Upland Game Bird Bratwurst: Beer and Cheddar German Sausage
This German inspired bratwurst recipe uses up that left over upland game bird meat in a family fun cook out.
Equipment
- 1 Meat Grinder
- 1 sausage stuffer
Ingredients
Meat (1984 grams)
- 56 oz Upland Game Bird Meat of Choice ground (80% of Meat)
- 14 oz Pork Back Fat ground (20% of Meat)
Spices
- 30 gm Kosher Salt (1.5%)
- 6 gm White Pepper (0.3%)
- 4 gm Ground Ginger (0.2%)
- 4 gm Nutmeg (0.2%)
- 2 gm Marjoram (0.1%)
- 2 gm Ground Celery (0.1%)
- ¾ cup Ice-cold Shiner Strawberry Blonde
- ⅓ cup Non-fat Dry Milk Powder
- 1 cup high-temp cheddar cheese
- 29-32 mm Natural Hog Casings (I prefer the pre-tubed)
For Toppings
- 4 medium Yellow Onions sliced
- Olive Oil
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Salted Butter
Instructions
- Grind partially frozen meat through a fine or medium plate. Spice with the appropriate amount of spices based on the total amount of meat. Grind again through a fine plate.
- In a large mixing bowl or meat mixer, mix meat thoroughly with beer and non-fat milk powder until tacky. Only mix if meat is ice-cold. If not cold, add it to the freezer for half an hour or longer. Once mixed and tacky, mix in high-temp cheese.
- To stuff the casings, load casings onto your sausage stuffer’s 30mm tube (or smaller, as the tube should always be smaller than the largest stretch size of casings) and leave a 6-inch tag end. Add ice-cold mixed meat to the cylinder. Turn the crank to start pushing out meat. Air will come out first. Once air is pushed out, tie the tag end and start stuffing.
- Err on the side of slightly under-stuffing. You can always twist and push meat through casings. Overstuffed casings are harder to twist and can bust.
- Stuff until the meat is gone. Use a sausage pricker to pop any pockets of air.
- To form into links, section off 6-inch lengths and turn either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Make sure to alternate with each link so as not to unravel the previous link. Take your time and push meat through casings to make sure each 6-inch length is fully stuffed. Pop any more air pockets you might find.
- Hang or store links in a cool place for a few hours before cutting. If planning to seal and freeze, I recommend freezing ahead of time before sealing, especially if using a chamber vac, so as not to crush brats under the pressure of sealing.
- To make caramelized onions, heat a medium skillet on medium heat and add a thin layer of olive oil followed by sliced onions. Lightly salt and pepper. Stir often and once seared, turn heat to medium low and continue to stir often. Once mostly browned, add salted butter, stir in, and turn heat to low to further caramelize. This whole process should take 30-45 minutes.
- To grill, cook over 450-500 degree grill or skillet until the exterior is brown and the middle is fully cooked at 160 degrees internal temp. Top with caramelized onions and your favorite condiments (Dijon, anyone?)
Notes
Reach out to me on Instagram (@WildGameJack) with any questions or comments.
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