Rueben brats

[pigman34]

Can i make these as a fresh sausage as long as i donot add the cure??

[Joe Hell]

pigman34 Absolutely! Fresh is the only method I have used with the Reuben brat seasoning.

[PapaSop]

Just made a 12.5lb batch myself over the 4th. First try with the Reuben seasoning. Although the taste was fine the weird part was the texture. Felt dry and grainy. They were plenty juicy and grilling had those juices just a spitting. Used various cuts from the shoulder. The butt had a nice fat cap on it and the rest were nicely marbled. Ground twice through a 4.5mm plate. Same as I’d done on previous batch that turned out fine. Very strange.

[Joe Hell]

PapaSop That’s odd that you say that. My last batch of those I added ground corned beef to the mix and also ended up with a grainy texture. I just assumed it was due to the beef or grinding when it was a bit too frozen.

[PapaSop]

Joe Hell
Right. Only thing different was the seasoning. While reading through some brat recipes on line one dude was grinding once with a 1/4in plate and then stuffing. Any thoughts on that? Seems a little chunky.

[Joe Hell]

PapaSop Seems a little chunky for a brat. I was going to grind some chicken thighs and pork fat tonight for a small batch of chorizo. I was planning on going through the 3/16 twice in hopes of keeping a little texture. The last time I used the 1/8 plate on the second pass it was nearly as smooth as the meat in a hot dog…not bad, but not exactly what I was looking for.

[djc51]

Joe Hell I use blue ribbon brat seasoning for 25# batch and grind 23# pork butt one time using 3/16 plate when making brats. Stuff in natural hog casing. Makes a good brat.

[Joe Hell]

djc51 I’m going to give that a shot for sure!

[PapaSop]

djc51
Yep. Will try the single grind as well.

[djc51]

On the blue ribbon brats I left out a step. I mix the seasoning in one quart of ice water and after the grind using 3/16 plate I put the meat in the mixer and add the water seasoning mixture and mix 3 to 5 minutes than stuff into natural hog casings.

[PapaSop]

djc51
Are you getting any protein extraction at say the 5 minute mark? I’d rather not have that on a fresh brat. I’ve been mixing by hand but have not done 25# at one time. Just curious.

[craigrice]

Joe Hell just made cheddar cheese brats ground twice through 3/16 plate mixed seasoning after first grind then added the seasoning and mixed then added cheese and stuffed turned out very good

[Joe Hell]

craigrice Nice! I have the cheddarwurst seasoning that I’ve been wanting a to try for a while now. I ground chicken thighs and pork fat twice through the 3/16" for some chorizo and I thought the grind was perfect.

[craigrice]

Joe Hell I used the blue ribbon brat season

[djc51]

PapaSop At 3 to 5 minutes you don’t get protein extraction. At about 2 to 3 minutes you can feel the meat start to tighten up from the seasoning. Thats when I mix just a little longer then stuff. I’ve done smaller batches by hand and you can feel when the meat starts to tighten up. Then is the time to add cheese if you are using it. Hope this helps.

[craigrice]

Joe Hell I could kick my self I had liquid smoke and didn’t think of it till after stuffing

[PapaSop]

djc51
Thanks. It does. Trying to get more info since my last grainy batch.