Need some help with brats.

[armyguy]

Hey guys! Newbie here and a little confused even after watching the videos. I currently have a Cabela’s Carnivore 1HP grinder. I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Waltons so that I can start making brats. I havent made them from scratch before and wasnt exactly sure of the process or what I actually need. I want to make brats that I can smoke in my Masterbuilt smoker and then vaccum seal/freeze for use at later times.

I ordered the 11lb Waltons sausage stuffer, the Blue Ribbon brat seasoning, the 32-35mm tubed natural hog casings, pink sure cure, smoked meat stabilizer, and the sodium erythorbate.

I wasnt sure which casings to get or which one of the meat stabilizers to get. I also wasnt sure if I need the meat binder so I didnt order that.

Any help or guidance is appreciated.

[Jonathon]

armyguy glad your starting out, it’s a fun hobby/obsession!

So, if you want to smoke them then they can’t be bratwurst, brats are a fresh sausage that you don’t add cute to and just grill or cook in a pan or oven. What it sounds like you want to make is cured sausage. The processes are similar but there are 1 or 2 differences that can heavily effect your outcome. The main one being that with cured sausage you want to achieve protein extraction during the mixing process. This will bind up all the meat, fat, water and additives and prevent the fat from cooking out during the smoking process. The other major difference is that you don’t add cure to a bratwurst.

You should check out the cured sausage section of meatgistics university, then watch the basic cured sausage processing video and article. I think that will answer more of your questions for the type of sausage you want to make! I’d link you right to it but I’m on my phone.

Good luck and let us k ow if you have any other questions!