Bratwurst Seasoning Profile Matching Trader Joe's German Brats

processhead

Joe Hell The recipe in the link I posted kind of mirrors what you suggested. I might try one with the discrete spices and all pork until I get the flavor I want.

I’m not sure the veal brings much to the party other than possibly a lighter color and possibly lighter flavor.

craigrice

Joe Hell I like using white pepper on some things and a dry brine for poultry that I use specifies its use

twilliams

processhead I’d be happy to get an exact recipe and texture of Johnsonville, I have failed miserably

processhead

I think I will try a pilot batch based on one or both of the two recipes listed below. They both include the seasonings/flavors I am interested in. Note that they include egg whites in the recipe. Will probably stay with the all-pork version till I get the flavor I want.

I like the processing tips Joe Hell adds.
Recipe 1
Bratwurst with Egg and Milk (Bratwurst mit Ei und Milch)

Adding milk and lemon zest creates a creamier and aromatic version of bratwurst. The name bratwurst comes from the old German word “brät” (describing the finely-ground filling), and the original spelling was indeed “Brätwurst”. Over the years, as the sausage became popular worldwide, the dots above the letter ‘a’ have disappeared.
Calories: 230
Servings: 10
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 18 minutes
Nutritional information
Meats Metric US
Semi-fat pork* 920 g 2.0 lb
Whole egg 70 g 1 egg
Milk 10 ml 1 Tbsp
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat
Salt 18 g 3 tsp
White pepper 2.0 g 1 tsp
Mace 0.5 g 1/4 tsp
Ginger 0.5 g 1/4 tsp
Cardamom 0.5 g 1/4 tsp
Lemon zest 1.0 g 1/2 tsp
Instructions

Grind meat through 1/4" (6 mm) grinder plate.
Mix with all spices.
Whisk egg with milk together. Mix everything together.
Stuff in 26-28 mm hog or sheep casings. Make links weighing about 100 g (3.5 oz).
Refrigerate and eat within a day; cook fully before serving.
To extend its shelf life the sausage may be cooked for 20 minutes at 176° F (80° C). Keep in refrigerator.
Notes
*Pork butt may be used, but include fat.

Recipe 2
Bratwurst-German

Bratwurst, a German sausage was already known in 14th century. It can be made from pork and beef, though most bratwursts are made from pork and veal. Depending on the region where the sausage was made and the combination of spices which were added, we may find bratwursts with many names, such as: Thuringer Bratwurst, Nurnberger Bratwurst, Rheinishe Bratwurst and many others. The sausage is fried in fat or grilled before serving. The name bratwurst comes from the old German word “brät” (describing the finely-ground filling), and the original spelling was indeed “Brätwurst”. Over the years, as the sausage became popular worldwide, the dots above the letter ‘a’ have disappeared.
Calories: 250
Servings: 10
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Nutritional information
Meats Metric US
Pork 700 g 1.54 lbs
Veal 300 g 0.66 lbs
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat
Salt 18 g 1 Tbs
White pepper 3.0 g 1½ tsp
Marjoram, dry 1.0 g 1 tsp
Caraway 1.0 g ½ tsp
Nutmeg 1.0 g ½ tsp
Ginger, ground 0.5 g ⅓ tsp
White of an egg 2 2
Cold water 100 g (100 ml) ⅜ cup
Instructions

Grind meat through 3/16” plate (3 mm).
Whisk the egg whites.
Mix meats and all ingredients together.
Stuff into 32-36 mm hog casings forming 4” (10 cm) links.
Keep in a refrigerator or freeze for later use.
Notes
Cook before serving.
Adding white of an egg is optional. It is common in Germany to add eggs into fresh sausages to increase the binding of ingredients.

mrobisr

processhead my recipe is very similar to your 2nd one with the exception of all pork, surejel instead of egg, beer in place of water, and I do put cure in mine. I do water bath mine to and internal temp of 160f before vac sealing, freezing, or grilling.
Never had the brand you speak of, but we really do like this recipe, though I must admin the lemon zest has peaked my curiosity.

johnsbrewhouse

processhead Paul, here is the recipe I just made. It is very mild and the wife even likes it. I added Cheddar just for her since she like Cheddar Wursts.

