Bratwurst German sausage

Bratwurst Sausage Ingredients

German sausages are famous for their excellent production and diversity of recipes. Bratwurst sausage is a type of German sausage made from veal, beef and/or pork. The name comes in German from Brätwurst, brät (finely cut) and Wurst (sausage), although currently the understanding also refers to the verb braten, which means fried or roasted.

It is important to read this introductory text before starting the recipe because the secret of the sausage lies in the details of the process and not in the recipe! Without reading and re-reading the process, preferably from different sources, trying, making mistakes and persevering, it is unlikely anyone will make a good sausage.

Making sausage at home is an often frustrating challenge, especially at the beginning, firstly due to the need for some control over temperatures during production, secondly because it requires power from the food processor used and thirdly due to the difficulty of incorporating the emulsified dough. which is much softer than a sausage. A meat grinder is not necessary, as you can leave all the work to the processor, but grinding can make processing easier. I chopped the meat, passed it through the grinder and put it in the processor, which, despite the heat generated, proved heroic in carrying out the task. Important detail: the processor's cutting blades must be very sharp!

All sausage is what is commonly called a meat emulsion or, in more detail, a uniform, stabilized mixture of water, fat and protein. The stability of this mixture depends on a good source of protein and low temperature. Powdered milk also helps stabilize the dough. If the temperature rises during preparation, the fat will melt and the emulsion will come apart. The fat used must be firm, rigid, preferably from the porcine subcutaneous region, such as the belly, shank or jowls. Leather/skin can also be used, as it is a great “binder”, but I did not use it as the meat was of high quality, requiring no skin or additional additives. Industrial sausages use a lot of skin, stabilizing and emulsifying additives as they overuse water and CMS (“Mechanically Separated “Meat”), which is a poor source of protein. To learn more about Brazilian legislation on sausages, see the post What is sausage made of?

Using domestic equipment it is very difficult to achieve a completely smooth dough, without grains, but with reasonable equipment and a dose of patience it is possible to get close to it. Don't be afraid to stop the process, cool the dough again and continue processing later. The biggest difficulty is the temperature, as domestic processors heat the sausage dough a lot, which is dense and requires a lot of equipment. If you don't have good equipment, I suggest you do the homemade chicken sausage, which requires less equipment. In industry, the cutter or colloidal mill is used. Both are very efficient in transforming everything into a smooth dough.

Base

• 700g shank;
• 150g fat;
• 150g pig leather.

Seasoning

• 18g salt;
• 2.5g curing salt 1 (6.25% of nitrite and 93.75% of salt);
• 2.5g antioxidant (with sodium erythorbate);
• 4g white pepper;
• 1g Ginger powder;
• 2g Nutmeg;
• 1g Kummel in grains;
• 3g Garlic powder;
• 4g Mix yield (vegetable proteins, carrageenan and/or phosphates);
• 1g Onion powder;
• 2g smoked paprika;
• 200ml crushed ice.

Bratwurst sausage preparation

1. Clean the shank and separate 700g of meat, 150g of fat and 150g of skin;
2. Cook the skin until it is very soft, breaking it apart. You can cook in a coum pan or under pressure. It is important to cook well to make the emulsion work easier;
3. Keep the meat well refrigerated, almost at freezing point if possible;
4. Grind the meat and fat on the fine disc of the grinder. You can grind twice if your processor is not very powerful;
5. Separately grind the skin while it is still hot. Refrigerate after grinding;
6. In a food processor fitted with the cutting blade, render the meat and fat;
7. Add the condiments, some ice and continue processing;
8. Add the ground skin and continue processing until you obtain a smooth mass, like a sentry paste.
9. Add more ice so that the dough does not exceed 10ºC;
10. Embed in pork casing and tie or twist approximately 10cm every 10cm;
11. To finish the bratwurst sausage you can use a barbecue, grill or fry on a pan/griddle.
12. If you want to finish in water, immerse it in water at 80ºC for 15 minutes. Do not let the water boil or the sausage will burst.