Wisonsin Bird Brats

This recipe makes a nice traditional Wisconsin Brat.   It’s a version of a class Weiss Wurst. You can find similar recipes.

If you are using wild game birds make sure the meat is clean of pellets. I only use Bismuth or Steel shot which are not toxic. Lead is a thing of the past and shouldn’t be used for hunting for your health or any animal. I use any scraps to make homemade food for Molly, she earned at least that much for her work harvesting birds.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg turkey, pheasant or other game bird, could use chicken
• 0.5 kg pork belly, butt or fat back
• 30 g kosher salt
• 4 g black/white/tri-color peppercorns
• 4 allspice berries
• 3 g dried marjoram
• 6 g ground ginger
• 5 g garlic powder or granules
• 4 g fresh ground nutmeg
• 50 g dry milk
• 5 g caraway seeds
• 4 g mustard seed
• zest one lemon
• 1 egg white 
• 1 cup heavy cream
  • Can using 1/2 cream with 1/2 whole milk
  • Make sure it is cold
• Hog casings – rinse and soak in warm water for at least 30 mins

1. Cut the meat / fat into chunks that work best for your grinder.  Keep in refrig to keep cold before grinding.   
2. Mix  the salt, pepper, marjoram, ginger, garlic, allspice and nutmeg.  Use a grinder to blend the spice, if using whole nutmeg make sure it gets ground.   Put spice in refrig.
3. Use medium disk for first grind.    Make sure the meat/fat is very cold ~34F before grinding.   Grind meat and fatty pork / fat.  Make sure fat is distributed through the meat. Put mixture back in refrig.    I usually do first grind the night before stuffing.   Clean grinder.
4. With meat mixture cold,  grind again using a smaller disk.  Back to refrig to keep cold. 
5. Mix cream, milk powder, egg white, lemon zest and ground spice with a couple handfuls of meat in a food processor.  Process until smooth.  Slowly add the extra cream/milk as it mixes.  If need add some crushed ice to keep cold.   When smooth, add the caraway and mustard seeds, pulse to mix. 
6.  Using hands, add the cream to mixture and mix well very sticky.  Put mixture back in refrig.
   • Can use a stand mixer with paddle attachment instead.
   • Make sure mixture stays cold, less than 40F.
7. Setup your stuffer and thread on casing.  With the mixture cold, stuff the sausage in cleaned hog casings.   Link it as long as you like
8. Let the links dry for a couple hours in a cool room or on a rack in the refrig.
   • If packing for freezing, let sit in refrig overnight.
9. To server, grill til cold brown on the outside. I like slow grilling.
   • You can also cook in a water bath til inside is 150F. Toss in a sous vide bag if you have one and either use the sous vide or just a water bath.
   • Serve either cooked in hot water bath or grilled.
   • When cooked in water bath, it is common to remove the case before eating like you would for a Weiss Wurst.