3 Lbs. 85/15 ground beef
2 lbs. ground pork 75-80/20
1 tsp Cure #1 (since mine are being smoked)
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp ground mustard (1tsp regular and 1 tsp Dijon)
2 tsp Marjoram
1 tsp roasted garlic granules
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp mace
5 tsp Kosher Salt
T TBSP + 1 tsp Sure Gel
1/2 cup cold water
1 1/2 TBSP Dextrose
2 eggs or 1/2 cup liquid eggs

processhead

Thank you to everyone for their input. It will be a couple of weeks before I can get this done but will report back on how it goes.

Joe Hell

processhead I thought that about veal until I recently had a chance to play around with it. I mixed it 50/50 in a brat and a batch of meatballs and it certainly adds a touch of decadence. Perhaps it’s the fat?

processhead

Joe Hell said in Bratwurst Seasoning Profile Matching Trader Joe's German Brats:

processhead I thought that about veal until I recently had a chance to play around with it. I mixed it 50/50 in a brat and a batch of meatballs and it certainly adds a touch of decadence. Perhaps it’s the fat?

Lol, I am all about the decadence!

processhead

Today I made a 1 Kg. test batch of the traditional white brats.

I was pretty happy with the way they turned out. The pork was frozen during the first pass through the 3/8 plate and then finished through 3/16 plate. The ground meat went back in the freezer for an hour before chopping.

When grinding and chopping I had all the equipment in the freezer ahead of time and I think it help with the fine emulsion I was after.

The spice formula was pretty close to where I want it, but I may tweak it with some additional pepper and aromatic spices.

I used all pork butt and would would be interested to try the traditional veal addition if the opportunity comes up.

I stuffed them in hog casings which were probably a little larger diameter than what I was after, but they are what I had on hand.

Will be doing this again in the future.

Also, I was able to try out my recent birthday present from my daughter and son-in-law, an Anova sous vide. I used it to poach the sausages right after stuffing.

Bob Stehlik

processhead Looking real good! I’d bet they will be good with some good Dusseldorf Mustard on a dark rye or pumpernickel. I think I just made my mouth water!

processhead

Bob Stehlik said in Bratwurst Seasoning Profile Matching Trader Joe's German Brats:

processhead Looking real good! I’d bet they will be good with some good Dusseldorf Mustard on a dark rye or pumpernickel. I think I just made my mouth water!

There should be a cold beer in that list somewhere too!

glen

processhead Paul, which recipe and what tweaks are you thinking of?

JoeB

processhead did you post a recipe for the brats? if so i missed it. Thanks

processhead

glen said in Bratwurst Seasoning Profile Matching Trader Joe's German Brats:

processhead Paul, which recipe and what tweaks are you thinking of?

glen JoeB Towards the top of the thread I posted two very similar recipes labeled recipe 1 and recipe 2 that I got from a web site that I have mentioned on here before.

I used the second recipe but omitted the ground caraway and lemon zest since I did not have those ingredients.

I am going to do another tasting tonight and will edit this post with my comments on future adjustments to the spice formula.

JoeB

processhead thanks Paul. Can’t pop for the veal so I use 50% chuckroll. Darker but great taste. How long and what temp did you poach? The grease flowing thru your SV. Ok? I’m working on Vacpac next 100 sausage batch in x10 bags for freezer stock. Haven’t done it yet. Your thoughts??

processhead

JoeB said in Bratwurst Seasoning Profile Matching Trader Joe's German Brats:

processhead thanks Paul. Can’t pop for the veal so I use 50% chuckroll. Darker but great taste. How long and what temp did you poach? The grease flowing thru your SV. Ok? I’m working on Vacpac next 100 sausage batch in x10 bags for freezer stock. Haven’t done it yet. Your thoughts??

JoeB I poached them for 20 minutes at 170 deg. F.
The grease in the cook pot water was minimal but after I finished the brats, I heated fresh water to 150 and added dish detergent, circulating for 20 minutes. Then I repeated for 10 minutes with hot rinse water.

JoeB

processhead that’s a lot of extra steps. Did you think about vac bag and no cleanup? Your thoughts. I did 2 bags of 10 @ 140* for 3 hrs then grilled. Texture was good. And grilled for looks. No cleanup

processhead

JoeB said in Bratwurst Seasoning Profile Matching Trader Joe's German Brats:

processhead that’s a lot of extra steps. Did you think about vac bag and no cleanup? Your thoughts. I did 2 bags of 10 @ 140* for 3 hrs then grilled. Texture was good. And grilled for looks. No cleanup

To be honest, I didn’t think of it. My first dance with SV and this sausage style so I was…distracted?
Good idea, though. I may be looking at that next time around.

craigrice

very good looking