Making brats

[twilliams]

Hey ladies and gents,
Just looking for a little suggestion. So my brother in law got a hog from his job and he gave it to me. I only got the rear hinds and loins and maybe a little trim. I am using that to grind and make into brats. Is this ok or are brats used with a certain section of the hog. It is pretty lean so i will have to find extra fat.

[skibumben]

twilliams Inthink you should be fine, but I do like a 70/30 mix lean to fat in brats.

[Jonathon]

The loins won’t have a high enough fat content, when trimmed they are basically fat-free, I think less than 5% but don’t quote me on that. The trim you get will usually have a really high fat content though so make sure you push to get as much of that as you can!

That is very nice of your brother by the way, my brother never gave me an awesome amount of food!

[twilliams]

Jonathon hes a manager on a hog farm, the load of hogs he got this one came off the truck injured so they cant keep it. Also in turn since it was down locker plants wont butcher it even though it was fine when they loaded it on the semi. Meat is perfectly fine. Their hogs are typically not very fatty. I will just buy some extra fat from my local locker plant or wait til i get my whole hog processed that i have ordered for this coming October, all though i didnt really want to wait that long to make the brats.

[Jonathon]

twilliams well that is a heck of a day as far as I am concerned! What seasonings are you thinking of using? If you haven’t tried it yet Hatch Green CHili is now one of my favorites!

[Brianh]

I just made some brats with the Excalibur Apple Brat seasoning and they are outstanding!

[Jonathon]

Brianh YES! That is one of my favorites and it is so underappreciated! Add some cheddar cheese next time you make them, it makes them even better!

[Brianh]

Jonathon I’ll try that cheese next time, hadn’t though of that!

[twilliams]

Jonathon the number two for sure flavors are gonna be reuban and philly steak and cheese. Was gonna pick 2 more flavors, well maybe one more since you mention hatch green chili. I just gotta figure out how much sour kraut to add for the reubans. Will be making 12.5lb batches.

[Parksider]

The Philly steak will change your life if you put some high temp cheese in there…just sayin’

[Joe Hell]

Parksider I’d also recommend some sauteed peppers and onions! I was thinking about making a philly cheese style pizza tonight

[twilliams]

Parksider unfortunately most of my family dont prefer heat, im kinda limited

[twilliams]

Joe Hell dried or fresh?

[Joe Hell]

twilliams Either way would work…if going fresh I’d recommend sauteing first to remove some of the excess moisture and to guarantee it will cook through. Dried vegetables would certainly work too.

[twilliams]

Joe Hell any recommendations on amounts for a 12.5 batch

[Joe Hell]

twilliams You might a similar number to what you would add for the high temp cheese. 1-1.5 lbs of fresh ingredients to a 12.5 lb batch should be plenty…same for saurkraut in the Reuben, making sure to squeeze excess liquid and saute. If going the dried route I’d use 1/4 of that amount.

[Jonathon]

twilliams You have 3 good ones there! If you like a sweet brat sometimes that Apple one that Brianh was talking about is seriously good! Supreme Pizza is another great one. I feel like Bratwurst have the best overall seasonings. Like maybe not the #1 seasoning but that is probably the category with the most great choices.

[twilliams]

Jonathon so after grinding all the hog i ended up with 61 pounds. I think i will get enough pork fat to go up to 75 to even the batches out. With that being said splitting up the batches into 12.5lbs i get to pick out 6 different flavors. Let the fun begin

[akdave]

Please post a review on your flavor tests with 6 different batches on Brats, I have also been doing 12.5 lb batches on my snack sticks because it is 1/2 package of seasoning and 1 full stuffer tube. Brats are on my list for next week.

[twilliams]

akdave will do. So many to choose from. At this moment i am thinking, Reuban, Philly cheese steak, Hatch green chili, blue ribbon, jambalaya and was suggested apple but not so sure on that one. Interested in the feta and spinach.