Best 4 Homemade Bratwurst Recipes

GERMAN BRATWURST

Steps:

• Place pork, veal, and fatback in a large bowl. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Set parts of meat grinder, including large cutting die, in freezer. Set bowl and paddle of stand mixer in freezer.
• Grind meat and fat mixture through chilled meat grinder fitted with a small cutting die, into a large bowl set in another bowl filled with ice. Add salt, white pepper, ginger, mustard, and nutmeg in with the meat. Using chilled paddle attachment and chilled bowl of a standing mixer, mix at low speed for 1 minute. Add eggs and heavy cream and mix at medium speed until liquid is incorporated and sausage is uniform and sticky, about 1 minute longer.
• Form a small sausage patty; place rest of sausage mixture in refrigerator. Cook patty in a small frying pan over medium-high heat until cooked through. Taste and adjust seasonings of sausage if necessary.
• Stuff sausage into hog casings and twist into 6-inch links.
• Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate. Place onion slices in foil tray and pour in beer. Place tray on hot side of grill. Nestle sausage in tray and cook until beer begins to simmer, about 4 minutes. Slide tray over to cool side of grill, cover grill, and continue to cook until sausages register 140 to 145°F on an instant-read thermometer, 10-15 minutes, flipping occasionally during cooking.
• Uncover grill and remove sausages from liquid and place on hot side of grill. Cook, turning occasionally, until sausages are browned and crisp all over, about 3 minutes total. Place each sausage in a roll and top with onions and desired condiments; serve immediately.

HOMEMADE BRATWURST

Steps:

• Cut the pork and beef into 2 inch cubes.
• Grind through a 1/4 inch grinding plate.
• If you do not have a meat grinder you can pulse it in your food processor in SMALL batches.
• In a small mixing bowl beat eggs and beer together until well blended.
• Add dry ingredients.
• In a large mixing bow combine the ground meat and wet mixture until well incorporated.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours, up to 24.
• The longer the better.
• At this point you can either stuff into casings or wrap in 1 pound packages which is what I do, then freeze.

HOMEMADE GERMAN BRATWURST

Steps:

• Combine the pork, fat and crushed ice in a bowl and then, working quickly, use a meat grinder to grind the mixture through a 1/4 inch (6mm) die. Preferably grind the meat mixture into a bowl set atop an ice bath to keep the meat cold. Grind half of the ground mixture a second time. Note: It is imperative that the meat be at a constant cold temperature so that the fat doesn't get too soft. You should be able to see clear definition between the lean meat the specks of fat in the ground mixture.Chill the meat in the refrigerator while you assemble the spice mixture.
• In a small bowl combine all the spices.Remove the ground meat from the fridge and place it on the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the spice mix and dry milk powder.Mix the meat mixture with the paddle for 3-4 minutes until threads begin to appear in the meat: If you take a clump of meat and pull it apart with your fingers you will see tiny threads pulling apart. When you see this your meat is ready. *If the meat mixture is too dry and stiff, add a little ice water. You want a soft/smooth mixture that will easily go into the casings.*This is also the time to taste your sausage mixture so you can adjust the seasonings if needed. To do this, take a bit of the meat mixture, fry it up in a pan, taste it and adjust the seasonings if needed.Place the meat mixture back in the refrigerator while you prepare the casings.
• Thread your sausage stuffer with the prepared hog casings, fill the sausage stuffer with the meat mixture, and stuff the casings being careful to avoid air gaps while also being careful to not over-stuff the casings.Twist the sausages into links. Use a sausage pricker to prick any air bubbles out of the links.For best results chill the sausages overnight.
• To prepare the bratwursts, gently poach them in lightly salted water (place sausages in pot of water, gradually bring liquid to a light simmer/do NOT boil, and poach sausages until partially cooked, 3-4 minutes) and then fry or grill them. Once poached they will keep in the fridge, tightly wrapped, for up to a week.You can either freeze the Bratwursts raw prior to poaching (then thaw, poach, fry/grill) or freeze them once they're poached.
• This yields roughly 10 bratwursts depending on the size and diameter.

BRATWURST RECIPE

Steps:

• Prep. Before making sausage, please familiarize yourself with best practices as described in our article on The Science Of Sausage Making.
• Slice the meat and fat into cubes removing gristle and sinew. Place it on a plate or pan in the freezer, along with the grinder parts that will contact the meat. Leave it there for about 20 minutes until it is firm but do not let it freeze. This makes grinding easier.
• Grind it with a 1/4" die. Mix in the other ingredients. To get the right classic brat texture, transfer the mix to a food processor and pulse till smoothly emulsified.
• Pinch off a small piece of the sausage and cook it in a frying pan let it cool and taste to see if the seasoning is to your taste. Brats are almost always served as links, but if you wish, nobody will arrest you if you form it into patties, meatballs, or skinless tubes. At least not outside of Wisconsin.
• Cook. You can then grill or smoke it, or store it in the fridge for about 5 days or in the freezer for about a month.