How To Make Homemade Sausage & Brats - Recipe
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kking It wouldn’t necessarily hurt anything, the only real danger you would run into is getting some case hardening. That is where the outside cooks too quickly and will not pass heat into the center. So you get an overcooked outside and an undercooked inside. If you stick to your previous smoke schedule and get good protein extraction when mixing (should be sticky and stretch if you grab a handful) then you should be good!
If you get protein extraction my recommendation is low and slow!
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Tdonley There are 6 tspns of cure to a 1 oz package so you can use that to figure it out. We also made a Cure Conversion Char which has Sure Cure, and other cures, broken down into weight and volume by 1 lb and 5 lb batches.
We also did one for Seasonings and Additives.
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@cruise-dw I think it is a little small for Brats yes. A 1/8 plate is better as a second grind plate for snack sticks, summer sausages or other cured products. For Bratwursts a 3/8 plate it going to give you a better consistency for a fresh product. If you are using a 1/8 plate for your first grind that is going to take a long time and it will cause a little too much stress on your meat. Switching will, at the very least, help speed up your process!
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I am making 25# of south of the boarder cheddarwurst sausages. The spice bag says to add 1oz of sure cure. What is the dif between sure cure and sure gel? And what are the proper times to use each product?
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Brian Schillinger Sure Cure should be made when making a smoked or cured sausage, if you are making a brat just leave it out, there is no need for it, it is sodium nitrite and salt and is designed to keep the meat safe through the smoking process and preserve the smoked flavor.
Sure Gel is a binder and also doesn’t need to be used if you are making a fresh sausage like a bratwurst. It won’t hurt anything to use sure gel in a bratwurst and it will increase your yield but you dont really need it! You would have better luck adding Carrot Fiber as this won’t cause protein extraction during the mixing process
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I’m going to make a batch of fresh brats using the cheddarwurst seasoning and some high temp cheddar. My meat block will be about 60 venison / 40 pork butt (it just happens to be what I have on hand). My question is in regards to adding some carrot fiber. I’m a big fan of using it in basically any smoked snack stick or summer sausage - for moisture retention during smoking. Is there any benefit to adding it to a fresh sausage - again for moisture? I definitely prefer moist over dry in a fresh sausage link. Is there any down side to adding it?
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leafthebeef Yes, there is some argument for still adding it. If it was 100 pork butt I would say that the only real benefit you will notice is a yield enhancement of around 5% but since you are using more venison I would recommend that you do add it. This will help make up for the lack of fat in the venison by holding more moisture in the meat.
I cannot, off the top of my head, think of any product or meat block where I would strongly suggest not using carrot fiber, in fresh sausage I wouldnt recommend you add Sure Gel, Soy Protein as they are going to make it easier to get protein extraction (which you do not want in fresh sausage) but Carrot Fiber doesn’t really do that so you are free to use it!
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leafthebeef Yes, there is some argument for still adding it. If it was 100 pork butt I would say that the only real benefit you will notice is a yield enhancement of around 5% but since you are using more venison I would recommend that you do add it. This will help make up for the lack of fat in the venison by holding more moisture in the meat.
I cannot, off the top of my head, think of any product or meat block where I would strongly suggest not using carrot fiber, in fresh sausage I wouldnt recommend you add Sure Gel, Soy Protein as they are going to make it easier to get protein extraction (which you do not want in fresh sausage) but Carrot Fiber doesn’t really do that so you are free to use it!
Jonathon I see in your response post on the 4th, that you state sure gel can be used in fresh sausage but is not needed. can you explain why it isn’t needed? thanks
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Lunkerchaser Yeah, sure gel isn’t recommended in a bratwurst because of its ability in speeding up the protein extraction process, which is something we don’t want in fresh sausage. I realise now that the 4th comment could be misleading so I am going to change it, it isn’t really going to cause any problems but if you are looking for a binder to add to fresh sausage carrot fiber would be better. Thanks!
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Lunkerchaser Yeah, sure gel isn’t recommended in a bratwurst because of its ability in speeding up the protein extraction process, which is something we don’t want in fresh sausage. I realise now that the 4th comment could be misleading so I am going to change it, it isn’t really going to cause any problems but if you are looking for a binder to add to fresh sausage carrot fiber would be better. Thanks!
Jonathon that makes sense, thank you !
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Hi there, we have had wonderful success with your snack stick recipes, now we are trying to make some brats. On the recipe there are no cooking instructions. My smoker/oven has a temp high of 250. Could you please give me advice on cooking time and temps? Thank you
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melvin Brats are a fresh product so there doesn’t really need to be a set cooking schedule. You want to cook them much much faster than the smoked sausage as they aren’t cured. If I am doing them in a pan I do it over medium heat in a cast iron or non-stick pan and on a grill I aim for about 350° and turning them a few times.
Recently I have been experimenting with starting them on a raised shelf in my pellet grill and then moving them down to the main grill for the last 5 minutes or so. I like what it does to the overall texture of the sausage but it doesn’t get any Maillard reaction that way. So I’d just say 350° on your grill.
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Whoops, didn’t see, or comprehend at least, the 250° limit. I’d just set it all the way to 250 and keep an eye on the internal temp. Since it is fresh you don’t really want to start low and increase in stages as that is a terrible environment for bacteria.
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Whoops, didn’t see, or comprehend at least, the 250° limit. I’d just set it all the way to 250 and keep an eye on the internal temp. Since it is fresh you don’t really want to start low and increase in stages as that is a terrible environment for bacteria.
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Has anyone ever added Giardiniera to their Itl Sausage before? A grocery store near me does and it is fantastic. How would this affect the process? Drain the oil? After using mixer or before? Any insight?
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Has anyone ever added Giardiniera to their Itl Sausage before? A grocery store near me does and it is fantastic. How would this affect the process? Drain the oil? After using mixer or before? Any insight?
Crawrugger I haven’t heard of that stuff before but I will be making sausages with it very soon now that you brought it up. I will be going scratch made so I will salt the meat prior to first grind then drain the Giardiniera and grind it with the meat and seasoning on the second pass, hold overnight and make a test patty prior to stuffing to make sure the seasoning is spot on.
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Crawrugger We talked about this somewhere else I think, that is what you put on a muffuletta sandwich I am pretty sure. The issue with adding it into the sausage would be that the vinegar would denature your proteins, I think you would be better off adding it as a topping. However, if you do it please let us know how it turns out as i LOVE muffuletta sandwiches and can imagine it would be awesome as a brat
Get more help with your processing questions and learn more about processing meat by subscribing to our waltonsinc.com youtube page at https://wltns.link/waltonstv I am a Gorilla, love yourself
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Crawrugger We talked about this somewhere else I think, that is what you put on a muffuletta sandwich I am pretty sure. The issue with adding it into the sausage would be that the vinegar would denature your proteins, I think you would be better off adding it as a topping. However, if you do it please let us know how it turns out as i LOVE muffuletta sandwiches and can imagine it would be awesome as a brat
Jonathon Many Italian recipes call for a vinegar addition as does a proper Chorizo. I’ve been using wine/vinegar in many recipes lately and while it does seem to denature a bit the final outcome is great. I’ll do some experimenting soon and post results. I think I’ll make the Giardiniera from scratch!
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