Waltons Brat Seasoning Pork/Venison and a novice

[deanlorensen]

I decided to try my hand at brats with some pork trim and a little venison I had left over from last year. I’ve made a few brats before but theyve never been good. (With the exception of some venison andouille)

I split a few seasoning with a buddy and had 4 - 12.5 lb amounts of seasoning.
Philly Cheese
Chicago
Blue Ribbon added high temp cheddar cheese
Onion & Garlic.

I did 4 - 10lb batches 70pork/30venison. I thawed all the pork and venison which had been coarse ground 1x. I think mixed the seasonings and meats lightly by hand and ground through the fine plate. Stuffed in 32mm hog casings. I need some practice in stuffing and linking but I’ll get there I hope. Vac sealed and froze. So far I’ve had the chicago and blue ribbon, I gotta say these are both amazing. I agree with John that brat casings are to big for most buns.

[Porksword]

deanlorensen
Those look real nice!

[tim cahill]

Nice job !!! getting ready to do the same thing

[Jonathon]

deanlorensen So you like the Chicago? I have to try that again, when I initially had it I wasn’t the biggest fan but so many people told they loved it that I tried it again from the initial batch I made and I couldn’t believe it was the same batch I tried the day I made them. Philly is amazing as is Blue Ribbon both of those are good “everyday” brats, you can eat them over and over again and not get sick of them!

[lkrfletcher]

They look awesome - Enjoy!

[deanlorensen]

Well, I tried the philly and onion garlic today…meh. They were good but I gotta say the blue ribbon brats with high temp cheddar… possibly the best brats I’ve ever eaten. I poached in beer on pellet grill with a onion cut up. Then grilled at 275 to just put a little color on them, and they were amazing. I’ve given away about 20 of the 40lbs of brats I made and will most likely pass out the rest of these just for an excuse to make more.

[pr0wlunwoof]

deanlorensen I feel like I am going to have that issue also where I gotta give it away just to make more. Hoping I can get a few others hooked and maybe get them to eat some of the costs along withe the sausage.

[Jonathon]

deanlorensen Blue ribbin is our best selling brat. I think I’ve just eaten so many of them that I don’t really realize how good it is. There are numerous Walton’s employees who would say it’s their favorite.

[pr0wlunwoof]

Jonathon so blue ribbon compared to the Chicago brat. Which do you prefer and why. The Chicago really reminded me of a traditional brat, but its been a while since I’ve had any so my recollection isn’t that sharp.

[Jonathon]

pr0wlunwoof I prefered the blue ribbon over the Chicago as I picked up too much citrus frm the Chicago brat. TO me it had a lemon pledge taste that NO ONE else picked up, thought I was crazy but then look at ingredients and it did have lemon oil in it. The Blue RIbbon has a clove taste to it and just an all-around more classic brat taste. Now, you and I might be on opposite ends of the taste spectrum because you also said “meh” to one of my favorites, the Philly Brat.

Whenever we get a new seasoning in here I make some up so everyone can have a taste and I think I was the ONLY person not to like the Chicago, there have been a few others like that too but that was the one that stands out for everyone telling me I was crazy.

[pr0wlunwoof]

Jonathon Yeah you confused me with the original poster. I haven’t had anything but the chicago at this point. I was just thinking of getting the blue ribbon next.

Do you simmer the bratz in beer before you cook them? I simmered in a red ale so it might have helped take some of that lemon out. I did notice it in the ingredient list.

[Jonathon]

pr0wlunwoof I don’t normally if I am going to grill them. However, if I am adding them to a sauce like a red pasta sauce or something I do…for some reason. I think probably cause that is how my father did it? I think the Chicago is probably better than I remember it do to how many people enjoy it verse just me not liking it.

[pr0wlunwoof]

Jonathon yeah it was good. I’m definately gonna put some blue ribbon on the next order.

[spangler2k3]

anyone do these with 50/50 venison/pork or even err on 80 venison/20 pork?

just curious because i have wayyyyyy more ground venison than pork at the moment

Chris

[deanlorensen]

spangler2k3 Yes…I did another blue ribbon batch since I made this post. This batch was closer to a 60ven/40pork trim. My trim is probably a little more fat than just grinding a pork butt…THEN I added 1lb of straight ground pork fat cuz I have it on hand. I wouldnt be scared to do like 70/30 mix but I’d be concerned about that dry venison texture. I’d either maybe add pork fat and/or look into adding something for moisture like carrot fiber or sure gel type of product? Jon touched on this question today during the big monday livestream. Im sure some others could touch on it.

[Parksider]

spangler2k3 deanlorensen I do literally everything 50/50 boneless pork butt from Restaurant Depot or Costco to venison, literally everything…sticks, brats, breakfast, all of it! I do use 1oz of carrot fiber to 20# in sticks. I don’t have pork fat readily available but lucky enough to have some big box retail relatively close. I’ve never had an issue with the 50/50. Now I will say i only grind once on the small plate the #22 butcher series has no issue with it and I grind both pork and venison on the same plate. I live in a very simple world…I’ve stopped over-complicating everything and it makes for a much easier and fun process that ANYONE can help do.