughly.
Mix everything by hand until it is VERY sticky(5-10 minutes.) If your hands aren't REALLY cold, you didn't mix enough!
Put the mix back in the fridge to keep cold while you prep your casings. I find an hour soak in mildly warm water works.
Stuff meat/spice mix into casings, then link to your desired size, prick the links all over to remove air pockets.
Let links dry a bit at room temp (2 hours or so) either on racks, or hanging from a sausage rod (or clean broom handle).
Cook however you like to cook fresh sausages.
NOTE: If you don't have a stuffer, or maybe are out of casings, this sausage mix makes EXCELLENT patties! I usually have a bit of mix left in my stuffer after filling the casings, and thoroughly enjoy the patties I make from that.
Meat Mix:
35% Pork Butt
15% Pork Belly
45% Beef Chuck
5% Beef fat (brisket trim works great)
Spices/Additives:
2% Salt
.4% Sugar
.19% Pepper
.14% Nutmeg
.12% Ginger, ground
.04% Coriander
10% Water, ice cold
Casings needed: 3 feet of 32/35mm per pound of meat
I like to grind my meat/fat through a 4mm plate once, then put back into the fridge to keep very cold.
I weigh out all of my dry spices in a bowl, then add the required amount of COLD water and mix thoroughly.
Add the spice mixture to the meat in a container that will allow you to mix aggressively, and thoroughly.
Mix everything by hand until it is VERY sticky(5-10 minutes.) If your hands aren't REALLY cold, you didn't mix enough!
Put the mix back in the fridge to keep cold while you prep your casings. I find an hour soak in mildly warm water works.
Stuff meat/spice mix into casings, then link to your desired size, prick the links all over to remove air pockets.
Let links dry a bit at room temp (2 hours or so) either on racks, or hanging from a sausage rod (or clean broom handle).
Cook however you like to cook fresh sausages.
NOTE: If you don't have a stuffer, or maybe are out of casings, this sausage mix makes EXCELLENT patties! I usually have a bit of mix left in my stuffer after filling the casings, and thoroughly enjoy the patties I make from that.
