Made a simple sausage this past weekend & was really pleased with the results. I came across a recipe for 'German Bier Wurst' and since I had most of the ingredients on-hand already, I thought, 'why not?' In hind-sight, I should have started earlier in the day, but live n' learn....
The Ingredients: nothing fancy. The recipe called for 1/4 tsp cardamom (15lb recipe), but since I had no cardamom in the house, I figured for 5lbs, a missing 'pinch' of the spice would hardly be noticed.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/GuitarPix/Stuffer%20Stuff/BIERWURST_spices.jpg)
I made a 5-pound batch coarse-grinding 2.5lbs of beef and 2.5lbs of pork shoulder. Spices mixed & re-ground through the fine plate (3mm). I only had 44mm collagen chubs so I used those. Filled four of them with enough left over to fill a collagen ring casing.
Once stuffed, these sat overnight in the fridge.
Next day, I hung 'em in the smoker. no smoke for the first 90 minutes; 130° to dry them well before applying smoke.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/GuitarPix/Stuffer%20Stuff/BIERWURST_hang.jpg)
After 90 minutes, I lit the a-maze-n smoker (cherry wood dust). I used an electric hot-plate for the first time in the smoker and found it to be an outstanding addition in keeping the temps constant at 150°—no easy chore with a large propane smoker. Smoked the chubs for 4 hours.
After nearly 2 hours of smoke @150°
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/GuitarPix/Stuffer%20Stuff/BIERWURST_90MIN.jpg)
I then cranked up the temp (propane) to 170° for the next two hours, then bumped it up to 180°. FINALLY, the IT made it to 155° but not until midnight(!), some 12 hours after I first put them in.
Hanging to bloom in the early morning hours.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/GuitarPix/Stuffer%20Stuff/BIERWURST_bloom.jpg)
After 2 hours, I moved them to the fridge.
The results the next morning:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/GuitarPix/Stuffer%20Stuff/BIERWURST_slices2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/GuitarPix/Stuffer%20Stuff/BIERWURST_slice.jpg)
Very tasty & they smell great! Next time I'll use a larger diameter casing (3.5-4") for sandwich-sized slices.
Mild flavor; pleasing texture. A little 'tang' would be a nice addition next time too. I fried some up & sure enough, very similar to a good fried bologna!
—Kevin
Those look great Kevin.
If they taste as good as they look, at least one of them would have disappeared... :D
Lookin gooood.
The thought of fried bologna reminds me of my younger days when times were real tough.
There is a biker bar on the N end of Springfield that serves fried bologna sandwiches for lunch. A buck a pop. Fried on a flat top and served on cheap hamburger buns from the Wonder Bread outlet store.
No, I haven't been in there...
And I'm sure the quality of the meat is nowhere near Kevin's final product! That looks fantastic..... Can you share the full recipe?
Quote from: squirtthecat on July 19, 2011, 03:30:08 PM
Can you share the full recipe?
Here's the original recipe for 15lbs. To do a five-pound load, some of the 1/3 adjustments were easy (1 TBL > 1 tsp); For the smaller & odd measurement conversions (1/3 of 4TBL salt) I did it by weight (grams). Since I use kosher salt and most recipes use standard non-iodized table salt, I wind up weighing the recipe's amount for 'regular' salt in grams, and measure out an identical weight in kosher (which is always a much greater volume). I didnt add the cardamom (1/4 tsp divided by 3), but a 'pinch' would suffice. I did a 50/50 pork/beef ratio.
Bier Wurst
7 lbs. beef
8 lbs. pork
1 Tbs. black pepper
1 Tbs. whole mustard seeds
1 Tbs. cure #1
¼ tsp. cardamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbs. dextrose
4 Tbs. salt
1 cup powdered milk
½ tsp. garlic granules
15 oz. ice water
Grind meat together through a 3/16 " plate, add spices and water. Mix until you get a bind. (
at this point I ground the mixture again using a fine plate (3mm). This may 'grind up' some of the mustard seed, so if you wish to have more visible seeds, add them after the fine grind).Stuff into 3-4" cases. Let rest overnight in the fridge to meld to spices and cure.
Place in smoker at 120 F for 2 hrs, no smoke.
Increase temp to 150 F apply smoke for 4 hrs, increase temp to 170 F and continue until internal temp of 155 F.
(*For me, this step took nearly 8 hours... :o)Remove from smoker and shower with cold water for 5 minutes then hang at room temp for 2 hrs to bloom. Place in cooler overnight then slice or package.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/GuitarPix/Stuffer%20Stuff/BIERWURST_slices3.jpg)
Man dem looks good nuf to eat ;D I think you did a fantastic job!
Shmecks goot!
Das sieht ja aber gut aus. Zum wohl
Quote from: 3rensho on July 19, 2011, 10:19:47 PM
Das sieht ja aber gut aus. Zum wohl
Vielen dank für das kompliment!
Die würste sind köstlich...... und viel besser als mein Deutsch!
Yours looks just like the stuff we get from a butcher Germany - mustard seeds and all. I love the stuff. I think you've got this one knocked.
Quote from: squirtthecat on July 19, 2011, 03:30:08 PM
There is a biker bar on the N end of Springfield that serves fried bologna sandwiches for lunch. A buck a pop. Fried on a flat top and served on cheap hamburger buns from the Wonder Bread outlet store.
My favorite butcher shop sells bologna sandwiches at a buck a pop too! His is on white bread and you put the condiments on it.
Just wondering..... what if you used beer instead of water?
Looks great, I never heard of that kind of sausage before, may have to try it out.