Homemade Bratwurst
I’ve been promising this bratwurst recipe for a while now, just waiting until I had enough time to sit down and get it written. But as we move into spring, the recipe can wait no longer.
I must warn you – these homemade brats are so far beyond store-bought in terms of flavor and quality that once you make them, you may be forever changed. They take some time and can be a pain in the butt, but your hard work will reward you with truly delicious results. I served these alongside store bought brats for a party and there was no comparison. The texture is rich, meaty, and almost creamy. I never realized how gristly commercial brats were until I served them side-by-side, and the difference in flavor is startling. These brats had real depth of flavor, while the store bought seemed salty and bland by comparison.
If you are serious about making these and you haven’t made sausage before, I do suggest you read this post Fresh Sausage 101, to get a little more detail about the process as a whole.
The use of cream and eggs sets this recipe apart from lots of other sausages which use wine, broth, or water as the liquid during the primary bind. This can be troublesome, because they must be uniformly distributed in the mixture. If the fat separates, the sausage breaks, and while the flavor will still be good, that smooth, but meaty texture I raved about earlier will become pretty nasty. So while it is important during all sausage making to keep things cold, for this recipe, it is doubly important.
Ingredients
4 lbs boneless pork shoulder butt, diced
1 lb pork fat (fatback), diced
40 grams kosher salt (approx. 3 tablespoons)
2 tsp ground white pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup very cold heavy cream
10 feet hog casings, rinsed and ready to stuff
Procedure
Combine all the ingredients except the eggs/cream and mix well to distribute the seasonings. Chill until ready to grind. I like to let the meat sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning, before you grind, I place the meat (as well as the grinder) in the freezer for 30 minutes, just to keep everything super cold.
Grind the mixture using small die into a bowl set in ice.
Now its time for the primary bind, I use the paddle attachment and my stand mixer, but if you are mixing by hand get yourself a sturdy wooden spoon and get ready to use some elbow grease. Mix on low for 1 minute then add the super cold eggs and cream. Start the mixer at low then increase the speed to medium until they are all fully incorporated and the sausage mixture looks sticky. With the mixer, it doesn’t take long, another minute or two at most. I have no idea how long it takes by hand.
Put the sausage in the fridge and fry up a small patty (I use about a tsp of the sausage for this) to taste for seasoning. If it needs more salt, pepper, whatever, now is the time to add it. Let the sausage rest in the fridge while you get yourself prepared to stuff it into casings.
Stuff the sausage into your hog casings, twisting/tying into 6 inch links. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to cook.
I like to grill brats, but pan-frying works great too. You don’t want to be super aggressive with the heat, you want the outsides crisp and snappy in the time the sausage gets to an internal temp of 150 F. You can also do the low simmer or oven roast in beer or beer/onions, but make sure you crisp the sausages before serving, there is nothing like the snap of a fresh casing. My favorite is to grill slowly, and served with beer sautéed onions and german mustard. Yum!